Short and sweet: Here is your printable Convivio Book of Days calendar for September. Autumn is coming, and so is, hopefully, an abundant apple crop. This is what we dream of here in Florida, where apples will not grow. Oranges, mangoes, carambola and papaya…. all grow readily here, but it is the humble apple I wish for most.
Cover star this month: a painting, most likely from the late 1890s, called “Harvest.” It’s by American artist Levi Wells Prentice, who was self-taught and associated with the Hudson River School––and there you have another thing I tend to look longingly toward as autumn color sweeps across the land: the Hudson River Valley and the legends and lore of writers like Washington Irving. Each autumn, I find myself pulling down one of his books from the bookcase. I find myself a cozy chair and read a tale or two about the Hudson Valley he loved so much. Washington Irving: he’s like Father Christmas to those of us who love autumn.
I already know I’ve got busy days ahead so I cannot guarantee you’ll hear from me before a couple of red letter days pass this month. Both come on Monday, when it will be Labor Day once again. We think of it as our unofficial close to summer in these United States of America, but more than this, it is the day we set aside to honor the workers upon whose labor this nation was built. Later that evening, with the setting sun, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year celebration, will begin. It is a time for sweet things, as simple as a slice of apple, dipped in honey.
And there, short and sweet as promised, is your invitation to this month’s calendar. I think you’ll like it. It’s a PDF that you can print and pin to your wall, and it is a fine accompaniment to this blog. Over at the website, our Summer High Five Sale continues for just a few days more, but I’ll be writing again soon with news about our upcoming autumn sale, which features a bigger discount but also a higher minimum… so if you’re planning a purchase, well, plan accordingly. Currently, and for the next few days, take $5 off your order of $35 or more with discount code HIGH5.
Summer here persists a while longer, but knowing autumn is coming to the Hudson River Valley and other points north is all I need to know. I’m with you in spirit.
Image: “Harvest” by Levi Wells Prentice. Oil on canvas, circa 1890s [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.