A gorgeous weekend of bright sunlight and long shadows. We are still in the process of domestic refurbishment so we didn’t see as much of the outside as we could have. But natural light streaming through the windows helped a lot with painting walls.
The clocks went back this weekend, a sure sign that the inevitability of winter is near. Samhein is nearly upon us.
Peak Pumpkin
We accidentally went to a farmshop yesterday. Mid to late October is peak pumpkin spotting season. Pumpkins are at the top of my list of vegetable photography but I was encouraged not to linger as we were on a mission to buy paint for the house.
So I have had a digital linger, admiring and changing my one shot of the day.
I am fairly certain a watercolour will emerge from these colour observations.
This week’s figs. Not freshly plucked from the Fig trees of Kalamata but picked off the shelf from Marks and Spencer. A sign of the times figuratively speaking.
Today is the Autumn Solstice, a calm acceptance that Summer is officially over. The autumn clear up of the yard is scheduled for today.
The huge success of this summer has been the trellis extension( the orange area) to the wall. It gives us a foundation of better privacy in the yard. There are three seating areas to catch the sun and we use them much more often than we ever have before. Not that our neighbours are Ogres at all,but they do have a garden trampoline and goodness me I have an irrational dislike of those things. Now it is just a small black line on my extended horizon. The trellis also stops our dogs seeing the cats and chickens of our local area walking along the top of the wall. The dogs have an irrational need to be terratorial about such incursions.
A calm acceptance of the Autumn Solstice is a bit of a lie. Inside I am fuming, Summer arrived late in our yard and yet it is departing on time. I have enjoyed watching the progress and achievements of the climbing plants as they clamber their way up new wood and old stone to colonise the trellis. The Wisteria has something even more exciting to climb on, a massive rusty length of marine chain which was washed up during the last storm before summer established itself. In time the wisteria will cover the garage roof using the chain as a wayfinder.
So here we are Autumn, in theory my favourite season but I really only dislike winter.
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. I am already signed in with my figs.
How do you celebrate holidays?
I am not sure that I have a way of celebrating holidays beyond enjoying them in whatever form they take. Our most recent holiday ended yesterday as we eased our Australian friends into their hire car and set them free to explore North Wales and East Anglia without us. It has been a holiday of joyful surprises and beautiful places. Embellished with great conversations around all subjects both ancient and modern, great and small.
The picture above was taken in a small mountain village called Stemnitsa in Arcadia. Early autumn leaves edging a storm drain. I knew, when I saw it, that this image would somehow symbolise the end of summer for me. Here we are now in the middle of September and it seems only sensible to accept that Summer 2024 has slipped away. Accepting that allows me to celebrate autumn.
Not with fat, fresh figs as I could in Arcadia but definitely with the fruits of an English Harvest. I am on the hunt for Quince again and optimistic for autumn sunshine. Both things to celebrate a summer well spent and an acceptance of a change of season.
I learned a new word yesterday.
I am shocked that I never thought to question what the counterpart to misogynist is. Both misogyny and misandry are pretty easy to spot but it never occurred to me to give the dislike of men a name. Now I am thinking myself into a circle of over thinking.
Is it misandrist of me to think that misogyny is more commonly experienced in society.
Thankfully my second new word of the day is much easier to get my head around.
Goodness I love biomimicry. Yesterday a friend was knitting with variegated knitting wool,which was the exact shade of fallen autumn leaves. At the time she was sitting under this piece of art.
These were exactly the colours of the day yesterday.
Two new words in one day!
Not one ever to talk about Halloween, a ghastly reimagining of a perfectly good pagan event ruined by commercialisation and tacky plastic. But were I to buy into it then these mighty mushrooms, that we found this morning, seem pretty scary.
Autumn is such a gorgeous time of year if the weather is good. Last night we found some gorgeous greens on the beach and browns in some woodland.
Greens and browns and autumnal shades are the colours of a piece of costume jewellery that was gifted to me recently. A memento of a friend’s mum who died recently. It really is a most audacious piece of bling.
I am wearing it with pride. But for the end of this blog there is some more fungus.
I may be biased but a crisp London autumn is hard to beat. The combination of early morning dew makes some wonderful jewels on the fallen leaves.
Days like this are a fizzy boost, and long walks on Wimbledon common are a real wellbeing tonic. My next picture is a vivid natural emerald twinkling on the pavement.
The picture I can’t share with you is the epitome of urban cafe culture, which I witnessed last night. An urban fox returning with a large intact slice of cake.
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