(Longing)collecting

Autumn is the time of changes in nature... First, the trees adorn themselves in colors, as if they want to show their beauty for the last time in the annual cycle, the branches of the fruit trees are lush with sweet juicy fruits. Plants put all their energy into flowering to get the seeds ready before the winter comes. And then, imperceptibly, everything is evenly grey... Daylight is equal to the darkness, the heavenly water hatches are open, the squirrels' winter reserves are hidden in the depths of the ground, and the birds that used to chirp in the bushes gather in flocks and prepare to fly away.

Autumn in the garden

Today's people have distanced themselves from the natural environment. We don't notice that in autumn the song of the garden birds is becoming sad and the squirrel is acting more serious and purposeful than in the summer months. However, the autumn cycles of nature still actively affect people, even without their knowledge.

Kopli honey beehives and a thoughtful beekeeper

I have never seen Estonian people more colorful than during the autumn when it rains. Usually the dark gray and black street scene turns into a play of colors with the arrival of a drizzle. Yellow rubber boots or even red ones are pulled on under the gray coat…. Pop and pop, the shadows with wonderful patterns open up.

Red wellies and herbs

Outside, people are in autumn beauty , but the songs are also sadder, beautiful sad. You can feel the coming of cold and darkness. It can be felt that the time of colors is coming to an end and a new more domestic, colder and darker time is ahead.

A girl, a dog, and late fall chilies

Before we get to cozy evenings in the warmth of the fireplace, we go through one more phase, the ´´squirrel phase´´. In autumn, people are caught in a collecting frenzy. Everyone goes to pick mushrooms in their hotly kept secret groves, mushrooms are later salted and pickled, dried and frozen. Piles of apples become jams and juices. The last green herbs are picked from the beds - lavender and peppermints are hung as garlands over the stove to dry.

Drying garlands from the beds of the roof garden - mint, marigold, iron grass

We won't stop until the cupboards and bed bases are filled to the brim with cans and paper bags and grandmother's wisdom "what the garden has given must be put in a jar" has been fully followed. This is a collection of longing.

Sweet honey in a jar!

Longing for colors.

Longing for domestic and fresh flavors.

Longing for light.

Longing for ancestors and tradition.

Longing for being one with nature.

Autumn darkness brings with it more being at home, togetherness and presence, peace and longing. A gloomy evening is the right time to find applesauce under the bed and put a pot of herbal tea on the hearth.

The idyll of a late autumn day

Text: Krõõt Saar

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