The minute the month of October ended, my feed and surroundings were saturated with Christmas and winter content that I was mentally and emotionally not yet ready for.
My heart was still in Fall mode.
In Toronto, the golden leaves were still rustling beneath my feet, and the season’s harvest was still sitting in our kitchen basket, waiting to become a spiced soup of a Fall recipe we saved.
Knowing that the romance of the colourful trees and fallen leaves will come and go so quickly, I tend to savour it the most.
Perhaps this is my way of prolong that bittersweet charm of Fall.
If you are like me, a Fall lover and embracer of the slow life, consider this post a extension of those cherished October moments.
For me, the biggest highlights of this month have been park strolls amongst the foliage. Mainly because they were spent with family.
Celebrating, gathering and dreaming again. Breathing in the crisp outdoors together.
Taking it slow, together.
Below are the snapshots of the parks where those charming October strolls took place, and perhaps where my heart may still be in.
Huron Natural Area
I can’t think of a better moment to enjoy Fall foliage than on an overcast day. The warm hues of the October leaves stand out vibrantly against a blanket of grey clouds.
We took in the colour palettes of Huron Natural Area, and every corner we turned to looked like a landscape painting.
How wonderful it is that a scene from our life, the very life where our feet are planted, can look like a painting.
Victoria Park
This is our second year enjoying the Fall foliage at the historic Victoria Park in Kitchener.
Strolling in this park during October always makes me feel like I’m stepping into the pages of a Victorian novel.
Our quiet family strolls are accompanied by the best storybook characters: the willow trees, the swans, the geese and the copper leaves dangling softly above our heads.
Trillium Park
My heart holds a very sentimental place for this park. This is the park where we sought out daily comfort during lockdown. It’s where I have gone for morning runs and a cry when life felt too heavy, and it’s where picnics and ice cream were leisurely enjoyed when life felt joyful.
This park has seen me in all my phases, and I have seen this park in all its phases, too.
You know that feeling when you can’t wait to show your favourite place to someone special in your life? That’s what this October was. I finally brought my parents to our beloved Trillium Park.
It some odd way, this park felt like an extension of our home.
It’s basically our backyard. A lakeside backyard where we walked through a burst of colours against a blue sky, and where we all stood on top of the hill, just in time to watch the Libra sun set as quietly as this season came and went.
Fall foliage at the park is one of my favourite joys of life, and one of my joys of living where I live.
It’s true, our winters are long. Our winters are brutal. And I’d be lying if I said I’ve never considered moving to warmer climates. I still consider it.
But then October happens.
And something inside me feels at home.
Do you have the chance to enjoy the season’s foliage where you live?
What Fall activities feel like home to you?
xo 🍂🌞
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