Autumn has arrived in New England.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
Autumn is probably my least favorite season.
Partly this is because I do not like being cold.
Partly this is because I do not like the shorter days.
And partly this is because I do not like being reminded that everything dies in the end.
I do however like being reminded of how amazing mother nature is — creating a system of fully recyclable and compostable solar collectors in the form of LEAVES!
Hurrah for leaves and photosynthesis!
I wrote the first version of “Under My Umbrella” while camping in North Truro on Cape Cod.
Then my friend Molly Ruggles wrote a new bridge section — which is the version she and I and our friend Carole Bundy recorded (in the player above).
You can click here to read — or re-read depending upon how long you’ve been following my blog — a short post from 9/10/24 which features the earlier (pre-Molly) version of this song.
And here is a link to the Molly, Will & Carole version in case you might be willing to play/like/share it on your favorite music streaming platform.
We recorded it with me, Carole and Molly singing plus Molly playing Doug Hammer’s Schimmel grand piano in his studio north of Boston, MA.
Thank you to Doug for his excellent engineering and music production skills.
Thank you to Molly for writing a new bridge and also a bunch of lovely harmonies for all of us to sing.
Thank you to Molly for playing piano AND for designing our graphics.
Thank you to the gifted and generous photographers at Pixabay.
And thank YOU for reading and listening to another of my blog posts!
I remain very grateful for our wonderful WordPress community.
Deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
This is beautiful, Will. I love the harmonies!
Thanks for listening to another one of my releases so soon after the previous one, Dwight. Molly writes lovely harmonies for us to sing!
You are very welcome, Will. I missed the other one earlier!
Fun song and lyrics that celebrate the glory of autumn. Kudos Will, especially since you don’t like autumn.
Brad, your comment made me laugh out loud. Yes, it is a bit funny that I (who am not fond of fall) would write a song encouraging folks to pause and savor the beauty of autumn. THANK YOU for being such a loyal reader and listener and commenter!
You’re most welcome. Thanks for sharing in the irony. 😁
enjoyed this Will, thanks for sharing.
Thank YOU for making time to listen and then leave a comment, Billy!
pleasure mate..
Pretty nice song and you all sounded great.
Thank you very much for making time to listen! Molly writes great harmonies for us to sing…
You’re very welcome. Well done by Molly.
Beautiful song, Will!
Early autumn is beautiful, and the light in October is amazing, but I don’t like these short days!
THANK YOU for listening! Yes… the shorter and shorter days + daylight savings time are a challenge. I am looking forward to December 21st when the days will start lengthening again. And so the cycle continues!
It’s a terrific song, Will. I know what you mean about autumn. Still, those gorgeous leaves out-way the negatives (except for the lack of daylight.)
Thank you, as always, for finding time to listen, Jennie, and to leave such a lovely comment. A delicious, heartful Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends!
You are welcome, Will. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Lovely song and beautiful harmonies, Will! I completely agree with you about this time of year because I struggle with the cold and the fact that most of the bad things that have happened to me have been during the autumn months. I prefer winter (despite it being even colder! :D) because things can only improve from now on. The shortest day is in less than a month and then we can start to look out for snowdrops and winter aconites and earlier sunrises. Take heart Will, all bad things come to an end eventually ❤
Thank for listening and then leaving such an empathetic comment, Clare. I have been thinking about why my spirit does not rise during the fall the way other folk’s spirits do… For example, my wonderful accompanist friend Doug Hammer loves the fall. And his birthday is in October. And he also loves Halloween. Maybe those two things influence his feelings about the fall? My birthday is in the spring (May), and I do not love Halloween — although I DO appreciate how special it is that on one night of the year it is OK for neighbors to visit each others’ front porches and share treats with each other’s children. I have also experienced some grim news in the fall — dropping out of college, for example, and my father dying. So maybe — as I think you are suggesting in your comment — some sadness/grief/embarrassment/shame might be lingering subconsciously in my mind/soul which then colors my feelings about autumn… I DO love Thanksgiving, however, which is tomorrow! Let’s hang on until the winter solstice and see what unfolds after that… Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Yes! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. A celebration to look forward to during the bleakest months.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Dawn. We have a niece who these days cooks almost everything, bless her. We get to show up and converse and eat. A love-filled and delicious Thanksgiving to you!
Speaking of life and death (weren’t we?), I hope you’ll check out the novel “I See You’ve Called in Dead,” about a down and out obit writer. Don’t give up on his crabby personality. It gets better! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217204419-i-see-you-ve-called-in-dead