As the summer comes to an end, what excites you about autumn?

[mugcup]

I am weird but I love this time of year. Things I look forward to are..
• chunky knits
• nice boots
• that feeling when your freezing and you walk into a warm building
• buying nice candles
• settling down with the kids on a sat night to watch a movie with treats ( normally they play out till Bath/bed time in summer)

I'm sure there's more.

What's yours ?

Absolutely nothing,

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Can't stand cold mornings , scraping ice off the car when I'm already cold, miserable grey skies, wind, rain, short days, lack of sunlight, wearing layer upon layer of clothing, going to work when it's dark, coming home when it's dark, muddy wet dog walks. Just can't see the appeal. I feel worse about it every year.

@SirChenjins I'm so with you on every single word. I've never understood why everyone goes on about lovely crisp mornings blah, blah, blah. That's very rarely the reality.

Putting my leggings back on so no more chubby rub thighs.

I used to work in retail and my absolute favourite time of year was seeing the autumn/winter clothes coming in. Chunky knitwear, knee high boots, scarves, loved it!

It's only the 1st September, I haven't written off the summer yet! It was hot here this afternoon in the south, not a cloud 24 degrees.

It's annoying that shops are stocking winter clothes already, I could do with a couple of new vests.
I'm hoping for a few more weeks of lovely sun

Agree, Autumn is overly romanticised. I try to get on board with the crunchy leaves, chunky scarf thing but my heart's not in it Our house gets so cold in the winter, it's never "cosy".

Snuggly jumpers,
candles on and a yin yoga class on you tube in the evening.
hot chocolate, Netflix and blanket wrapped round me
autumn leaves
walks on a deserted beach now all the tourists have gone

I love the smell of soil being turned over this time of year, and the cool but bright mornings.

Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled.

Everything! My favourite time of the year. I had a day off today and spent 5 hours gardening, probably haven't done that since March or April. I've barely done a thing in the garden over the summer as it's been too hot.

You can drink hot chocolate all year round. I really don't get the MN obsession with Autumn.

Anyway come back and tell me about your warm cosy houses when you are struggling to pay your fuel bills.

@nOvOn beat me to it.

but in all seriousness, for those of you who hate autumn/winter, don’t you kind of feel like you need the cold and dark to appreciate the warmth and light of the summer? I spent a few years living in Asia near the equator where it there is pretty much 12-13 hours of daylight every day and the temperature is the same the whole year round. Some months were slightly more rainy but it was essentially a tropical climate with plenty of beach weather. I found it really quite depressing and disorientating. The year had no pattern to it, you could wake up on any given day and it could have been January or June, you’d have no way of telling. I think having grown up in the Uk where the seasons are such an integral part of our traditions (and the religious holidays occur at the same time of year every year), it is kind of a bit part of my cultural identity.

Everything that you have mentioned plus the colours in nature and sitting to read in front of the log burner.

Autumn is my favourite time of year.

Fireworks
DD and my mum both love conkers

That’s about it. I love spring and summer.

Halloween but otherwise, nothing. It means winter is next and I hate winter and dreading it even more this year.

I see your point, but I dream of an eternal spring/summer. I’ve thought about hopping hemispheres to experience this.

for those of you who hate autumn/winter, don’t you kind of feel like you need the cold and dark to appreciate the warmth and light of the summer

Nope. I know from living in the SEE that there are parts of the UK where autumn and winter are more lightweight than others, so it’s easier to enjoy those seasons than if you’re living in the north of the UK. I don’t need the cold and dark to enjoy the light and warmth - I’m capable of appreciating everything that sprin and summer bring without having to endure months of damp, cold weather, electric lights, layers of clothes and central heating. It’s suffocating, grim and depressing. There are obviously bits of autumn and winter to enjoy, but a hot chocolate is just an overly sickly sweet drink and I’ve done enough Halloweens and picked enough over-priced pumpkins in the pouring rain with freezing cold children over 25 years of being a parent (and before that as a child myself) to know they’re over rated.

It’s like saying how can you appreciate life without experiencing the misery of death and grief. I can appreciate life just fine, thanks.

Isn’t the thing about summer not just that the weathers nice but that it’s kind of exciting?! On a warm summers day everyone is in a good mood. A sunny bank holiday Monday in a pub garden is a wonderful thing partly because it’s not a given so we are grateful for it. But would it be the same if every day was guaranteed to be like that? I think the novelty would quickly wear off.

Also @SirChenjins i get what you’re saying but there are a lot of sayings across different cultures that essentially mean “you’ve got to have dark to have light” or whatever, so I think there’s maybe some truth to it - but obviously not so much that the bad totally outweighs the good. I have personally had a couple of really shitty years and while they were awful they have helped me to appreciate the good ones a bit more. But maybe that’s the problem with the British weather that we have to endure what feels like months and months of cold, dark, wet and it’s just too much!

Anyone would think Autumn was all crisp sunny days. The reality is very different.

Looking forward to the night's drawing in so that the 2 feral children in our close won't play out til midnight.

This is exactly how I feel this year

The nice cool air. It will be bliss to snuggle under a warm duvet again. I hate the heat beyong words. July and August were torture.

Yes, there are sayings along those lines in every culture - doesn’t mean I agree with it. I’ve had a couple of really shit years too, and they’ve not made me think anything other than ‘life is too short to spend it scraping ice off my car, filling my house with drying washing, trying to get out for walks in weather that doesn’t require endless waterproof layers and sitting in a centrally heated house under electric lights during the 16/17 hours of daily darkness’. Roll on retirement when we can escape to warmer climates.

Massively looking forward to the evenings getting shorter. I even love the grey days and rain - they really are my favourite. I live in a south coast town and love the quiet winters and beach walks here after tourist season is over.

I was so excited today knowing it was the first meteorological day of Autumn - I can feel my brain fog lifting and know I will soon have the energy to do things I can't in the summer as its too hot and bright - summer just saps my energy. I find summer brash, vulgar and sweaty.

Love halloween, Christmas and January is my favourite month of the year.Then I get depressed when the evenings start drawing out again!

I grit my teeth and get through summer, so you summer people have to put up with winter!

Stew, mash and braised red cabbage.