Autumn is coming...

... and with it, renewed energy, optimism and resolve. September is my birthday month, so the feelings of 'fresh start' and 'new beginnings' represented by the back to school  buzz are intensified, as a literal new year begins in my life. Heralding the start of Autumn, it is also a romantic, reflective time as much as it is one which looks forward.  With children back to school and college and excited at their own new beginnings, it's a time when procrastination ends and productivity begins. But as the evenings draw in, so a feeling of cosiness creeps back in with them, the home is once more the hearth and the outdoor world is one of wrapping up warm and crunching through Autumn leaves. Here is an illustration from Grey Like a Wolf! /Gris comme un Loup!  which, although set a little later in the year, beautifully captures that image of ourselves as children trudging through golden leaves, which stays with most of us long after childhood has been left behind. One of Autumn's most enduring memories, hardwired into the soul. 

Illustration by Milena Synek from 'Grey like a Wolf!/Gris comme un Loup!' (Jana & Milena Synek) ; available on Amazon; see www.bramhallbooks.co.uk