Favourite months

~ beetleypete

Tomorrow is the first of September, and I always look forward to its arrival. It heralds the end of the summer, and the start of autumn, and is one of my two favourite months, the other being March. This is mainly because March is the month of my birthday, and because it is the end of the winter. I have always enjoyed my birthday. It is personal, unlike Christmas, which is for everyone.

I have always felt that March was a good time to celebrate a birthday. The weather can be surprisingly good sometimes, so it is possible to plan a nice day out, to celebrate. It is far enough away from December, so not caught up in the festive hangover, and equally unaffected by the summer rush for outdoor activities. In England, most places of interest or traditional seaside tourist spots are still closed up, awaiting the season.

This means that trips in March have the feel of delicious isolation, making it all seem even more special. The countryside is just beginning to wake up, after the long winter sleep. Bulb flowers are peeking through the ground, and animals are getting restless, awaiting the time of new births. Birds start to arrive from countries still locked in the depths of winter, and as the month nears its end you feel the promise of spring in the air.

September is the complete opposite. The young animals and birds have long left the safety of their parents, and are making their way in life. The trees and plants stop growing, ready to shed leaves, petals, and seeds. There is also the prospect of a late summer, as if the sun has forgotten it should have left. Warm evenings before the dark returns, the last insects of the year making their final rounds. The children are going back to school, freeing the beaches and other nice places from their shrieking and crying. The tractors have finished on the farms, at least for a while, and the roads are no longer jammed with traffic heading for the coast, or beauty spots inland.

Everything is handed back to the mature and the contemplative. Restaurants and cafes that turned you away during the summer rush now crave your patronage. Shops are full with Christmas stock, so there is no reason to head for shopping centres as they no longer have anything you need. This is the time when I take my holiday, or as I am now retired, so arguably on permanent holiday, when Julie takes her annual holiday.

Starting tomorrow, we have two weeks together, with no foreign trips planned, a chance to explore Norfolk, and possibly other parts of the U.K. During weekdays at least, anywhere we want to go will be free from wandering packs of families, the ear-splitting cries of children, the bellowing of fed up parents, and the congestion of buggies. As an added bonus, it is also too soon for schools to have organised trips, so we will also avoid the chattering snakes of over-excited children, marshalled by earnest teachers.

It is a long time to wait for September. All your friends and colleagues have been away already; back with glowing tans, and tales of beaches and sambuca, or a hot Provencal summer. You don’t mind though, you know it will be worth it. The leaves will be changing colour on the trees, the fields cleared, neat and tidy as a freshly made bed. Time off in September feels stolen, as everyone else settles back into the drudgery after the long summer break.

Your time has just begun.

30 thoughts on “Favourite months”

  2. I’ll go with March, not because its my birthday but its when we start the seeds off in pots and the greenhouse, the new batch of goats will be born, and with luck an end to the winter with some warmer weather.

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  3. March 1973 when I had my oldest son it was sunny, mild and very dry ..147 hrs of sunshine my mother was drying and airing his nappies outside …we had to quickly buy some lighter rompers as we were expecting a cold March we had lots of wool and knitted clothes for him…September is my birth month so a good month…Stay warm, Pete x

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  5. To the extent that months have meaning, those meanings change over time. By way of example, three to five decades ago, December and May meant I lost classes of students and had to wait for the next classes full of students. Now, that I have been retired for close to a quarter of a century, I barely remember those losses. Nonetheless, they were real losses I no longer incur. Warmest regards, Theo

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    1. When I was an EMT, December was the busiest month of the year in that job. August came a close second, with London full of tourists. Now both those months are still not popular with me, even though I no longer have to work.
      Best wishes,Pete.

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  6. (1) I suggest we schedule our return to the moon for the month of March in order to ensure that our astronauts can enjoy the feeling of delicious isolation.
    (2) Women love their beauty spots. Just ask Marilyn Monroe or Anne Francis.
    (3) Here in Nevada, we try to avoid chattering snakes—especially the Mojave Desert Sidewinder!

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  9. My birthday is in March too, on the Canadian prairies there could be a blizzard, -40 degrees or picnic weather. I never knew what it would be like on the day of my birthday. I also love spring flowers so March is a great month! September is also special for a number of reasons but mostly because it is the month my son and oldest granddaughter were born.

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    1. Thanks, Darlene. I have had snow on my birthday too in the past. Fortunately, it is normally nice weather, at least nice enough to go out for a day trip. That probably can’t happen this year though, whatever the weather.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. I couldn’t argue with your reasons for liking March & September, Pete, but your misanthropic comments about children made me chuckle. Peace & quiet is a pleasure that becomes more attractive with advancing years 😉 Cheers, Jon.

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  11. Reblogged this on beetleypete and commented:

    With gales blowing outside, and the local river overflowing its banks, I felt it was a good time to reblog this 2012 post about my favourite months. Only one reader left a like or comment at the time, so it should be new to most of you.

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  12. We live in different countries but at approximately the same latitude, physically, and perhaps the same longitude, mentally. We share the same thoughts regarding the months, but I prefer late February over March.

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    1. I think it is because my birthday is in March, that I always look forward to that month. The weather can often be uncomfortably changeable, though I have spent many birthdays in shorts at the beach.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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