Conker Collecting Contest Anyone?

From city parks and suburban streets, to ancient woodlands, the country is changing colour. Where green once dominated, red, yellow, orange, and sometimes even purple have taken over. But I’m not talking about the work of a flamboyant graffiti artist. I’m referring to one of nature’s most beautiful metamorphoses.

The trees have taken their cue from the shortening days and dropping temperature and their leaves have stopped photosynthesising. As the vibrant green chlorophyll breaks down and new chemical reactions start to take place, the leaves take on the prismatic colours which we instantly associate with autumn.

The huge horse-chestnut tree that overhangs our garden reminds us each day of autumn’s brilliance. It drops regular gifts of multi-coloured leaves and conkers, sometimes on our heads! We have now filled a bucket to the brim with glossy mahogany-hued conkers which Andrew scours the garden for in readiness for mowing the lawn. A tip – conkers are the natural enemy of the lawnmower, don’t bring the two together unless you have always wanted a lawnmower with blunt blades.

We have no real plan for what to do with our conker stash but I’m a big fan of crafting so they are sure to come in handy – or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Perhaps I’m just keeping them for sentimental reasons. My primary school had three enormous horse-chestnut trees and everyone in my year would compete each lunchtime to collect the most conkers in an hour. As you can imagine, there was much bustling and running, combined with the odd underhand tactic, but there would have been no point in telling us that they were just conkers. They were so much more than that. There is something really special about prising open the flesh of a freshly fallen spiky green capsule and popping out the jewel inside.

I reckon that autumn has the ability to make even the most mature person feel like a child again at heart. There are conkers to play with, leaf piles to jump in and blackberries to pick. Don’t pretend you’re not tempted. Unlike summer, it’s also cool enough to comfortably wear a raincoat, so the weather is no excuse for staying indoors. So go outside, release your inner child and bask in the simple joy of autumn.