What is the best thing about an English summer? Autumn.
It's reliable and it's never disappointing. If it's warm and sunny, it's a giant bonus and the turning leaves treat us to a glimpse of what is must be like to live in New York State. If it's unseasonably chilly, we get to reclaim all those cosy jumpers from the back of the wardrobe. If it's just right, we get oiled up for the years best television shows. Not that we are short of those these days. Autumn brings with it my favourite US import - Halloween, pronounced Hallo over here and Hullo over there. It has Guy Fawkes, the Lord Mayor's Fireworks display and Diwali. The night sky bursts with fireworks and the pavements fill with piles of leaves, as the trees shed them one by one until Christmas.
Autumn is time to start to put the garden 'to bed', as Monty Don might say. Once you've planted your daffodils, tulips and other favourite spring bulbs, you've swept up all that's been shed and maybe given the lawn one last minute trim, lobbed on the mulch and packed away the garden furniture. It is time to move back inside.
I love a wood burning stove, and have suitable, legal timber drying each year to fire it up. Only on special occasions mind you. I don't want any one supergluing themselves to my chimney or driveway entrance. This year with gas prices threatening to send us to the poor house, I am looking forward to wearing the thick jumper I bought in Scotland a couple of years ago. It's just as you might imagine, knitted and cabled and too warm to wear south of the border, unless the heating is off. It might be a good test to see if we can manage without the central heating, for when the gas finally runs out! Again, to avoid super glue, my loft is insulated.
I will be doing my annual inspection of the window seals and a final hedge trim for the year. I love the way the light changes as we move to winter. It gets darker 2 minutes earlier every day until the winter solstice. In autumn its still charming. By Christmas it's unbearable. It's a great time to visit Kew Gardens, or any good park really. Watching squirrels dashing about storing food for the months to come. Watching the children running into the fallen foliage or the dogs collecting mud in their paws with happy smiles on their faces. The coffee shops compete for the most calorific spiced latte and the chestnuts roast on Oxford street.
There is also something else that happens in Autumn. People try to move before Christmas, so its a great time to sell a property. Having that end of year goal helps to shift things along.
If you need help with anything property related you know where to find us.
Just look for a big woolly jumper and a garden rake.
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