Seasons of Rosie: September

‘Summer is fading:
The leaves fall in ones and twos’ – Philip Larkin, ‘Afternoons’.

September is my favourite month of all. I might be biased as it’s the month that contains our anniversary  and my birthday, but something about this transitional month never fails to capture my imagination. You get the best of both worlds: golden sunshine, crisp mornings, leaves turning and evenings creeping shorter but still long enough to enjoy time outside. It’s back to school time (though we’ve been back for a fortnight here in Scotland) and always feels so much more like new year to me than January ever does: an opportunity for fresh starts, new stationery and getting organised for the season ahead. Here are a few ideas for things to make, do and celebrate this September.

Enjoy the last days of Summer
We’re forecast some beautiful weather this weekend, so get outside and enjoy Summer’s last heady, golden days with a picnic, barbecue or just a walk in the sunshine. My walk to work is now something to relish on crisp sunny mornings, and yesterday – meteorological Autumn on 1st September – we enjoyed a leisurely walk home by the canal, which was bathed in golden early evening light and flanked by trees just starting to turn.

Forage, forage, forage!

September is foraging gold, with wild food in abundance and ripe for the picking. It’s not Autumn yet if you haven’t been blackberry picking, and the elderberries are at their peak too. Make a day of it: pack a flask and a picnic of fresh bread for foraging fuel then fill your basket with as many forageables as you can find. Spend the afternoon in the kitchen with simmering pots and pans – your house will smell like Autumn in an instant.

Prepare for Autumn:

Whether it’s organising new projects (I find a shiny new notebook always helps), having a clear out of Summer clothes, breaking in new shoes (Boden’s new season shoes are simply delectable), freshening up blankets or washing the knitwear in Woolite, embrace the back to school feeling and get sorted for the season ahead. Get back into good sleep routines and healthy habits – I’m relishing a new book (Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar) and listening to Women’s Hour at bedtime. Good for the soul.

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox:

The arrival of Autumn proper is heralded by the Autumn Equinox on 22nd September this year. A great excuse to decorate the house with pretty seasonal gatherings – conkers, changing leaves, acorns and dried hydrangeas. Why not host a themed dinner party and get everyone to bring a pot of something seasonal? Some of my favourites are in season just now, such as corn on the cob – delicious charred under the grill.

Adventure in the heather:

The heather is in full bloom here, with the hillsides covered in a haze of beautiful purple. It was particularly stunning on our journey through the Highlands to Skye (more on that soon – see some preview snaps on my Everything Looks Rosie Instagram).  I love how the hills and moors fill with the stoic blooms as Summer slips into Autumn. Take the opportunity to walk in the purple-tinged countryside this month before they fade into the other Autumn colours (no bad thing too).

What do you make and do in September? All images by me – Everything Looks Rosie Instagram.

Loafers c/o Boden but love of shiny shoes all my own!