JOURNAL #8 – AUTUM ADVENTURES IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS
This year the Autumnal Equinox falls on the 22nd September when our nights start to become longer than our days. The temperature starts to drop and the air becomes crisper, especially in the mornings.
Here in Chew Valley the leaves are starting to change colour and fall from the trees. To me it is a wonderful time of year if you are willing to make the most of living with the seasons. Here are my three reasons why I think Autumn is so great.
My morning coffee outdoors
Grab a coffee and go for a walk to through the rustling leaves and you can smell the change of season in the air. If you have time, the National Trust have a list of autumn walks for you to explore. For those having a busy day try to take just ten minutes, put on our thermal microfleece t-shirt to keep warm and go sit outside. You may get lucky and be able to watch the squirrels hastily racing about collecting their winter food stash.
The best of British food
Our vegetable garden is coming to an end and we just have a few sweetcorn left that are almost ripe, along with the last of the beetroot ready to harvest. And while salads are great, as the temperature drops warmer food beckons. We think that this might actually be the best season for British produce. Not only blackberries and sloes from the hedgerows, but fantastic game food along with clams, native oysters and mackerel from the sea. London’s Borough Market (one of my favourite places in London) have some fantastic autumnal recipes to try or make sure your next hike finishes at a pub that changes its menu with the seasons.
Cosy outdoor fires
Now that it is getting darker earlier in the evening, but we still do not have arctic temperatures, make the most of your firepit and spend the evening outdoors. There is nothing better than wrapping up in warm outdoor clothes, sitting by a cosy fire and making the most of those starry nights.
An outdoor lifestyle is not restricted to just the warmer months. For us this is the reason we made the move to the countryside and as we said in our first journal back in autumn last year “moving seamlessly between inside and out” as we go through each day.
September 2021