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Season of Change
September 3, 2011
It might officially be September but we are still very much living in the moment, in this glorious season of summer.
There are days hot enough for swimming at a friend's pool, or cooling off in a wilderness lake after a hot hike.
There's blueberries and beaches, the market stalls are bursting with tomatoes, finally.
In Lunenburg we walk around like tourists peeking in galleries, appreciating flowers, licking ice cream cones. It feels like summer.
But I can't ignore the evening whine of crickets, the earlier setting sun, the downright chill of the night air.
And like clockwork, the organizing bug has kicked in and compels me to get ready for a “new year”.
Along the road goldenrod and asters bloom yellow and purple. Fading green leaves rustle against crimson red, side by side.
A bounty of squash, juicy melons, and a rainbow of tomatoes are stacked next to crisp pears and apples at the market stalls.
We wear sweaters, then swimsuits, then sweaters again. We stack wood. Get ready for fall.
One season is passing into another. And for the next three weeks or so we’ll be living in this passing, this season of change called late summer.
Read Aloud for Late Summer
The kids and I read a book this summer that I wanted to recommend as a fall or late summer read aloud. The Fledgling, book four in the Hall Family Chronicles (I hadn’t realized there were others and we read the last one first!) is perfect for a late summer read.
"The Fledgling" is a sweet story about the fantasy world of children, of summer moving into fall, and of the changing seasons in a young girl's life. The setting in Concord, Massachusetts (with heavy references to Thoreau), along with the magic of nature and the overall mood of the book are absolutely perfect for September.
Without a doubt, September is a month of change, with a bit of magic - all those leaves starting to turn color. A month of new beginnings with a tinge of melancholy. Just like this book.
I feel the excitement of new beginnings and the heady homemaker's rush of "getting organized". I love these beautiful summer days with blue skies sans humidity.
But equally, I love the feel of my favorite handknit socks on my feet in the mornings and watching the colorful show called fall starting to unfold around me. And I am more keenly aware of the constant ache I carry in my heart watching my children grow, I swear inches before my very eyes.
Late summer feels like this. A bit of magic, a bit of melancholy.
What does this season of change feel like for you? Any good fall reads you'd recommend?
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Ellen on Sept. 3, 2011, 3:26 p.m.
So lovely Renee! I am so so so glad to have discovered your blog through Heather's class. I shared this post on Facebook - it's so beautifully written! Off to the Farmer's Market in my sweater!
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Julie on Sept. 3, 2011, 3:51 p.m.
Thanks for the book recommendations. I've been looking for a new book to read together with my boys. We just finished Pippi Longstocking and we all loved it (especially the version illustrated by Lauren Child). My boys also loved Stuart Litte which I think is a great late summer/early fall read!
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kimberly on Sept. 3, 2011, 4:24 p.m.
I always seem to reread all of Jane Austen in the early Autumn, and the Mitford series in the later Autumn.
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renee on Sept. 3, 2011, 4:38 p.m.
I loved the Mitford series! Those are perfect fall reads!
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Beth Wagenius on Sept. 3, 2011, 4:54 p.m.
Not sure if it's a fall read or not....but I'm just beginning "The Beach" by Mary Alice Monroe. It fits with the season here in the south anyway. This was such a lovely post! Just beautiful. I am looking forward to summer giving up and fall coming in. Anytime now!
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Ginger Allman on Sept. 3, 2011, 6:21 p.m.
Renee, your world is much like mine and yet so different. I laughed when I saw Laurent's shoes. Two of ours have been nagging Gary to make them new, tougher soles. We have suffered a beastly summer here...our flowers are all crispy and there is little good produce to be seen locally. I look at your lush pictures is makes me crave the fresh bounty of other years and places. Also, I love the way you paint a picture of the togetherness of your family. My older teens have moved on in their needs and we have a new "mode", yet my 12yo is constantly pulling us to be more "like a family". She would love living with you! You are so very blessed. Thank you for sharing it all with us. I love your posts and soak up every image you give us, both in words and pictures.
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se7en on Sept. 3, 2011, 8:49 p.m.
You guys look like you have had such a great Summer together!!! Beautiful photographs as usual!!! Love it!!!
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Bethany on Sept. 4, 2011, 1:10 a.m.
Thanks for putting into beautiful words the feeling I had today, I couldn't figure out where the melancholy came from. It must have been after picking up the last batch of roma tomatoes at the market today, and seeing the "last week!" sign next to them, that something in me crumpled just a wee bit. Magic and melancholy indeed. Thanks for a wonderful post!
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Sara S on Sept. 4, 2011, 12:16 p.m.
Our weather in Virginia is still hot, but I have been noticing the skys are getting dark earlier. I have been eyeing my Danskos...can't wait to slip them back on with warm socks. My flips are looking a big worn. They saw alot of miles this summer. My children and I are reading "A Wrinkle in Time".
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Nadine on Sept. 4, 2011, 2 p.m.
Yes the seasons are changing...last week we had days of 12 degrees....this weeks forecast is 29 by Wednesday!!!... Our Indian summer is here ...but with crisp, cool nights...
Falls in Alberta can be very quick and color less....not like the ones in Ontario ...I still miss those even tho I have been gone from out east since 1995...hoping fall brings us some colors in the mountains this year :)
Not doing much reading these days...we will be heading out to be beach instead :))
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debra on Sept. 5, 2011, 12:57 p.m.
We loved The Fledgling so much - we'll have to see if we can find the other books in the series. We listened to a book this summer that I think your family would love, called Rascal by Sterling North - a boy exploring nature with his buddy raccoon, taking place in Wisconsin during WW1. We also love Louise Erdrich's Birchbark House series, which takes place at Lake Superior...all good fall reads. Enjoy! I love this slide from summer into fall!
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Catherine Forest on Sept. 7, 2011, 2:12 a.m.
I am loving this season too! Especially this year since we are slowly preparing to leave for Costa Rica in November. I can appreciate fall without feeling anxious about long canadian winters! And I also feel much more relaxed since we decided to unschool the girls instead of Waldorf homeschool them from now on. It feels great!
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Dawn Suzette on Sept. 3, 2011, 10:14 a.m.
This is a wonderful post about the season transition... I am feeling a bit of urgency about this change. So much to do before winter sets in... Thanks for the book recommendation. I was just looking for something to read to the kids on our trip to Maine next weekend.
renee on Sept. 3, 2011, 12:20 p.m.
How old are your kids? If they are younger than 7/8 I would recommend Charlotte's Web as the perfect fall read aloud, especially for going to Maine! If you haven't already read it that is.