Well, it’s official, we are now well into September and Autumn has well and truly arrived. There’s lots I love about autumn but if I’m honest there are some things I don’t love about it too.
What I love
Every outing can turn into a nature trail
Monkey is constantly on the hunt for acorns at the moment and I have had to explain it is still a bit early for conkers. In addition to the usual sticks that come home with us even after the shortest walk, we now have leaves and acorns and all sorts of other bits entering the house on a daily basis. Hubs is less than impressed by this haha.
Blackberry picking!
We have already been blackberry picking 5 times locally and once when visiting Auntie mags. We’ve had 3 blackberry crumbles already and a freezer filled with blackberries. Always great fun foraging with the kiddies and yummy free food afterwards, win win!
Crisp air and sunny skies
I’ve always loved a fresh autumn day and though we aren’t quite there yet this year I am looking forward to those crisp mornings.
Puddle jumping
While I don’t exactly love the rain that autumn can bring, the kids do adore puddle splashing and we’ll I adore their happy faces. Thank goodness for waterproofs is all I can say!
Kicking up leaves
Always one of the best autumn activities and I am looking forward to kicking the leaves with both kiddies this year, especially LM as she is older and I think will appreciate it more this year.
What I don’t love
Big horrible spiders
Yes at this time of year the big beasties find their way inside. We’ve actually been really lucky since moving in here and haven’t had many… But already 2 this year so our luck ha changed. I’m less terrified of them than I used to be and really try and put a brave face on for the kids, but in truth they still scare the bejeesus out of me and make me feel quite nauseous. Eurgh definitely not something I like about this time of year.
A big beastie running across the floor the other night
Getting darker in the day
We often get out in the late afternoon with the kids and have lovely evening walks in the summer so I’m not looking forward to the darker evenings. Especially not in winter when it is dark around 4pm! Just not the same being outside in the dark. Also, since becoming a runner this will really test me, not so nice running through the local woods in the dark is it? So I guess I will be pounding pavements with street lighting instead through the winter!
Germs
With colder weather inevitably come germs too. One of my friends’ little boy has already come down with croup this year and I so hope neither of ours get it again this year! Absolutely terrifying when your little one is struggling to breathe in the early hours and just hope we are luckier this year! Even without croup though we are bound to get a heck of a lot of germs, especially with Monkey starting school. The coughing through the night and covering everyone with menthol rub and just generally feeling rubbish while trying to parent a poorly and ratty child. Yeah not looking forward to that aspect of the next few months.
We’ve had a really wonderful summer this year, so full of smiles. While there are definitely downsides to the colder months so far we are having a fun autumn (it helps that the weather has still been really good, on the whole) and will no doubt have tonnes of fun over the rest of autumn and winter. I just hope we aren’t too unlucky with all the germs this year!
What do you love and loathe about autumn? What’s your favourite time of year?
I see people talking about blackberry picking everywhere. I must try! I am like you and hate spiders. Good luck with them… #TwinklyTuesday
I love autumn too, always a shame to see the sunny days disappear but it’s somehow less annoying when it rains when it’s supposed to instead of the middle of August!! Lovely pics too 🙂
Autumn is my second favourite season after summer. I love the trees turning golden and always love a trip to the Lakes at this time of year because it’s so spectacular. Your crumble looks yummy, I made an apple crumble at the weekend with apples from our tree 🙂 Tor xx
Did Peppa Pig get her idea for jumping in muddy puddles from your two or vice versa? 🙂 That spider pic has just freaked me out a bit! I’ve been noticing webs everywhere lately and I managed to walk right through the middle of one with a spider in it earlier. The creepiest thing is when you go to try and catch them or move them on and then they just disappear and you know they are lurking somewhere! We’ve done a bit of random blackberry picking too and our new house has a blackberry bush growing in the garden so that’s been fun. Today was so hot and sunny (13th September – 32 degrees according to my car) that it’s hard to think of Autumn now. I do like it when the temperatures go back to that lovely 23 ish and you can still spend time outside. I look forward to crisp mornings, and all the October fun with falling leaves and pumpkin carving and welly boot walks. Can definitely be a lovely time of year. Thanks for linking up to #thetruthabout again Caroline X
I have to admit that I’m a huge summer lover, so I’m always a bit sad when autumn comes around. But there’s lots to love – we’ve already had our first crumble, our neighbour has a huge apple tree so we get lots of apples! And I’m looking forward to getting out there for some blackberry picking and conker hunting, and just stomping through the leaves! #WhatevertheWeather
Oh my goodness you’ve already done so many autumnal things. I’m just getting my head around the fact we’ll soon be putting away our summer tshirts and hoping we’ve enough warm jumpers to cover everyone.#TwinklyTuesday
I loathe all the Xmas adverts and the I wants from my boys! #thetruthabout
It starts earlier and earlier every year doesn’t it? Living in the states, I just saw an Xmas tree that had Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas ornaments on it….
Love this post! Nothing better than puddle jumping. When I was pregnant with my son the best tip I was given was to never throw away a stick that is collected and to get a stick bucket! Never realised how many sticks and stones my son would collect and now my daughter does too!
#Whatevertheweather
I totally agree with all the love and hate of autumn, though overall I do really like autumn and the fresh days and beautiful colours. #Whatevertheweather
I love this time of year for the trees, crisp air and excitement for Halloween etc. However, I hate Daddy Long Legs!!! They keep appearing and I get all scared. You sound like you have done so much autumnal stuff already. Hope the germs don’t get you. Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x
Autumn is our favorite time of year. I love that it is getting cooler, a little darker but still sunny and the rains haven’t started….#whatevertheweather
Nah, still very much summer here! Although this evening’s thunderstorm was epic.
I know what you mean about the sudden darker evenings though. At this time of year it feels like one week we are enjoying long summer evenings and then all of a sudden we’re complaining about how early it’s getting dark. Still, the mince pies are in the shops so it must be nearly Xmas …
I have to agree with you on all of these. I love the changing colours of Autumn and walking through crunchy leaves. But I hate it once the leaves turns to soggy mulch, they stick to everything, especially the pushchair wheels.
#Whatevertheweather #TwinklyTuesday #bestandworst
I love autumn, think it’s my favourite season, love the crispness of the air and the colours. Could do without the dark nights though! #whatevertheweather
Your little monkeys have grown so much! Loved this post. I tend to focus on the negatives when Autumn shows its head, but I should be more like you, looking at the positives too. There is so much fun to be had with leaves (crafts, throwing them around, looking at them turning red, orange, yellow) and the sky is beautiful in autumn. Must stop worrying about the dark evenings (hate them!). xx #TheTruthAbout
We’re loving autumn too, the acorns are on our nature tray, along with some dried out oak leaves and spiders crawling over the floor! Ha ha! We’ve actually had some pretty ok weather so far this autumn, but I think that’s about to change tomorrow, but we could do with some puddle jumping anyhow! Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x
Oh another Peterborough Mummy!! Hi!
We love the leaf kicking and puddle splashing but you’re right, those spiders… Nope, no thank you. #NotWelcome! As for the germs! I’ve had both kids with who knows what lately passing it back and forwards.
Thanks for linking up with the first #MBFSL
I love Autumn! Such a great season. Love all the outdoorsy things we can enjoy and the crisp mornings like you say! But the spiders…no thanks! #mbfsl
not a fan of these chilly mornings. Makes getting out of bed for the school run that much harder! #MBFSL
I love autumn so much! I love the cooler weather and the fact that it is almost dark when we come back from an afternoon walk! But yes we have had a lot of spiders (thankfully only those little teeny skinny ones). #MBFSL