…the warm, beautiful, Autumn days we used to call “Indian Summer”? Inevitably the Woke want to change it. I’ve read “Badger Summer“, but we don’t have badgers in the New World. I know that because we had to make do with the groundhog for Imbolc, the weather forecasting day on Feb 2. But we wouldn’t wanna have both Groundhog Day AND Groundhog Summer. “Quince Summer?” Why? That still seems more Olde England than American.
I think the phrase “Indian Summer “ is beautiful, the sequence of the stressed vowels Is musical and harmonious. But that of course counts for nothing in our present atmosphere.
Whatever we call such halcyon days, what I want to tell you is : today was one such.
76 degrees in the sun. I put on shorts, sandals, a tank top again (and it has been very cold here, many hard frosts since Mid -September.): The canopy of leaves is down now. But within the forest the sappers and young trees are still brilliant, the barberry bushes a day-glo orange, blueberry bushes a purplish red. O and the tamaracks: they’re the last to turn color. This morning they were a bright gold; I could swear it happened overnight.
Caledonia Alba ( she’s my dog, yclept Cal) and I went out on the lake in our paddle boat. ( I need her to balance out my weight on the other side.) It was breezy. The sun on the rippling water was like a thousand tiny nova stars. The lake is ringed with the dark pines, the red bushes, the yellow- leafed small beeches. Cal uncharacteristically sat as still as a figurehead, or as a sailor intently scanning the horizon for approaching friend or foe, leaning slightly forward into the wind. Then we walked along the lane both carpeted and overarched with gold.
I love Fall ! and I love its delightful one-step-back Into the brief enchantment of Indian Summer.
ST UnWoked & UnVaxxed! 
So beautiful, Hypatia, thank you! We had a gorgeous Indian Summer day here as well 🙂
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Y’all be making me homesick. Home is where Mom is, fyi.
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I know, right? My Uni recently changed their name to something non-intrusive like “Door Mats.”
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Isn’t Mom in Florida? Do they get autumn there?
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Yes, they have a nice autumn there which is a welcome break after the intense heat of the summer months. She is in the panhandle area near the home of baseball great, Jackie Robinson.
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Sorry about being a bit vague but I prefer not to give stalkers TMI.
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When I was a little kid, I though the Indians were still out there in the woods, and I might see one any time like I might see a deer or a bear. I pictured them as supremely colorful. I think that’s because we had a craft kit where you could make an “Indian headdress”, and it contained bright yellow feathers, altho most of our indigenous birds are kinda mousy-lookin… And of course, pretty bright glass beads! I thought “Indian Summer” was called that because it was bright red and yellow, like the Indian costumes.
I miss the Indians of my childhood, especially as Thanksgiving approaches. They used to be a big part of Thanksgiving, remember? Those tall grey buckled hats next to the bright feather bonnets. Was that such a terrible image?
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We pretty much have no seasons; it’s always 70 degrees or warmer. I like that because it certainly cuts down on the wardrobe bills- no winter coats or boots, few sweaters, no hats or gloves. Flip-flops are always staples. (I own 10 prs). I can swim all day long even though I have to turn on the heater now.
Our seasons are pretty much defined by the amount and strength of sunscreen one wears.
I do like the odd blooming of flora and fauna in the fall. We now have pink seagrass and two newborn fawns. 🙂
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