So....Autumn is finally here!

Yes the weather is finally on the change. The temperatures are starting to drop during the day as well as at night. Thought we're not yet down to 0°c, I'm sure that's not too far off. I think this cold 'snap' has arrived from Scandinavia where they have already had their first blizzard of the winter....mind you it was pretty cold in the south of Italy yesterday in Abruzzo and Molise (these are like English counties) and on the 'Grand Sasso' whichmeans 'Big Stone' and is the name of a mountain (see the picture) in the province of Teramo in the Appenine Mountains.

I guess our own Alpine weather won't be too far behind. The locals are predicting another long, snowy winter. They say, as we do in England "Look at the fruit and berries on the trees - they are weighed down with the amount - and that is to ensure that there is sufficient to get the birds through the bad winter that is coming". I've nearly always found that nature is a good indicator of what's to come...and some of the old sayings still have a 'ring of truth' about them. Sayings like:
"If the crows nests are high up in the trees then it will be a good summer. But if they are low - then wind and rain will be with us"!
OR
"The moon's on her back to catch rain in her lap". This one refers to a crescent moon like this:












Of coourse many of these old sayings can, nowadays, be prooved to have little or no foundation in 'fact'....but even so I still like to remember them and after all they DO come true occasionally - don't they!