So, this upcoming Friday morning, at about 0300 hrs local time, the season which routinely follows Summer will be upon us. The weather guy is calling for wonderful weather of about 28 degrees (C). I will say that other than the Christmas season and Easter, mainly due to the wonderful red/green, etc of Christmas and the uplifting pastels of Easter, the season which follows Summer is my fav. But, what do I call this wondrous time of year? We have two choices which are used most often. These two are Fall and Autumn.
I prefer to use the term Autumn.
Wikipedia states the following of Autumn:
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.
The word autumn comes from the Old French word autompne (automne in modern French), and was later normalised to the original Latin word autumnus.[7] There are rare examples of its use as early as the 12th century, but it became common by the 16th century.
Before the 16th century, harvest was the term usually used to refer to the season, as it is common in other West Germanic languages to this day (cf. Dutch herfst and German Herbst). However, as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (especially those who could read and write, the only people whose use of language we now know), the word harvest lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and autumn, as well as fall, began to replace it as a reference to the season.[8][9]
The alternative word fall for the season traces its origins to old Germanic languages. The exact derivation is unclear, the Old English fiæll or feallan and the Old Norse fall all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term came to denote the season in 16th century England, a contraction of Middle English expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year".[10]
During the 17th century, English emigration to the British colonies in North America was at its peak, and the new settlers took the English language with them. While the term fall gradually became obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America.
My dear wife and I were enroute back home the other evening and couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the farmers out in their combines and tractors, bringing in their harvests under the clear skies and that fabled harvest moon. I must confess that it this provides me with such a feeling of contentment. Possibly it's from my formative years when we lived on an acreage outside of Ardrossan. Albeit I was young and we moved to 'the big city' when I had completed grade two, I do recall the sights, sounds, smells and the freedom which were part and parcel of living in the country.
Other reasons for this being my favourite time of year include the smell of the newly fallen leaves, the cool nights and warm days and wandering through the local woods in search of Ruffed Grouse. Ah, I would love to carry on with this blog, but it's time to get my day started. Tomorrow I plan on heading out north of town in order to look for those wondrous grouse. But, as always, if I don't get any I will still be thrilled to be able to get out into the country side to absorb the wonders of Autumn.
Thanks for listening. When you have time, do get outdoors and go for a walk. Make an effort to view the world as it was meant to be. That is, look at the smaller things around you, inhale the smells of the newly fallen leaves, listen to the calls of the birds around you. That way you will be able to make more sense of the the bigger picture in front of you.
