A love letter to autumn…

For my whole life I have looked forward to this time of year.

There’s an extra beautiful time in the weeks after the clocks go back when it’s still light by the time my alarm goes off. The mornings are fresh but by lunch the sun is warm. If I go out again in the evenings, the air is crisp and the light low which gives me the perfect reason to rug up in my favourite fuzzy winter clothes. The leaves turn from plump green caterpillars to flame coloured butterflies that flutter in circles on their descent. Every hour is golden hour as summer bids us adieu.

I lived in Canada during fall nearly ten years ago so I find it difficult not to compare Christchurch autumn to Canadian fall. Unfortunately, all of the evergreen natives here have nothing on the show Canadian maples put on during this season, but I love it just the same. I still gather dried leaves up to throw into the sky and make a point of stepping on every crunchy leaf I pass. I guess you could say that autumn is the season that brings out my inner child the most.

It’s the time to light the fire in the evenings, cosy up with a blanket and a good book and forget about the lawn that needs mowing, the windows that need cleaning or the deck that needs painting - there’s no light to do any of that anyway so, by default, I find it can be a very restful time of year. Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere in autumn, there’s Easter too. In New Zealand Easter isn’t celebrated as much more than a four day weekend and a great reason to eat lots of chocolate and spend time with family but I think that’s a lovely reason to celebrate in itself.

In a professional sense however, it can be a very busy time of year, especially for freelancers. It can be an excellent time for businesses to plan for what is likely their busy season over the warmer months and make a start on projects that may have been pushed to the back burner or saved, quite literally, for a rainy day. Particularly this year, businesses may be running with diminished numbers as team members may be unable to work due to illnesses so hiring freelancers is the perfect solution, whether it’s to take a project from start to finish or provide additional support while permanent staff are unable to work.

For me, this time of year is my favourite not just because of the idyllic weather and the beautiful scenery, but also because it’s the time of year that I feel the most focused and creative. There aren’t as many distractions as there are in summer, my personal to-do list shrinks which leaves me with excess time and energy to work on projects that aren’t weather dependant, for example, this is about the time last year that I wrote my first children’s book. I also find that, since so many of us are hibernating at home, I have more time with my own thoughts which tends to help me produce my best creative ideas - let me know if you’d like help with yours!