Scotstober 2026

Last day of the autumn holiday and it's glorious blue skies and gold light. But there's frost on the porch after yesterday's rain and a harsh chill in the air since I refuse to turn all the heating on. I used the leaf blower on the worst part of the front yard, but the leaves are still dropping. 

Raking leaves always reminds me of when the current US president came to Finland and told the world we raked our forests to keep them looking nice. Idiot. At the time, there were tons of memes, showing Finns out raking the forests, hashtagged Rake Finland Great Again. Funny thing is, Finns do love their forests and some are a bit obsessed with perfect, leaf-free lawns, but ne'er the twain shall meet.

I've enjoyed my week off. A couple of friends from Scotland came over and we went to dinner, wandered around town, went to a public sauna and dipped in the sea, but mostly chatted. They used to live in Finland so it was nice to reminisce and catch up. 

But tomorrow is back to the grind. I need to get out and enjoy my last bit of freedom and finish tidying the garden. I have apples to collect, a compost bin to empty, my allotment to tidy. The leaves will be left for the kids to do. There has to be some recompense for having four kids.

I forgot about Scotstober for the first 10 days. Though I think I might have not done it at all last year. It's a shame as I do love the language and trying to figure out how to write in it. The Scotstober 'creator' Dr M Dempster also seemed to forget or has gone offline for whatever reason, but another poster on Bluesky came up with a list of words for us to use. Sorry about the quality, you'll just have to read on. 

I have tried various things for Scotstober over the years including finding the words used in other poets' work when I didn't trust my own attempts. The past couple of years I try and write a wee poetic snippet using the word each day and then try and knit them together into a poem at the end of the year. Sometimes it works, sometimes, no. I can see a glisk of something coming.

No apologies for my use of Scots. I'm not a native speaker, but I do my best, trying to use the language as I've heard or read it in Scotland, usually Glasgow. I'm just having fun.  

Day 10

girse - grass thi scrab aiples rottit oan thi girse birsin unnerfit thi juice av October

Day 11 jalouse - to suspect, to think few wad jalouse thi mirk in me tae bite doon on its cauld steel expectin tae taste licht

hinnied-sweet

Day 12 thrawn - very stubborn ah ken theres a hoolin o wind ootside but ahm tae thrawn tae switch oan thi heatin hap yersel wi stockins an woolen blankets jist coorie in

Day 13

stroop/stroup - a spout thi cauld leavin mah banes lik thi hush frae thi kettle's stroup

Day 14 - deave/deeve - to annoy, to deafen murrin at mah feet ah can maistly forget she wis deavin me fur fuid i thi wee oors

Day 15 - quine - a young woman or girl ahm no a quine no a carline no a wifie naebody cries me hen or missus ahm a wummin an auld soul a new soul

a body in mah ain body

Day 17 - flech - a flea or a restless person flechin - to be restless mah hert unsattelt flechin at thi sicht of thi sun trinnlin doon yer jaw ah mind yer wairmth

Day 18 - wrang - incorrect, wrong

smitched wi autumn amh drawn wrang i thi city av gowd and crisp-blae ahm thi shaddae-hauf

Enjoy autumn.