September

Hello! Here I am again after a frantic few days back at work. It has been mad, but good to be back, seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones, staff and students alike. Despite the 'back to school' gloom that descends in the last few days of the summer holidays, it's nice to be back in a familiar routine and to be looking forward to the start of a new season. I haven't shown you my calendar for a few months, have I? Here's my September page, with its images of harvest time and fruitfulness.

I love September. I may have mentioned this last year... harvest time, golden light, abundant fruit, misty mornings, cooler days, darker nights. What's not to love? There's a lovely smoky smell in the air in the evenings now. It's the unmistakable smell of autumn, and it brings with a wonderful sense of anticipation. The garden has entered a mellow phase. The wild growth has slowed and the colours are rich and vibrant. I've been picking and freezing our blackberries for a couple of weeks now and have plans for them, along with a second flush of raspberries which have appeared.

The apples are starting to ripen and have begun to fall from the tree. I must start to collect them - I plans for them too.

The calendulas are flowering away in the brightest shades of orange, and I love them for it.

A week and a half ago P and I went for a walk along the river Avon as it flows west out of Bath. It was a hot afternoon beginning with sunshine and ending with rain showers, but we noticed how the landscape was easing gently into harvest time, late summer starting to give way to early autumn.

The river was very graceful, flowing past leafy parkland.

Flowers were sprinkled along the banks, visited by many bees and insects.

Shiny red hawthorn berries reflected the sunlight.

There were teasel seed heads.

And many elegant, shivery grasses and rushes.

We walked past a field of sweetcorn, or maize.

And past some rather hot cows resting in the shade of trees.

We finished where we started, near a beautiful waterside pub, and were glad of a rest on such a warm day.

Sitting at an outside table (with an umbrella) in the rain and enjoying its coolness, we ordered cold drinks. Lime and soda for me. In my backpack was a little harvest of my own, gathered from the tracks we'd walked along, a taste of early autumn.

( I intend to catch up with what you've all been up to over the weekend, as I've barely dipped into blogland this week - see you soon x)