Good morning, friends, how are you?
I’m sitting here this morning with some (iced) coffee, and the dining room windows fogged up with humidity. It is July in Oklahoma! I’ll be honest with you— July in Oklahoma is not my favorite time of the year. It is, in fact, my favorite time of the year to escape to New England if I can! If that’s not possible, then I head out to the studio and start on painting my dreams of Autumn, as well as Christmas art.
To me, autumn almost feels like a ‘new year.’ It probably has to do with it being when a new school year begins (there’s always giddy excitement about that, isn’t there? Even long after your school days are done?) and my birthday is at the end of September. Autumn, even as it signals the time of harvest and the end of a growing season, always feels like a bit of a fresh start to me.
I joke that I was a few weeks late to be born (my mother is not amused) because being an autumn baby matched my aesthetic more than being a summer baby. It’s very true of me as an adult today, at least!
I love when the weather finally turns cool after months of insufferable heat and humidity (it will be solidly October by the time this happens here in Oklahoma.) I love the sound of crows in the tree tops, the brilliance of autumn foliage. I love that primal feeling of wanting to be inside, creating, cooking savory dishes that seem ‘too much’ in the summer months, boots and sweaters and all things knitted. I feel more like myself in the autumn.
Do you feel more of an urge to create when autumn comes? Perhaps its all those centuries in our ancestry spent gathered around hearths, finishing the day’s work, perhaps with some knitting that was easy enough to do in the half darkness. The precursor to my ‘knitting while we watch tv” habit. You always feel like you at least got something productive done while resting. Surely I’m not the only one who can’t just sit and be still. Always doing something.
Even though summer is hard for me, I am thankful to live somewhere that there are seasons. I appreciate those wonderful times so much more. I will get through these muggy, hot, mosquito filled days and autumn will be waiting for me at the end! That’s a pretty exciting proposition.
What do you love best about fall? What do you look forward to doing then that you’re just not in the mood for right now that it’s summer? Do you have a hobby that comes more to mind– be it knitting, stitching, weaving, writing or being outdoors?
You’ll also have to let me know if you have any suggestions for an autumn painting. I’m just not able to do commissions these days, but I am always open to suggestions for future pieces!
I hope you are well and if you are one who enjoys summer– please do enjoy! If you are like me and are dreaming of autumn, well, I am right there with you. Each day we get a little closer!
Thank you for coming by to visit me, and I hope you return again soon! Here’s to creating and the season we love–
Take Joy!
H
Sleightholm Folk Art 
Leave a comment