Top Ten Reasons Why I am Dreading the Approaching Autumn

Some of my favorite summer produce in its prime

1. The inevitable return to routine. Every home has one in the fall, be it structured around school, playgroups, extra curricular activities or social commitments. Somehow we have managed to drift through summer with no real commitments, no schedules and a delicious spontaneity from day to day, but that is soon coming to an end. The phrase “It’s a school night” starts popping up when we have friends over, usually when I am ready to start another round of Canasta or open a new bottle of wine. That sure gets annoying fast.

2. The arrival of Christmas paraphernalia at Costco. Oh, it’s there, all right. I now have to brace myself for the unavoidable onslaught of Christmas propaganda everywhere.

3. Noticing my garden shrivel up, fade away and go to seed before my very eyes. My parsley patch is three feet high and has flowers on it as if to say “I’ve produced enough, thank you, I am now going to flower and die.”

4.
The return to weekly music practices. Now while I do enjoy singing in a local church choir, I find September a tad early to begin rehearsing for the Christmas concert. Another four months of this and I’ll be able to perform sleepwalking. Wait a minute, I’ve been so tired lately from the pregnancy, sleepwalking isn’t far off.

5.
It’s the end of the feast of summer festivals in Montreal with nothing but famine ahead. The major festivities drift away with the last of the hot air balloons in Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, and not many others come up on my radar until the High Lights Festival in February.

6.
My birthday is in the fall and I am starting to dread getting a year older now that I am reaching the end of my ‘tweens’.

7. The closing of La Ronde. I’m an adrenaline junkie, and even though I can’t go on the rides now that I am pregnant, there is something about seeing the motionless amusement park as I drive over the Jacques Cartier Bridge that seems to signal the end of summer fun.

8. The return of hockey. Now, I have to be very careful what I say here as certain members of my household are avid Habs fans. It’s not that I have anything against hockey, it’s just that perhaps there are some Saturday nights from October through May that I might want to do something other than watch the game, have a one-sided conversation with my husband, or receive a highly-distracted and sporadic back rub.

9. Need I mention approaching cool weather? As I write, I am wearing pants, a sweater, socks, and have a blanket on my lap and I am thinking the pretty sun dress I was planning to wear to tomorrow’s BBQ just isn’t going to be warm enough. The evenings are getting chillier and it’s not hard to imagine the eminent arrival of snow.

10. Probably the thing I dread most about the coming autumn is saying goodbye to gorgeous summer produce; watching the baskets of sweet strawberries get replaced by giant heads of cabbage and leeks the size of my arm. Then there are those annoying people who are falling over themselves to go apple picking as if they haven’t eaten an apple all year long. Although there are days when I can muster it, it’s hard to get excited about the arrival of the common apple in the fall, while all summer I have kept no less than ten kinds of fresh fruit and berries in my fridge and now have to say au revoir to the likes of watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, honeydew and so on…Goodbye, that is, if I keep any sort of grocery budget and I have any sort of palate as the prices jump and the flavor plummets come Labor Day weekend. Sure I love the fall vegetable line-up as much as then next chef, but when my local market is selling 10 lbs of beets for $2.99 and asparagus for $4.99/lb, it’s no secret that the fall veggies just aren’t as glamorous as the summer varieties. And who doesn’t love glam?!

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11 Comments

  1. I’ll go along with many of your dreads, especially the sundress one (mine are already packed away). But I’m an apple junkie. Especially the slightly tart cortland ones that grow best in your back yard and taste so-oh-oh good in the fall. Thanks for the pictures – I didn’t want to swear too much – but I’m just waiting for your next apple blog.

  2. You know, Aimee…I was really looking forward to autumn, until I read your 10 reasons to dread its arrival! 🙂 In all seriousness though, I am so tired of the Georgia heat that the cooler weather part is something I’m longing for. But the “one year older” in September, I could do without…and the end of pretty, seasonal berries, and…well, yes, I have to admit, you make some really good points with that list! 🙂

  3. I for one have to agree with Zaak, I am a big fan of the humble apple, that being said I must admit to crying a little as I watch my fresh herbs shrivel and die in the flower bed.

  4. Oh dear Aimee, you are starting to sound like me the last few months. I wonder if you will hate to visit my blog when I start to write about how wonderful summer is in a few month’s time? I’ve learnt some interesting things about you – like singing in the choir. So when if your birthday???

  5. Everyone has the seasons that they love. I think yours is summer!!! My favourite is fall (don’t throw things please) Wink…wink…. I could come up with 10 things that I love about fall…the biggest one would be getting out and going hiking again because it is too darn hot in the summer. In the summer I laze around at the beach and read (not such a bad activity mind you)….but good thing I eat a lot of salads.

  6. Hi Zaak- I am planning an apple tasting/orchard hop for the fall. May as well make the most of it, eh? Stay tuned.

    Hi Belinda- So sorry to squash your excitement! I am sure that if I lived in the deep south I would look forward to the cooler weather as well.As far as those birthdays go, well they just can’t be helped, right?

    Hi mlindley- Where are you reading from? Do you have a short growing season?

    Hi Nora- Of course I will still drop by your blog! I’ll be experiencing summer vicariously through it. My birthday was Monday (August 20)

    Hi Valli- Oh, I enjoy fall as well. Once I have relinquished hold of summer, I throw on a bulky sweater, plant some garlic for the spring, and start planning my Christmas baking.
    PS- I’d love to see your top ten reasons why you love fall. An upcoming post, perhaps?

  7. Thanks for that Kevin, but I am speaking in hobbit terms, of course. Same goes for any references to ‘elevensies’ or ‘second breakfast’.