Entering Autumn and Embracing Transition
The shifting days we are entering teach us just how beautiful it is to transition
Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn. If we think about the year in relation to our day, Autumn is the space we spend between 4-8 PM daily. It is when we end the hard work, transition from work day to family, and have quiet time in preparation for rest. This can be when we find ourselves enjoying a meal, putting children to sleep, gathering around a table, reflecting on the day, putting our feet up, and cleaning up the signs of the day. These are the same things we do throughout Autumn. We gather together in gratitude and reflection. We prepare our homes and gardens to rest. We watch as the world around us celebrates and let go of the year. It is beautiful, nostalgic, and tragic, all in the same breath. It is simply a gift that nature shows us how to make the grand transition gracefully from summer’s abundance to winter’s time of dormancy and rest.
We will spend the coming months watching nature put itself to bed. The trees will shift their energy and reveal their colors. Turbulent storms will blow in and bring the cold days while sweeping away the colors of the trees. The leaves that gave life to the trees’ growth will fade onto the forest floor and build new life all around as the snow falls and our gardens fade with the freezing temps. There will be a transition from green to golden hues and finally to the snowfall. We will celebrate major holidays and times of togetherness before heading into the time we will rest.
Understanding this connection is key to realizing that Autumn gives us a playbook of letting go, moving into something new, and understanding that transition is beautiful and challenging.
All Autumn, I will share this weekly newsletter to keep you in a direction to see the rhythms of nature and how they can guide us through various moments in life. I will help you pay closer attention to help guide you in mimicking these lessons in your life.
If you are a paid subscriber, you will get a deeper dive through events, chats with me, guides, and far more this season. I cannot wait to help you navigate this grand transition and how it can teach us about making big and little moves in life, whether from one time of our day to another or shifting our careers. I will help you hear and apply nature's answers and guidance.
September 22nd Reflection - There Is A World In Between
*** These reflections are intended to help you see the truth from the land that I am hearing on my time throughout the week, spending time with it. Longer-form essays have moved to paid subscriptions on Wednesdays ***
Only now can I see the tinge of orange on the tips of the trees. There is always the one tree that jumps ahead and shifts before the rest, but it is now that the others begin to follow suit. Standing amongst the oaks and hearing the acorns drop, I track the fluffy tails of the squirrels as they scurry to find their food for winter. The air is warm, and the sun is at its peak in mid-day, making me sweat and forget that only hours before, in the morning, I could see puffs of my breath form in the cool air beside the foggy lake.
The tinge of color doesn’t feel like anything to write about really when I first see it. I don’t even initially think to pull my phone out to capture it. Instead, I just listen for a bit. Then I shifted my thoughts back to the color, and I realized only a few weeks ago, this color wasn’t there. All these weeks of me shifting my life and transitioning my kids into school, the trees, too, have been shifting silently and quietly. They remind me of how much work goes into making a big change. How often we want to share the beginning and end or before and after, but this misses the transition. The part that is messy, quiet, usually unseen, and not the thing that is celebrated. Yet, most of our time isn’t at the beginning or end but in the transition that helps us get from one beginning to another.
I sat and thought about my transition from running Fresh Exchange for 13 years to starting this substack and letting Fresh Exchange and all I have built downshift into my roots of what built me, just like the trees do with their energy. I feel I resonate with them. Every word I write here feels like a new color revealed. It all feels deeply personal, exciting, and like I am revealing my color and shape of who I am in a new way.
Feeling this connection to the shifting trees, reminded me of the importance of celebrating the transition, the quiet ways things change, and the work it takes. That even if the before and after are worthy of their own space, so is the time we spend moving from one thing to another. So, I plan to sit with the trees and watch them closely and intently in their transition, letting them remind me how to transition with gentleness. One day, our after will be its own celebration, but it will also open the door to let go of the old to begin again.
If you loved the above reflection and prompt and want to hear more about shifting from teaching gardening to helping you navigate a deeper connection to self and nature, you can check out the above podcast.
Every week, I will share a way to pay attention and be mindful of our season so we can practice key lessons that nature has to teach us through these months.
