Season’s Favorite Blogging Challenge ~ AUTUMN

My decision to go ahead with this challenge was motivated by my long-standing love affair with the song Autumn Leaves , written by Johnny Mercer . This classic piece of music is evergreen , one of my all-time favourite pieces of music , and has been performed by many artists over the years . The video clip is of a performance in 2006 by the then-17-year-old Holland Mariah . She performs the song in a haunting vocal style that really does justice to the lyrics and evokes a feeling of nostalgia …

~LYRICS~

The falling leaves drift by my window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips , the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

 

 

~WORDS~

cinnamon which is spicy and the colour of autumn

nostalgia which links back to the song …

 

~ANIMAL~

                       

Lions , majestic against the splendid sunrise …

 

~FLOWER~

                                  

 

The red hot poker is native to Africa …

 

~QUOTE~

"Change is a measure of time and , in autumn , time seems speeded up . What was is not and never again will be ; what is is change ." ~ Edwin Teale .

 

~POEM~

        TO AUTUMN BY JOHN KEATS

                                

                                            1.

    SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
    With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
        And still more, later flowers for the bees,
        Until they think warm days will never cease,
      For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

                                            2.

      Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
        Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
        Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
        Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
            Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
        Steady thy laden head across a brook;
        Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
            Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

                          

                                            3.

    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
        Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
        And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
        Among the river sallows, borne aloft
            Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
        Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
        The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
        And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

 

~BOOK/MOVIE~

Just as Autumn marks a season of growth/maturity , Dead Poets Society is a "coming-of-age" story .

                                

                                                             

In the movie Dead Poets Society , the characters all grow and mature in some way or the other . Through a process of self-reflection , they learn the 3 principles :

1) to seize the day and make one's life extraordinary …

2) to approach situations through analysis from different perspectives …

3) to be free thinkers through freedom of expression and non-conformity , speaking up for one's belief …

 

~FOOD~

Frikkadels – quintessential South African meatballs and the ideal snack for the cooler weather ; ideal for this time of year , especially after the extra-light summer meals of previous months , yet not too heavy , since the hot/humid summer conditions haven't passed completely and can often overlap into the early part of autumn … They're easy to make and go with just about anything . They're best served with mashed potatoes , brown gravy and some steamed veggies if the weather is cooler . Or simply enjoy on a sandwich with some tomatoe sauce !

                                                                         

 

~TOWN~

In South Africa , there are so many gorgeous places to choose from at this time of year ! Cape Town is the ideal autumn get-away destination and plays host to the Cape Town international Jazz Festival at the onset of the season .

                                             

 

 

 

~IMAGE~

My favourite autumn image would have to be one that depicts autumn leaves of red and gold …

                                                              

Thank you to Blaga for this awesome challenge !

Check out the Season's Favorite Blogging Challenge at http://brokensparkles.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/seasons-favorite-challenge/