Friday 26 August 2016

mellow moments of late summer ...


"Let me enjoy this late-summer day of my heart while the leaves are still green and I won't look so close as to see that first tint of pale yellow slowly creep in. I will cease endless running and then look to the sky ask the sun to embrace me and then hope she won't tell of tomorrows less long than today. Let me spend just this time in the slow-cooling glow of warm afternoon light and I'd think I will still have the strength for just one more last fling of my heart."
- John Bohrn, Late August


I cut boughs from the crab apple to bring indoors.  The pale green blind is pulled down and the shaded sunlight seeps through, throwing a soft light on the fruit.


I love the colours of late summer in the garden; yellows and golds


The fruit is bountiful on the trees, with more to harvest than I could possibly need or use.


The rowan has red clusters of berries hanging low; winter food for blackbird and redwing


But the blackberries are still hard and green


Yesterday the weather was  softer with a light sprinkling of rain - a welcome relief from the heat of the past week.  Summer is slowly ending, the leaves gradually yellowing on the trees.


I do love this time of year when there is still heat in the sun and the days are tinged with cooling breezes; the nights slowly draw in but the evenings are pleasant; skies are streaked with peach and lavender and the winds ease; it is very still; not a movement in the trees; just two crows pecking the ground for their supper and a few wasps buzzing round the maturing apples and plums.


We visit the lake in the afternoon and watch the sun dancing on the water; the level is way down creating a beach where once there was none.



The fields have been harvested, just the stubble remains


Sloes begin to dominate the hedgerows


And grasses idly wave as we pass by


And so ends another fruitful week of toil in the garden; harvesting tomatoes, beans and courgettes; flowers planted  in the newly weeded and tidied beds - creating order out of chaos - very satisfying.

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."
   ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
            Elaine

42 comments:

  1. Oh so gorgeous Elaine. Perfect time of year. Our blackberries are ready by the fourth of July and quickly dry up after. Will you harvest sloe berries? Never saw those before.

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    1. Thanks Donna. I love this time of year too. Not quite autumn, not quite summer and winter still seems far away. The sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn and are practically inedible - they are used mostly to make sloe gin which tastes like cough medicine to me but my husband loves it.

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  2. I am in complete agreement with Nathaniel Hawthorne.

    Ms Soup

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    1. Me too Ms. Soup - I am outdoors as much as possible and leave the indoor jobs for winter.

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  3. A lovely time of year; I just wish I had plums like yours, we've had a very bad year for top fruits.

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    1. I agree. I have had the best year ever for plums - although they are taking their own sweet time to ripen - just hope the wasps don't get to them before I can indulge myself.

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  4. You are a wonderful writer and photographer. I so enjoyed this post and look forward to following along!

    Jane x

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  5. Adore the crab apples in a vase. Never thought of doing that.

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    1. I've got masses this year - so I thought the tree wouldn't miss the few branches I picked.

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  6. I love the sunny atmosphere in that first shot. I also love the end of summer when we return to more comfortable temperatures! Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Thanks Sandra. When I saw the sun and shadows on the fruit I ran upstairs for my camera before it disappeared. Sometimes you just have to catch the moment :)

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  7. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Like you I like this time of year as summer ends and autumn begins. Flighty xx

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  8. What are sloes on the hedgerows? It has cooled here, too, days still tend to heat up. There is a quietness in the morning air. You describe the season perfectly. My mom used to make crabapple jelly. I never thought to bring branches in for decoration. Nice walking weather. Lovely post, Elaine.PS I've been enjoying your PINS,too.

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    1. The sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn Ann, we pick them about November time after the first frosts and use them to make sloe gin. I haven't had much time to go on Pinterest lately - in fact I have hardly been near the computer at all so I am behind with everything. Thank you for taking time to visit me.

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  9. Beautiful Elaine......

    I love the first image. It shows, so well, the passing of time and Autumn knocking on the door.

    It is a good feeling when we see a difference in the garden after days of toil.
    Not much done here...so hot and the nights are so humid. Sleep is becoming but a memory.

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    1. Thank you Cheryl. I love the picture too - capturing a fleeting moment. I have been working hard to get the garden back into shape - it had run riot !!! I have invested in an electric fan for the bedroom - I can't tell you what a difference it has made, I expect my electricity bill will be sky high but at least I have managed a good nights' sleep.

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  10. The warm autumn colours are lovely. I don't think we've had the same temperatures you've enjoyed, could do with a bit more heat there too!

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    1. The garden was beginning to look a bit drab so I have invested in a few autumn plants and they have made all the difference. We have certainly had some lovely weather just lately and tremendous storms too - perfect.

