That time of year thou mayst in me behold,

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 73

A friend and fellow blogger wrote of how strange it is to celebrate Easter in Autumn as we do here in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a Spring festival. Halloween should be now instead. Easter, Halloween and Christmas have simply been transplanted according to the calendar year instead of by the seasons. It is great that we have our own Matariki at the right time of year, following the Māori lunar calendar. Still, I enjoy a summer Christmas, and hot cross buns seem right as the temperatures cool, and I love being able to get the full range of locally made Queen Anne chocolates – shallow as I am!

The leaves haven’t fallen yet, as they have in Shakespeare’s sonnet, but there are some lovely colours appearing. I saw a golden tree last week which lit up Norman’s Road, opposite St Andrew’s College.

I stepped outside this morning into the sunshine after two rather gloomy, overcast days. There was a mackerel sky in every direction. A friend, visiting over Easter, mentioned noticing a mackerel sky where she lives in the North Island.

And now the clouds have joined up into another overcast sky and I’m reaching for a warm jersey. That time of year.