Autumn

"Autumn Leaves" by John Everett Millais ( Manchester Art Gallery)

                                       Complications for the Fall Migration

"Autumn"

Autumn Colours

"Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" (Keats). The first verse of this poem is fine, I'm not so keen on the next two verses though. The word autumn, like a lot of English words comes from the French, and replaced the old word "harvest" maybe because of the migration of numbers of people from the countryside to the cities. Interestingly in 16th Century England it was called "fall" thought to be a contraction of the phrase "fall of the leaf" ( I play a piece on the piano by Martin Peerson (1580-1650) called "Fall of the Leafe" ) and this term was taken to America by the early English emigrants, where it is still in use today. In England however it died out and was replaced by "autumn". Autumn was funnily enough in 1997 still in the top 100 for girl's names in the USA. Here today it is still Fall, with a sunny windless day, somewhat cool at 3 degrees Celsius. I will attempt a bike ride....through the autumnal falling leaves....