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  11. I am a spring girl really but I do like the colours of autumn. Like Jessica we haven't had the heat as strong as you seem to have. It's really just been warm and pleasant except for the last couple of days which of been wet and miserable.

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    1. I always think of myself as a spring person but autumn comes a close second - we have had a nice mix of weather, and we desperately needed the heavy rain of yesterday - the garden heaved a sigh of relief.

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  12. What a beautiful post evoking the season so well.

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    1. Thank you Freda. Sometimes I struggle to put into words how I feel about the seasons, luckily the photographs do the talking for me.

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  13. Such a lovely post with great photo's. I particularly like your first and then the lake with the sunshine shimmering ... perfect.

    "And so ends another fruitful week of toil in the garden; harvesting tomatoes, beans and courgettes; flowers planted in the newly weeded and tidied beds - creating order out of chaos - very satisfying."
    ...very satisfying indeed, I hope you are relaxing a while over this Bank Holiday weekend

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you Jan. I couldn't believe how low the water was in the lake - hopefully yesterday's downpour will have filled it up a bit. Have a good bank holiday Monday.

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  14. Thank you Elaine for these words and photographs. In my mind and heart the world is a harsh and pitiless place, but you see such joy xxx

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    1. Thank you Carrie. I do try to be positive if I can, the little things that catch my eye are always appreciated :)

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  15. A lovely look at this time of year and the flowers and fruit in the gardens and hedgerows. Much as I love the sun it's been far too hot for me here recently so I welcome the cooler breezes. I agree with Nathaniel Hawthorne; golden autumn days are very precious.

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    1. I know how you feel Wendy - it only has to be slightly warm and I perspire profusely and have to keep coming back indoors to mop my brow and cool off - I think it must be my age :) The hedgerows are slowly starting to come alive with their bounty - yes these autumn days are precious and shouldn't be wasted - winter is just around the corner and we will wonder where the summer went so quickly.

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  16. Autumn usually makes me feel very sad, but your golden pictures and that quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne have me quite looking forward to the weeks ahead!
    All the best :)

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  17. As I get older I seem to look forward to each season as it arrived - probably because I don"t know how many seasons I have left :). It's going to be a glorious Autumn - I can feel it in my bones. Have a good one Pat.

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  18. This is such a lovely, whimsical post that has me happily drifting from summer to autumn, you do have a mellow way with words. That quote is perfect for this post and who knew that crab apples could look so good in a vase. My crab apple tree was laden last year, this year...nothing! Your lake is lovely, I wish we had one close by....I do hope those sloes are enhancing your gin, if you drink it.xxx

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    1. Thanks Dina. My crab apple tree is the other way round - last year rubbish, this year absolutely laden. I don't really do anything with them, but they look nice in the garden. I don't drink but Dave enjoys it.

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  19. Beautiful photographs Elaine, showing us that Autumn is on it's way !!!!!
    Crab apples always remind me of my childhood. Many of the streets where I lived were lined with crab apple trees. I think that we used to eat them and then spat them out as they were so tart. They are better kept in a vase on your windowsill .... although there's always crab apple jelly !! XXXX

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    1. Thank you Jackie. We did the same as kids, the acid in them sort of coats your teeth doesn't it. But I do remember eating raw rhubarb, dipped in sugar and my mum used to grate cooking apples from our tree and mix sugar in with them so as not to waste all the fruit but they always went brown - we still ate them though :)

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  20. Your post is like a poem with photos to illustrate. Late summer in Leicestershire is indeed lovely. Your flowers and fruits are a bounty! Wish I could see them in person.

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    1. Thank you Barb, very kind of you to say. Yes, our late summe is indeed bountiful and I am enjoying every minute. Each season here brings many pleasures :)

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  21. I like the quote from John Bohrn and must find out more about him Elaine. I spent most of August not so far away from you in Peterborough where the weather has been fantastic apart from a most mighty thunderstorm last Saturday. Not quite autumn yet but its beginnings are making their presence felt :) Fabulous photos as always.

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    1. Yes, the quote seemed very appropriate. We had the thunderstorm too - most welcome but glad to see the sun again. Slowly but surely autumn is creeping in - a lovely time of year.

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  22. Wonderful late summer photos, I love the warm colours, the atmosphere and how autumn slowly creeps closer. I´m also slowing down working in the garden, love just these days reading a book on the porch, picking flowers for a vase and harvesting tomatoes.
    Wish you a lovely start of September with many beautiful days!

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    1. I love this time of year - September has always been my favourite month, so much to enjoy and making the most of this lovely weather we are having.

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