It’s properly dark by the time I get off the second bus now, that happened fast this year, feels like just last week it was still light out when I got home.
Noticed it properly on the walk back tonight, the hedges along the lane look different in the low light, and the air finally had that first real chill to it, the kind where you walk a bit quicker without really deciding to.
Stopped at the corner shop instead of cooking, grabbed something easy (whatever looked least like effort) and ate it standing at the counter like a teenager, which felt a bit silly for someone my age, I suppose, but there you are.
Didn’t think much of it at the time, just one of those small moments where you notice the year’s turned a corner without you really paying attention to it.