Autumn

Autumn is probably my favourite time of year.  Or at least early autumn (or the time summer moves into autumn), with its subtle changes: cooler, nippier mornings and clearer evenings.  It makes me think of conkers, early morning coffee in town, shared restaurant meals and stepping out into the night after a few beers, my breath misting up in front of my face.  Different parts of my (very limited) wardrobe get to make an occasional showing, with bobble-hats and fingerless gloves to the fore.  That'll be a little later on, as at the moment it's still pretty warm for September, and I'm knocking about in shorts and flip-flops.  I even got a little bit of sunburn down at the caravan last week, which was a huge surprise.  We sometimes go away this time of year as well, so I tend to get a bit twitchy for the The Balearics, but even a trip to warmer climes to prolong summer can't take the sparkle off of a good September in Wales.  

I think the word 'wistful' is the best way to sum up my feelings at this time of year.  There's something about it that makes me indulge in nostalgia and reminiscences.  

Something happened yesterday: we moved my wife's son (my stepson) down to Exeter where he'll be studying Mechanical Engineering for 4yrs.  It's been one hell of a wrench, surreal really, but it's done now.  The day was spent doing all the practical stuff, so the goodbye was a bit 'blink and you'll miss it,' but the drive home was exactly the sort of 'wistful' that I associate with this time of year.  Exeter to Cardiff ain't a bad drive, and the sun was setting over on our left for most of the trip.  The way we were feeling and the stuff we talked about just made it a day I'll never forget.  Interesting times ahead...

It's our anniversary next weekend as well.  2yrs married.  That's another reason for my love of autumn: we met on Mar 21st, spring equinox, and married on 21st Sept, autumn equinox.  There's a nice balance about that.  We'll be heading out west for the weekend, down at our getaway.  If the weather holds it's going to be magical.  

Anyway, chicken dinner time now.  I want this feeling to run and run.  In the meantime, here's another shot of my ongoing battle with a RT-era space marine.  Progress has been sluggish to say the least.  Still, Rome wasn't built in a day.