Sometimes morning mist gathers on the high moor, then flows down along the beck to the valley below the woods. Wisps of cloud rise from trees on the steep bank between the dales and it’s definitely a good weather day to follow the mist down the escarpment for a walk to a coffee shop for Sunday brunch in one of the vale villages.

Many of the oaks are still green, but near the bottom of the track there is a group of trees with bright orange leaves. On a closer look they are not our native oaks, but a planted species from North America. They are probably attuned to lose their leaves earlier than our British ones because cold weather can come down from the Arctic earlier in the Appalachians compared to our mild oceanic climate.

Though having said that, there has been heavy snow in our moor village at this time of year before and the first frosts came a few weeks ago. The forecast is for more cold snaps on the way, and they’ll bring out the colours in autumn leaves of our own native oaks. The shortening days bring to mind the poem ‘Fall, Leaves, Fall’ by Emily Brontë.

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night’s decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

Some days can be dark and gloomy, but others have the waterfall of mist and yellows, orange and gold of autumn leaves. Sometimes everything becomes bright and white with snow. It’s one of the many reasons I like living on the moor, every day can be different. I’m not very good at singing like Emily Brontë, but I can hum to myself as walk and recite poems when I’m cozy by the fire. 

We’ve often spoken on Moodscope about how the darker shorter days can cause changes in mood. Sometimes it’s hard to escape the gloom, but if we can sing, or hum a little tune, then it can make the feeling brighter.

Rowan on the Moor

A Moodscope member