October sunshine and all that . . .

Today, for the third day in a row, the sun is shining, making everyone feel better than they did when the skies were leaden with rain clouds. There's something magical about the countryside and open spaces on a sunny autumn day with the sun shining down and yet still an autumnal nip in the air; not so much cold as fresh.  


This is the weather to go  walking, whether along country lanes or up in the mountains, on your own or in a group. My own preference is to either be on my own or with one companion, as I like to soak up the beauty of my surroundings, perhaps later using all that I've seen and experienced in my writing.


Of course, I've often mentioned before that the Autumn is perhaps my favourite time of the year, especially with the amazing colours that assault the senses wherever your eyes happen to light upon. The golds and browns that are so rich and so varied, and also the amazing range of reds that have the ability to enrich your soul. 


Autumn is an in-between time. A time when the labours of summer --- the crops from garden and field --- are brought into churches to give thanks at the Harvest Festival Services that abound, particularly in the early part of October. The displays have a pungent beauty of their own, the delicious odour of apples mingling with the heady floral scents, all combining to create an overall autumnal perfume that has the evocative power to bring back memorable moments from years ago.