A Few Natural Routines for Autumn
Just like summer leaned to certain routines in our lifestyle, Autumn and every other season has their own. Today, I will share three that I think are easy to shift no matter where you live that honor the rhythm of transition.
Eating Locally: No matter where you live, this is a time of abundance in the northern hemisphere. This is the time we set into motion during Spring when we emerged and began the fields of food. Now everything is here, and we can note from the animals that savoring is best done this season. There is something life-giving: spending time looking local for your food, and no time is easier between the beginning of fall and the end. If you ever wanted to practice this, it is easiest right now.
Morning Walks: Walks have always been a part of our lives, but with the days shifting, our walks no longer feel as natural in the evening. The change of schedule and light makes the mornings feel magical, and what a gift it is to experience morning walks since this reminds us of the emergence of spring, which we will experience in just six months. Also, getting your body in the motion of outdoor time in cooler weather is best started now. This practice won’t be as easy in winter, but it is actually the most necessary. This also gives you an easy reference point as things change daily around you on your walks, whether in a city or wild places.
Shift textures that you experience in life: This doesn’t mean redecorate. This means to shift the textures around you. Maybe your cool weather bedding is aired out in prep for the colder nights and first frost. Maybe your first few lighter sweaters begin to emerge from your closet. Shifting the things around us to meet the season's needs is a simple and natural way to allow ourselves to feel the transition around us. It is a wonderful time to clear and clean out spaces that have also lacked love. Shifting counter space is similar to the trees shedding leaves :)
This is where I share a few things that have been top of mind this week for me, from what I am reading, enjoying, doing, etc.
Reading: I just finished reading the Wildwood book series by Colin Meloy (The Decemberists). It is a Young Adult book series, but I was completely riveted, just like I have been in the past with the Harry Potter series. If you love a good adventure about nature, strong woman lead, the Pacific Northwest, and animals that talk this great and wild adventure had me on my seat the whole time. All I will say is prepare never to see Ivy climbing the same way again.
Listening: This past week, one of my followers on Instagram shared with me this podcast episode from my favorite podcast On Being with Krista Tippett. It was about Biomimicry and the woman who coined the term and approach to design, engineering, and more. It put words to how I use the seasons and nature to understand life as a human. It is a wonderful and easy listen.
Eyeing: Once the weather begins to turn, all I can think about are my wool clogs. I have a pair of Stegmann clogs and LOVE them. These are the ones I would suggest if you are looking for a pair. These are my go-to shoes outside of my Blundstone boots and hiking/trail shoes. I am a simple woman. What can I say?
Doing: Too much hahaha. I find that September is a time of a LOT of things. Birthday parties, school starts, holding summer and shifting things for Autumn simultaneously, soaking in outdoor events without fear of the dramatic change in weather. So many things. The garden is a huge part of that. Every day, I gather more tomatoes and fresh herbs, and it feels like sometimes life out there is just getting going even though I can see everything fading. This means my days are fuller than I would like right now. In fact, today is probably the busiest day I have had this year. PHEW! All of it is good, but even abundant good can feel heavy and complicated.
Paying Attention To: The birds. They have shifted dramatically in the last few weeks. I use the Merling Bird ID app, and I highly suggest it. Why is this important? The birds migrate between the end of August and November, which tells us about the impending weather changes. I notice that the leaving of certain birds happens just 6-8 weeks before the first snow. I find it as a teller of time and season. Plus, why not start your morning running the Sound ID to learn who keeps you company with your coffee?
Every season, I create a playlist on my Spotify. This one is fall, and I took the nostalgic tone here. A little more pop forward this year, but if you want any of my other fall playlists, you can find 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 all here.
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The biggest thing I've noticed during my walks in the morning is the lack of birds, I can hear the occasional chirp but mostly crows and the squirrels. I thought it was maybe because the sun was coming up later so the birds would start later as well and I just missed them. But this weekend I went later in the morning and it was just as quiet. The small birds are closer to the sides of the road and they even make me jump sometimes.
I love my morning walks, wearing my tuque and walking fast to keep the heat. The warm afternoons can easily fool you into thinking it's still summer but the cold mornings keep reminding me and also most of the leaves have changed colors now and some trees are already bare.