Autumn 2

Thursday 8.08am

There is chill in the air. The morning is misty and damp. Quiet. Still. Autumn is here again. This is the time of year when I feel most connected to the natural world. It is a time of woodlands and fields, rich earthy smells and the sight of your misty breath coiling away into the air. I can hear birdsong outside and hidden rustling noises in the leaves and undergrowth. Compared to Scotland, Autumn in Hawkes Bay is but a brief passing moment. By nine or ten o’clock in the morning the sun is up, the skies are bright blue and the mist is all burnt away. I struggle to get up for work in the dark at the moment but once I am up and cycling to work I’m grateful for it, because I would miss this time. Autumn is a time of change – the dusk of the year, and a sad time too – hard times are coming and not all of us will be here to see the spring. It is harvest time, fruit is being picked and stored, plans are made for next year. Some people are good at this of course with savings and provision for the future but not me. Try as I do, the present always gets in the way and the future has to wait. But Autumn has a feeling of acceptance about it as well, what is done is done, there is little point in worrying about the past. Make plans, yes, and I will keep plugging away at it, but will also enjoy the moment for it is all so brief and quickly forgotten.

At the moment I just cannot seem to get this song, Beautiful Haze, out of my head.