La collection de cocottes

 Vous ne le savez peut-être pas, mais petit loup aime les cocottes, pour une raison quelconque. Les cocottes, les bouts de bois, sinon les branches tombées des arbres, les cailloux, les roches, les fleurs sauvages et les cocottes. Il les collectionne: j'en retrouve dans son sac d'école et dans ses poches de manteau. Celle-ci, trouvée un matin d'avril alors qu'on allait à la gare, il ne l'a pas prise, parce qu'elle était trop grosse pour ses poches, mais j'ai pris une photo. Les cocottes me font toujours un peu penser à l'automne, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi.

Autumnal Figure

 These days, it's been way cooler than one would expect this time of year. I don't mind: it feels autumnal and I love autumn. Okay, I sound like a broken record: autumn is my favourite season. So I always keep on display decorations and things that remind me of it. Last year, in late September, I was down and out after getting suddenly unemployed. I rarely if ever do retail therapy, but I did it on that day. I bought this little figure in a local shop. I was actually looking for a present for my wife, saw this, and thought I would buy it for myself, because I was not sure she would enjoy it as much (don't worry, I bought her something else). With its orange cloak and gnomic look, it looks very much autumnal.

It feels like autumn

We are having a very strange month of May these days: while it started hot, borderline summery, temperatures have suddenly dropped dramatically. So today and from what I can understand the rest of the week, it will be around 15 degrees Celsius, sometimes even lower. I had to put on my warm jumpers today and will do the same tomorrow. If it wasn't for the trees being green and the flowers in bloom, one would believe that we are in autumn. It feels like autumn anyway. I'm glad, as I don't like the heat and I love autumn (as you probably know if you have been following this blog for a while). I am worried things might change soon enough, so I make the best of the here and now.

"Magic Mushroom"(?)

 I found this trinket in the local toy shop, of all places. It's a pencil sharpener and rubber in the shape of a mushroom, so it is named "magic mushroom". I said to my wife: "Some people might be disappointed when they see what kind of magic mushroom it is and get buyer's remorse." Which I think deserves to be a great unknown line. Anyway, while I don't like the taste of mushrooms and I am always wary of wild mushrooms, I love the look of mushrooms, because I associate them with autumn. And, since a pencil sharpener can always come in handy, I bought it for my desk. It adds to the autumn decor.

Pumpkin Spice Latte at the Yellow Ladder

 I am posting again about Yellow Ladder Coffee, the coffee shop we found out in London last month and which we really liked (well, I really liked it). You can find my original post here. I had forgotten to mention one other reason why I really liked this little known chain. They offered to my wife a pumpkin spice latte, which was the daily special brew, if I remember correctly. Now, I don't drink coffee, I actually hate the taste of coffee, I don't enjoy the effect it has on me, and it's the same with lattes. However, as an autumn and Halloween lover, I am glad I live in a world where pumpkin spice latte exists. It's one of those signs of my favourite season and my favourite holiday. I blogged yesterday about a possible early sign of Halloween to come. Well, this brew is the exact same thing: a reminder of autumn and Halloween. On a cold winter day, it also makes perfect sense to enjoy such brew, if you like coffee. In any case, Yellow Ladder Coffee just won themselves a new customer.

Le thermostat québécois (printemps VS automne)

Il y a quelques jours, une amie a posté ce meme dans un chat que nous avons. Il m'a bien fait rire. C'est bien entendu authentique. C'est drôle parce que c'est vrai. Bon, j'ai vu des memes semblables ailleurs, enfin qui parlaient du même sujet, ce n'est pas exclusivement une réalité québécoise, mais quand même. C'est vrai que notre rapport à la température dépend des circonstances. Même ici, j'ai souvent un sentiment d'horreur quand la température monte jusqu'à 15 degrés. Bon, je ne porte pas de t-shirt, mais je m'habille plus légèrement. Plus légèrement, dans tous les cas, que lorsque la température tombe à 15 degrés pour la première fois en automne. Mais c'est lorsque c'est trois degrés que c'est le plus frappant: si ça monte à trois degrés au printemps, après un long hiver, j'ai (trop) chaud. À l'automne, c'est un bonheur incomparable.

Farewell to the local autumn fayre

 I learned some sad news recently, which I wanted to blog about: as you may know, there is a local carnival held every year in September, the third or fourth Saturday of the month, in the biggest park in town. I blogged about it often before, like here. To me, it's like an officious autumn fayre. Sadly, for whatever reason (not sure if they were made public) the organisers cannot organise it this year, so there will be no local September carnival. No autumn fayre. This is one of the public event in our community I look forward to the most in the year. I'm really gutted.

Autumnal Mood (already?)

 I don't know why, it general comes later in the year, when it gets warmer, but I have started longing for autumn today. Maybe because it was unusually warm for February, as if Spring was already here. It really fell like Spring was on its way and... And, well, unlike most people, I am not looking forward to longer days, to the shorter nights and to the upcoming months if they get any warmer. Can I be in an autumnal mood already? Is it allowed? I know I come off as a weirdo, but all the same. Anyone else?

"Autumn Story" (Brambly Hedge)

I don't know if anyone of you have heard about this book or its series. Anyway, I was in a local shop, ironically not the bookshop, when I saw it. Jill Barklem's Autumn Story, from the Brambly Hedge series. I know it is probably too young for Wolfie, it is definitely too young for me, yet it's my favourite season and it looks quite cute. I try to read within season, but when I long for autumn and/or when it's too hot outside, I like to read something autumnal to soothe my mind. So I might buy it for a sunny day or put in on my birthday presents list. Could be fun to read with Wolfie, it's the kind of old English classic we like to discover together.

