The Last Day of Summer

You can start throwing your tomatoes at me – but I will go and say this thing: I am happy it is autumn already!

I am not one of those blogger babes who start talking about the cozy knitwear, pleated scarfs and pumpkin spice latte with the first days of September. But living so long in Norway has turned me into a true Scandinavian, I notice :)). And all the Norwegian girls I hear sigh together: “It is getting more autumn like, oh so nice! Ja ja, mm.” Yes, I am one of those who pulls out my favorite sweater and starts wearing it with everything (like a kid). And seeing gloomy skies can mean a sudden dive of the mood (just the hormones, I explain to myself) – but it also means no need to run out, but a chance to open my favorite fashion blog, or just any blog, to find that cardigan and socks, and the cookies hidden somewhere in the kitchen.

I know that in some weeks I will regret this enthusiasm. When the autumn sets in for real, with winds and rains, with gloomy skies and wet shoes – I will pronounce some f-words and wish it were all summer again. But so far, I want to embrace autumn like my sister.

Blame it on the hygge that I loved since I was a kid (I grew up with books as my best friend, hence the love for cozy corners). Or maybe, the real reason is that I am a September baby, born on the autumn equinox, when the day equals the night. It is not hot and it is not cold yet. It is not dark, but it is not super light anymore. Just the perfect balance, no? (And yes, some say I am a true Libra. But my birthday is on the border between Virgo and Libra and different horoscopes send me to different signs. So I have learnt to read both and pick the one I like the most right now :))

They say, that officially autumn doesn’t start before the 21st of September, and officially it is still summer. Well, that means those people have never lived in Norway :)) Sometimes it feels like autumn already in the first week of August. This year we had an amazing summer, warm and sunny, and August just kept on in that trend. Last week we marked, however, the last days of summer. From this week it is difficult to call it summer.

We marked the last day of summer in the botanical garden on the past Sunday. Where I was looking for the autumn flowers, but they were nowhere to find. Some summery flowers were still there. I got inspired by the gorgeous dahlias in my friend’s blog and went for my own photo hunt. But it seems, they don’t plant them here. I cannot remember seeing dahlias in the botanical garden of Oslo. Such a pity. But still, there are many private gardens, and if I walk around, I can catch some glimpses. I’ll put it on my to-do list :))

Instead, I discovered the water lily. I never knew we had them here. And then we spent the rest of the walk in the herbs garden, sitting by the fountain, talking about the culture and society and humanity. Our version of philosophical garden :)) Gardens are made for those kinds of sentiments and thoughts, no?

in the philosophical garden

And as my birthday is approaching, I can’t believe, I will be turning another year. I just want to wave it away like a fly, this “turning another year” thing. In a couple of years I will be 40 – and gosh, I cannot connect that number to myself. It tells me a totally different story – than the story I tell about myself. The story crash, that is :)) What happens in my head.

Any positive thoughts about autumn, guys? Any autumn lovers here?