R Is For Rotting

Of course, a lot of you are probably thinking I'm going to start yammering on about hacked off body parts and gooey gashes, and I might. But when I selected 'rotting' for the subject, I was actually thinking off the change in season, not gory slasher flicks or reanimated corpses. 

Everything on the forest floor is turning to rot and the scent of decaying undergrowth is present. The earth is squishy beneath your feet. Every step you take there is a squish and, when you take another, a squash. Mud takes over. The grass is drowned in the autumnal showers. Plants, flowers, leaves and trees wither, their branches droop, the buds and petals fall to the ground, and start to disappear, desperate to avoid the long winter months. 

They say spring and summer are the most colourful, and that might be true, but Autumn is gorgeous, even with the vast amount of decomposition. The oranges and yellows, browns and greens, reds and purples. And, yes, it rains more than a widow cries, but when the sun shines through, it illuminates nature, setting fire to it and capturing the spark of the season. 

And the skeletal leaves are amazing. Have you ever seen one? A rotting, ageing leaf? The flesh dropping away exposing only the veins. They litter the ground, shadows of their former selves, and are macabre and beautiful. It truly is breathtakingly gorgeous. 

The sights of summer rotting and falling away are one thing, but the smells are another. In a vlog I posted about a month ago, I commented on how I could smell fall. It was only a hint, but I picked up on it, and in less than a week the leaves and air had shifted. Summer was moving to the side and Autumn was storming in, unpacking its bags and making itself cosy for the next couple months. It's the shift in season that I smelled, but as it grows stronger, it's rotting. Not of flesh. As we all know, that is a stench one can't get rid of. Or maybe we all don't know that. 

No, the scent is of rotting leaves, fungi, branches, bark, and everything else that falls away. 

This is a depressing time for people. To see everything shift and change. The warmth drifts away. Cold storms in. Colours shift from vibrant colours to browns and blacks. Our tans fade. And we start worrying about Christmas. But it doesn't depress me. Not the rain. Or the death of the foliage around me. It's actually invigorating. 

And just think about how lovely the spring will be when it arrives and the buds of life start peaking out from beneath the layer of cobweb leaves. 

Just for the record, it was really hard not to talk about flesh bits dropping off bone, but I decided to save that for the letter 'Z'. I know you're all waiting for that with your breath held in anticipation. 

F Is For Fall

One cannot select October as a subject without touching on the Fall. I would have wrote a posting about Autumn, but I didn't think of it. Thankfully, this is the only season that actually has two names. While summer and spring certainly have a place in my heart, I am head-over-heels in love with the Fall.  

I cannot pinpoint a reason as to why this is. 

For one, I adore watching the trees change. Whenever I see the green turn red and orange, when gold paints the horizon, I'm filled with joy. A bite is added to the air, and a crispness that tickles your nose and a freshness that gets caught in your hair. Wind rustles dried leaves at night. The nights become longer, and somehow darker. In comes the chill and out come the scarves, toques, mittens and sweatshirts. 

No longer can you wear dresses without tights underneath. The summer clothes are put to the backs of closets and jeans, boots, and jackets are brought out. 

We may be preparing for Winter, but the month of October is still blessed with nice weather. Even as the wind whips through the trees and leaves, we are still warmed by the rays of the sun.

And the rain comes. It's a different sort of rain from the summer months. Coming in from the side, it taps against the windowpane, playing a tune I'd almost forgotten existed. With the arrival of October, and this most beloved season, we pull out blankets to bundle up in and the drop in temperature at night promotes more cuddling. 

The first tip off to Falls arrival is the scent which comes in on the breeze. I detect it long before most people. I'll stop, take a deep breath, close my eyes and say, "Fall is coming." Most people scoff or think me insane, because I usually say this in the middle of September when the heat feels as though it is going to last forever. But not even a week later leaves begin to fall from the trees and the night air has a nip to it. And the scent I know so well is equal parts fire and earth, wind and rain. It is the scent of my favourite childhood memories. 

It is Halloween. 

Everything changes. I cannot think of another season that is so drastic and swift.  The trees turn bare, flowers wilt and fade, and some people look at is as though everything is dying, but I don't. I think of it as the world winding down, in need of sleep, in order to rejuvenate. Everything just slows down, becomes easier, and we relax into an softer pace. 

October is golden. Fall is home. It fills my heart with a warmth I cannot express in words, but which leaves me contented. And happy.