Five Things I'm Loving this September

 

In the summer you want fresh, light and sort of quick things; in winter you want things that are comforting, so your body really tells you you want to go towards potatoes, apple, fennel, things that are warm and comforting. 

Ina Garten

1. Nothing says Autumn like the first bite of a crunchy fresh apple. Our own apple trees bore abundantly last year, and sparsely this year. No matter. We've been gifted apples from friends, and the market is full of apples of multiple varieties. I most like sweet Honey Crisp and tart Granny Smith apples, with lots of juicy crunch. An apple, quartered and cored, on a plate, makes for a satisfying afternoon snack. Our trees did supply enough to make 11 pints of applesauce, delicious with yogurt, pork roasts, and sausages. Apples are so versatile - apple pie, apple cake, apple crumble - oh, so good to eat. And the fragrance while baking fills the house with comfort. My mouth is watering even as I imagine these delectable goodies. 

The leaves are changing:

I feel poetry in the air.

Laura Jaworski

2. There is some colour showing up on the trees here, but the photo above, taken last year on our trip across Canada, reminds me of the brilliant colour in the temperate forest in Quebec and Ontario. Our leaves are more muted in comparison, with more gold than red. I love a windy day when leaves fly about the streets and gardens. There are still a few weeks to go until we see that here, but I'm anticipating the delight. 

Meanwhile, purple wild asters bloom in the woods, and pale cyclamen glow alongside the path I often walk. 

3. The pantry shelves in the basement are fuller this year than they have been for a few years. Several types of jam, applesauce, and salsa line up like jewels. In the freezer are a year's worth of blueberries, raspberries, and green beans. Preserving food for the winter is not a necessity as it was in the past, but I still enjoy making a few things when fresh produce is in season. I have a lovely crop of beets in the garden, but they can stay there throughout the winter. I pull them as needed. 

Sense of beauty is the gift of God, 

for which those who have received it in good measure,

can never be thankful enough.

Gertrude Jekyll

4. I've been cutting flowers with abandon, filling vases with hydrangeas, dahlias, rudbeckia, feverfew, zinnias, and roses. I know that once the first frost comes this abundance will disappear, so best to enjoy it while we can. The roses seem to lose their petals more quickly now than in the early summer, and each morning I collect a few soft petals from beneath the drooping stems. I take long sniffs of their sweetness knowing that I'll not smell their heady fragrance for long months ahead.

 

There ain't nothing in life better than true love

and a home-grown tomato.

An old saying

5. Tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, and oh, so full of flavour. Nothing can compare to a vine-ripened, sun-warmed tomato. Every day or two I pick another few of them. Simply sliced, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a scattering of fresh basil - it's a dish fit for a king. 

And there they are - five things I'm loving this September. How about you? What do you find to admire about this month? 

Wishing you a lovely weekend filled with the delights of a changing season, be it autumn or spring, depending upon where you live.