Optimistic About October

October means all things Fall; cardigans, beautiful displays of changing leaf colours, migrating birds & butterflies, cool breezes, new knitting projects, apple cider, preparing & decorating for Halloween & Día de los Muertos, more hours of my favourite natural lighting for photos, long car rides, picnics, evenings reading by candlelight, that earthy way the air smells, a hot meal at the end of a chilly day, & bonfires. I think Robert Louis Stevenson's poem, "Autumn Fires" captures my feelings about the season quite nicely.

In the other gardens

And all up the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

Autumn is my favourite season, and am feeling optimistic about what can be accomplished this October. On my list of plans for the month is a 30 day photo challenge. Each day will have a specific assignment such as a photo of something red, an object from my childhood, or my favourite body part (what??). I hope to get really creative with this challenge, rather than just snapping whatever photo would be easiest to fulfil the day's assignment.

Why else am I so excited & optimistic about this month, you may ask?

October is the start of Charlotte Chamber Music's season of Living Room Concerts & Free First Tuesday Concerts. This Tuesday is the first of the Free First Tuesday Concerts, & I will be one of the volunteers for both concert times! (12:10pm & 5:30pm at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on W. Trade St) This particular concert is titled "Carolina Shout, Celebration of Romare Bearden" and will be a musical tribute in honour of the centennial of the Charlotte-born artist's birth. I'm looking forward to excellent music, interesting people, and hopefully some great photo opportunities!

Fall is when I tend to be my most creative. I'm finally able to shake of the lethargy of hot summer days, get outside, and get out of my own head. Sure, my imagination can be a fun place to hang out, but after months of lying around not wanting to leave the cool spot in front of the fan I can start to get cabin fever in there. So when the days start to get cooler, I feel less lazy and can get some much needed outside input & inspiration. With the cooler weather, my energy reserves grow exponentially and I am able to actually accomplish what I set out to do. What a relief!

October also means camping season. So far I haven't got any trips planned, but I think it would be nice to go camping mid-October near Graveyard Fields in the Pisgah Ranger District, south of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Graveyard Fields is so named for the tree trunks (from trees toppled by wind hundreds of years ago) that used to make the area look like a graveyard until destroyed by a fire in the 1920s. Mid-October is usually the perfect time to see fall colours at their peak at Graveyard Fields.

Graveyard Fields Overlook Marker - photo from groovyadventures.com

Graveyard Field Trail in Autumn - photo from romanticasheville.com

Two more reasons to be excited are that many excellent art festivals take place in the fall, and my birthday is in a couple weeks! I will be turning 24, while my alter ego will be turning 44. I think my other alter ego will be 92, but I'm not entirely sure since she claims to not remember which year she was born...

What do you look forward to about the fall? Does this time of year revitalise you, or do you find yourself winding down with the cooler weather? Have you got anything exciting planned for the coming month?