New beginnings

We get three fresh starts throughout the year. Spring is the most natural one, as nature wakes up again. January 1 is just an artifact of the calendar, but it gives us a bit of a boost as we grit our teeth in the face of winter. September is a holdover from our school days, but it's welcome too, adding some sweetness to the melancholy of the season. Here are some things to enjoy in the fall.

• Buying fresh local fruit and tomatoes at a farmers' market. Remembering what a real tomato is supposed to taste like.
• Filling your kitchen with the aromas of soups and stews and comfort foods.
• Finally kicking your craving for ice cream, at least until next summer.
• Heaving a sigh of relief as the regular radio hosts come back to work, putting an end to all those encore presentations.
• Making a hot drink and sipping it slowly, preferably while curled up with a good book. Any drink will do: cocoa, cider, latte, camomile.
• Meandering through one of the ravine parks, revelling in that burst of colour and kicking the leaves.
• Noticing what's not there any more: those butterflies in your stomach when you were in school, churning out those essays and sweating through exams. Freedom!
• Signing up for something new and being a beginner, with no expectation that you know anything.
• Slipping back into those cosy, warm clothes: sweatshirts, soft wool sweaters, flannel pajamas.
• Taking a long walk in the fresh cool air in the middle of the day.