Taking check of things

For me, October is a time for pause. Not in a passive state, rather a state of reflection and expectation after the ' hurly- burly' of Summer. Wolfe's 'Autumn' poem expresses this well:

'Listen! the wind is rising,

And the air is wild with leaves,

We have had our summer evening,

now for October eves!'

And, in these 'October eves', we may ask ourselves, if we have learnt anything from our July and August experiences?

Well here, practically speaking, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the farmers check their fences and gates, practising maintenance rather than the vegetable garden plantings of September. The restaurants in the tiny villages retire to count their gains and now only open at the weekends. There's a general sense of sitting down to breathe. The author Sara Coleridge said:

'Fresh October brings the pheasant,

Then to gather nuts is pleasant.'

So, where does the 'expectation' arise? It arises naturally. After a good night's sleep, don´t we sally forth open the front door, make a cup of tea or coffee and perhaps feel the surge of the song: 'What will this new day bring?' And wait for new ideas to flow forth.