9 Weeks to Autumn - A Slow Living Guide to Seasonal Transition

On the summer solstice, we have reached the tipping point of light. The sun is high and mighty, at the peak of its strength, but... everything that comes to fullness begins to wane. "(...) All this festivity is twisted together with something darker. The tuning of the summer solstice before the end of June leaves July and August already in anticipation of Autumn..." writes author Nick Groom, reminding us that for centuries July and August were months dedicated to preparing for the cold and dark part of the year.

The transition from the height of summer to harvest, and then to early autumn, is incredibly rewarding to witness up close. Some people bypass it completely, waving their free hand as they hold their phone in the other. But for you, I want better. This season, I want to invite you not just to be in nature, but to be with nature.

To pay attention to the fruits swelling toward ripeness, the sweet scent thickening the air, the first touches of gold and rust appearing unexpectedly in green - small signals, so easily missed, yet everywhere once you begin to look for them, whispering of the change to come.

We have come full circle since last year, when we all gathered on the blog for the first time to mark the beginning of the journey towards Autumn. I’m so happy to welcome you again to the blog, and I’m thankful that you want to spend the coming weeks with me.

📅 Saturday, June 27th, 2026
9 weeks until Autumn!

I want to dedicate this post to a bit of housekeeping, to share what you can expect, and to explain why I’m doing this at all. Many of you already know me, but some of you may be meeting me here for the first time, so…

Hi! I’m Adriana! I’m a mum of two (7 & almost 17yo), a new author (my first book about slow living launched literally last week!!), and a small business owner, which I run with my husband Andrei since 2018. Long story short - I’ve always dreamed of having a fireplace. Despite moving quite a lot with my parents, and later as a young adult, I never had one. Somewhere along the way, I developed a deep love for candles, which eventually - after many ups and downs of early adult life (a journey I’ve shared in my book) - led me to start a small candle business. My first candle collection was inspired by my yoga practice, and the second by my favourite season: autumn.

Within two years, orders began to fly in, and my husband joined me full-time. Not long after, Andrei took over production and dispatch, which allowed me to step into what I love most - sharing the beauty of rural England and cosy country living through YouTube videos and my writing. A lot of writing. My blog is now read by over 10K women every month, and it’s something I’m deeply proud of. I’m embarking on writing my second book in September, so wish me luck :D 

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Our Autumn and Pumpkin candles, crafted in our Somerset studio, are inspired by the scents of the English countryside in October

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So how did I end up making a whole thing about counting down the weeks until September?

Autumn has always been my favourite season, and one of the blessings of the internet is discovering a small-ish but very passionate niche of people who love autumn as much as I do. Somehow, I became one of the loudest voices in this niche, maybe because I'm a November girl, and this slightly nostalgic, cosy vibe is embedded in me and just feels natural. What I mean is that I think many of you sense that this is my actual personality, not just momentary seasonal hype. The shifting seasons, the first cooler breeze in the evening air, a few fallen leaves, apples ripening in the orchards, brambles bending under the weight of fruit… I get the butterflies in my belly when I see pumpkins :D

It’s important to note that I don’t try to skip summer. I encourage my readers to fully enjoy and make the most of every season, which is central to the slow living philosophy I practice and share - and to this series as well.

I want you to experience all of it in person - go into the woods and fields, smell the rain, eat an apple straight from the tree, and pick blackberries for a cake. Make the most of these late summer days, so you can arrive in autumn feeling joyful, a little tired from adventures and ready for a well-earned rest.

Thinking about autumn in late summer is not wishing time away, but simply following the most natural rhythm of life - enjoying the long, golden days while preparing for the darker, colder part of the year. Our ancestors have done this since the dawn of humanity. It is a privilege of modern times that people can drift through summer without much preparation or awareness of what follows. We’ll explore this in more depth soon, but I wanted to touch on it here before you tell me in the comments, “But Adriana, it’s too early.” No, it’s not, your great-grandma wouldn't say so.

All this has become even more pronounced for me since my husband and I began running our candle shop. Our main seasons are autumn and winter, but we spend the summer gathering supplies, blending autumn scents, and stocking the shop in preparation for the cosy months ahead.

Can you imagine if we only began doing all those things in late September? Of course not. Summer is traditionally the season of preparation. The harvest is gathered, stores are built up, and people begin making ready for the darker half of the year. To me, summer is an instinctual and natural time to prepare for autumn and winter - and that's a hill I'm willing to die on :D

What to expect this year

Each post in this series is brand new. I didn’t want to simply reiterate last year’s writings or repost them; I wanted to create new material for 2026. You can still find last year’s Autumn Countdown 2025 here, if you’d like to read it as well.

I actually stopped myself from re-reading my own writing from 2025 to avoid repeating thoughts and ideas, but of course, some things will still overlap. It probably just means they’re deeply embedded in my thinking, and I end up returning to them every year anyway.

Dates

Calendar autumn starts on the autumn equinox at the end of September, but here we are counting down to September 1^st - the beginning of meteorological autumn. For me, September has always been and will always be an autumnal month.  School bell rings, harvest in full swing, evenings draw in, and nature transforms from the peak of summer into golden tones of autumn, so I think it’s the perfect time to start celebrating our favourite season.

As always, I encourage you to be an active part of this small community. If any thoughts, stories, or recommendations come to mind as you read, please share them in the comments - not just for me, but for other readers too. Your input is incredibly valuable and makes this space far more fun than if it were just my ramblings :D

Lastly, even if you’re a silent reader (and that’s absolutely okay - I’m just glad you’re here), please leave your name or nickname and your general location in the comments. It means so much to me! 10,000 readers a month sounds wonderful, but it only becomes truly meaningful when I begin to know the names and people behind those numbers.

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Discover my book "Slow Living for Modern Women - a life-changing guide to a calm, content life in rhythm with nature" on our website and Amazon

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I'd also love to know your personal reasons for finding this series interesting. Do you struggle during summer, love the harvest vibe, or are you simply an autumn person through and through?

I don't particularly enjoy extreme weather, and I relish the slightly cooler (but not freezing) British autumn sweater weather, with its misty mornings and murky skies. I love the forest floor covered in fallen leaves, adding pumpkin spice to every cake, and the feeling of safety and warmth inside my home against the darkness and the howling winds roaming the fields surrounding our village. From the Gilmore Girls vibe of early September to the melancholic Jane Eyre mood of November, I love it all.

Until next Saturday,

Adriana x