Première tempête de neige à Montréal

Photo prise par mon frère PJ de la neige après la première vraie tempête de neige. Comparez avec sa photo prise la veille. L'hiver prend vraiment le pas sur l'automne. Et ce n'est pas moi qui dit que c'est une vraie tempête de neige, c'est la météo. Et le 11 novembre, il paraît que c'est tôt, en tout cas pour Montréal. Il fût un temps, quand j'étais jeune, où une bordée de neige pareille ce n'était pas inhabituel au début de novembre, en tout cas pas au Saguenay. Dans tous les cas, je commence à me permettre d'espérer qu'elle durera et que ça ne tombera pas en sloshe. Qui sait, on aura peut-être un hiver d'antan cette année.

Première neige à Montréal

Mon frère a pris cette photo dimanche dernier (je crois). Une première neige est tombée sur Montréal. Nous sommes encore le début de novembre, même au Québec, ou en tout cas à Montréal, avoir de la neige en novembre, c'est un peu tôt. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas cependant, parce que ça pourrait annoncer un hiver blanc. Et puis j'aime ces moments en novembre, de plus en plus rare de nos jours, où l'hiver commence à se montrer et l'automne est toujours là. Ce moment de transition qu'amène la première neige.

Petit loup et les feuilles d'automne

Hier, lors de notre marche en revenant de l'école, petit loup a pris plaisir à marcher dans les feuilles mortes. C'était un moment Kodak que j'ai réussi à prendre en photo. Pas une photo géniale, mais bon. Elle donne un peu une idée de l'ambiance. C'est l'un des nombreux plaisirs de l'automne que j'aime et je suis heureux que mon fils soit adepte. Et un petit rappel, pour ceux qui n'aiment pas novembre: c'est encore l'automne et ça peut vraiment être un beau mois. Dans tous les cas, c'est l'une des raisons pour lesquelles je me suis réconcilié avec le mois: on peut toujours marcher dans les feuilles mortes en novembre.

Bonfire Toffee Tea

 Silly me: it was Bonfire Night yesterday and I forgot to mention that I found out a tea brew perfect for the occasion: Bird & Blend's Bonfire Toffee Tea. I got it as a freebie last year, with my pumpkin tea order. I don't like smoky tea generally, but this one has just a subtle smoky flavour, so it was not invasive. And it mixed nicely with the toffee flavour. I had it the morning of the 5th of November, sadly I forgot to order more for this year. I got a freebie, but not this one. But hey, if you find a Bird and Blend shop, or wishes to order some, it's the perfect tea for November. 

Bonfire Night

 "Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

Tonight is Bonfire Night. Which means there will be fireworks tonight. After twenty-five years in England, I am just starting to get used to it. My wife gets excited about fireworks, but then again, she's English, I guess fireworks in November is part of her culture. I on the other hand am not a fan of fireworks, however I love the smell of bonfire smoke in the night (or any time really). It's just nice, especially in autumn. So I came to appreciate this early November tradition as part of my (fairly new) appreciation of the month. Because yes, November is still autumn.

Novembre: trop tôt pour Noël

J'ai lu un débat dans la grosse Presse hier: Pour ou contre: les lumières de Noël dès le 1er novembre. Entre Stéphane Dompierre et Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin. Je ne connais aucune des deux personnes. Et ce n'est pas une question existentielle pour moi, alors je ne la poserai même pas. Pour moi, ça tombe sous le sens: je suis contre et c'est encore l'automne, alors non, non et non. Je suis donc fermement dans le camp de Dompierre. Néanmoins, faites-moi part de votre opinion sur le sujet dans les commentaires.

Post. Halloween. Blues.

Today is All Saint's Day, which is of course the day after Halloween. I used to loathe November just because Halloween was over. This is no longer the case, however I still suffer from post-Halloween blues every first of November. It falls on a Saturday today, I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse. I have a whole weekend to enjoy, yet I also miss the anticipation, the eeriness, the spookiness, the everything. Don't worry: it used to take me a month or so to get through the dreary feeling, now it only lasts a day or two. I will blog more about what I love of November, so watch this space.

Halloween, autumn and reading

These last few days, as it looks and feel very autumnal, I have been reading outside as much as I can. If a neighbour sees me, I guess I look like a monk with a rather sinister mind. So yeah, yesterday I took Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories and I read it in the garden. I took a snapshot for the blog and the countdown. It was chilly, it had just enough sun, it was quiet, the leaves on the ground and the smell just enhanced the experience for me. So yes, it is my Halloween activity suggestion for today.

THE Scarecrow

So for today's countdown to Halloween post: scarecrows. So we went to the Scarecrow Festival two days ago.And there was a lot to love and blog about, but I wanted to share the best scarecrow we saw. This one. Many were cute and inventive, but I thought not enough of them were scary. Then, walking back to our car, cutting through the woods, we got slightly lost, then quickly found our way back to the village. And we saw this scarecrow. A Jack O'Lantern as the head, surrounded by actual crows, punpkins at its feet, the evening was falling down, a quintessential autumnal image... I could have watched it until night time. Then again, maybe he'd have started moving and chasing us. This scarecrow belongs to a horror story, which I hope to write one day.

L'automne sur le Plateau

Mon frère PJ a pris cette photo sur la rue Fabre il y a quelques jours. L'automne sur le Plateau, ben c'est beau.

The Jack O'Lantern and the Goose

 I blogged before about my parents pumpkin for this year's Halloween. Well, my father carved it recently. It's a bit early for my taste, I hope the pumpkin doesn't go bad, however I do like the design, very simple with its many triangles. With the goose in the background, it looks suitably spooky and autumnal.