As August marches on, summer is holding tightly to her ownership of my corner of the earth for a bit longer. The days are ever so slowly growing shorter as the sunset is noticeably earlier every few days. The humidity is as thick as ever and the heat isn't willing to loosen its grip. But...there is this slight twinge in the air. A quiet whisper. And it tells me that autumn is on the way.
I've never been a huge fan of summer. And every year, around late July or so, I get what I call "autumn fever". I begin to crave the sights, smells, textures, tastes and sounds of autumn. Everything from warm sweaters, old sweatshirts, leggings and boots and handknit cowls to the crunch of leaves under my feet, pumpkins on front porch steps, and mugs of hot cider on chilly evenings. I long to see the leaves dancing in the street as they fall from the trees, creating a carpet of beauty on the once-green ground. Soups simmering all afternoon long and loaves of fresh bread coming straight from the oven...and my family and I not being able to wait long enough for it to cool down properly before we tear off a piece to taste. Autumn means finally being able to open my curtains all the way again after keeping them shut all summer to block out the intrusion of the sun's heat. Autumn evenings mean lit candles and dim lights and cozy blankets and curling up on the couch with a book or movie with my dearest ones.
And I've got autumn fever right now...and I've got it bad.
There is a slight telling in the air that autumn, she is indeed on her way. It's not something I can really explain, nor is it something that I provoke in any way. It always happens organically, all on its own. It's sort of like magic. I believe it is. There's just something about the air one morning...and then most mornings from then on until autumn's official arrival. I can almost taste it in the air...I can for sure smell it. Then, sometimes, just completely at random, it will unexpectedly happen again. Maybe I'm standing in the kitchen, and I can just smell autumn. Or I'm in my room folding laundry, and I can nearly feel it with my hands. Or I'm sitting with a book and I can practically taste it. Autumn, she sneaks up here and there, with the whispering promise that she is on her way.
These late summer days are filled with a beauty of their own, though. For whilst I am anticipating the arrival of crisp days, dancing leaves, front porch pumpkins and sweater and boot weather, there is still beauty to be appreciated and noticed. Summer, though certainly not my ideal time of year, is still pretty beautiful and magical.
The music of cicadas has been making its way through our windows and walls into our home each night. It is loud as all get out but about as summery as you can get. Trees are lushishly green and vibrant this time of year and green just does my soul good. The scent of freshly cut grass lingers in the air on Saturday afternoons into the late evening and it really should be bottled up. These are also the days of fresh fruit in abundance. Unfortunately, the watermelons this year have been less than delicious. We tried several earlier in the season, and they just had zero flavor. That was a real bummer because summer just equals watermelon in my book. But strawberries have been in abundance! So much so that one night I made us a divine treat of dark chocolate covered strawberries. They were absolutely heavenly. Usually, I use milk chocolate, but this time, I decided to give dark chocolate a try...and I'm glad I did! The sweetness of the strawberries really complimented the dark chocolate to perfection.
With the summer heat, we typically spend most of the time indoors. And that has opened the door to finding many new books to enjoy and honestly, devour! I've been reading like a crazy person these last few weeks and thankfully, have discovered some awesome new books to enjoy. (I'll share more about these in a future post.) I honestly got sidetracked from the reading challenge I came up with for myself and sort of went another way. But all's well. I'm reading and loving it again and finding so many new books that I am seriously enjoying.
Oh, and my mom, sister and I discovered a new show that we absolutely adore. So far we've only watched season one because that's all that's out so far, but we are anxiously awaiting season two. If you haven't watched The Hardy Boys on Hulu, you really should. It's slightly creepy and spooky, but only enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's a show that you seriously can't stop watching once you start! I have also spent the summer slowly watching all eight of the Harry Potter movies. I'm halfway through at this point, and loving them more than I even thought I would. There's so much to them and I love that...how I wish I could spend some time at Hogwarts! How fun would that be? Or live in the Weasley's home...seriously a dream!
So on that note, I shall return to my novel and whilst my heart dreams of dear old autumn, I will soak up these late summer days and enjoy their beauty. Because before we know it, the air will be crisp enough for sweaters and boots and porches will be covered in pumpkins...be still my heart!
What is filling your late summer days with delight? Do share below!