While we all love Christmas and we all love the lighter days of summer I think it is fair to say that we all have our own favourite times of year.
Mine absolutely is Autumn - Autumn baby you see so it has just stuck with me ever since.
It is that the days are bright and crisp, there is sunlight and warmth but not so much that you are sweltering (as a runner this is a thing, I am definitely a cold weather athlete).
Then as it gets dark it is perfectly acceptable to go to bed early if you are tired - don’t you feel like you are wasting the day if you hit the pillow during daylight?
Autumn also brings two of my most favourite things.
Firstly, the log burner. Mine is as old as the hills (bought it second hand from a Victorian cottage in Castleton with not a clue how long they had had it) but I love having a real fire and the smell of chimneys against the chilled dark sky.
Secondly, is the food that comes with this particular season.
Throughout summer, myself and Nicole longed for everything that comes with Autumn from berries to sloes, ingredients for home-made jams and chutneys and of course apples.
This year, helped by the dry and warm weather, has seen a bumper crop. Everyone I know that has an apple tree has been giving bag fulls of the round little favourites away.
For me, apple crumble with a touch of cinnamon is my first thought and one for a Sunday evening treat.
But, just in nature at this time of year we can find a varied and balanced natural diet and given the cost of food and living right now - perhaps this is something we should pay more attention to.
The UK also has to look at its own food production and rely less on imports. Farmers I know have been trying with this for years but it will take a few more for the infrastructures to be put in place for this to become the norm.
But we can try in our own little corners, whether that is planting our own tree to bear fruit in future or taking advantage of more seasonal and locally available produce.
Plant based diets are incredibly popular and bring a number of benefits.
There are the obvious benefits to eating vegetables and roots like carrots and onions and potatoes can be grown successfully at home.
Allotments may have waiting lists but perhaps a little corner of the garden or even a planter can be dedicated to the cause.
It was the norm in the post war years and it is easy in busy and stressful lifestyles, especially with supermarkets pushing convenient plastic-wrapped, fast food options to go for them, but, if possible, a bit of foraging and growing your own will allow for a better diet, encourage an outdoor lifestyle as well as easing the bank balance?
Comments