Friday 7 October 2016

My Week in a Nutshell ...

The hazy, cloudless skies of Indian Summer.
Leaves scurrying down the street before the wind.
The cold shiver from an arctic blast.
Indian Summer.
The last warmth of the sun.
Chilly mornings and glorious warm afternoons.
The touch of frost on grass and window pane.
The smell of burning leaves.
Keith C. Heidorn


Sunday
A beautiful clear, rainwashed morning.  The garden smells fresh and earthy.  A robin is singing and sparrows fly on and off the feeders.  A slight breeze is gently moving the leaves which glisten with drops of rain; a gull glides overhead shining silver as the sunlight flickers off its wings.  Shadows move across the fields; some bare and brown after ploughing; some green with clumpy grass; others bleached almost white.  A perfect day to work outside;  can one be addicted to the outdoors?

My Ode to Autumn

Beneath a tawny canopy
October flicks her skirts of golden hue.
Leaves of amber twist and turn
and touch the ground.
Silently.
Wisps of smoke
drift skyward
And purple berries
glisten
with morning dew.


Monday
Woke just before 7 a.m. to a rose-coloured sunrise.  The back fields were swathed in mist; the treetops rising,  ghost-like, hovering in mid air, as shafts of sunlight coloured their leaves russet and gold.



Tuesday
The cherry tomatoes growing outside are still producing and ripening even though we have had a touch of frost - soon I will have to pick all the tomatoes off and pull up the plants.


Wednesday
Another lovely day, although the wind was very strong.  Later, just before bedtime, I went out and looked at the night sky, there was no cloud cover and  the sky was studded with a myriad of stars shining brightly. With our feet firmly on the ground we forget sometimes to look up and see the wonder of the universe.


Thursday
The second hand bookshop is still selling off hardback books at £1.00 each.  Every week I pick one up.  The one I am reading at the moment is 'Letters from Skye' by Jessica Brockmole. (United by letters. Separated by an ocean. Devastated by war. Through their letters they became the people they wanted to be).


Friday
A dull morning.  I woke at 6.30 a.m. it was still dark.  I slipped out of bed and went downstairs to make a pot of tea.  Then returned to bed and read till it got light.  There is a word for people who read in bed -  Librocubicularist, although I couldn't find it in the dictionary!  I buy yellow chrysanthemums because they make the room look cheerful.


And there you have it - my week in a nutshell.


Elaine



40 comments:

  1. Elaine, that was a good week. Love the photo of the morning mists. We had a cold front come through last night. Our first one and it got down to about 45 degrees. Today is breezy and cool. No mists yet. I do wish I could get up and at it early. I don't like to rise before the sun is up. The second pic of the flowers is beautiful. I don't know what kind they are.

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    1. Thanks Donna. That plant is a hydrangea admittedly an unusual one - I found it in the reduced section at the garden centre - a real bargain.

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  2. And that final flourish of gold and orange leaves!
    What plant is that?

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    1. It is a Heuchara Diana - called 'Caramel' I thought it would look good in a hanging basket - lovely colours for autumn.

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  3. Lovely to read your week because I'm missing out on autumn this year. I never realised I was a Librocubicularist - tricky to say!

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    1. Shame you are missing autumn - although your present whereabouts does have compensations. Ah a fellow librocubicularist - who knew!

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  4. I seem to have to read each and every paragraph over and over. Simply beautiful writing and photographs, Elaine...

    Jane

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  5. What are those strange flowers in Photo 3?

    Beautiful pictures (as usual), our temperatures are dropping like crazy. Next Tuesday morning we are promised 4 C. I shall be looking for my thermal vest.

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    1. It looks like they have been made with Fuzzy Felt doesn't it - it is a hydrangea, nice eh.

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  6. Lovely post and pictures. Weeks like that are to be treasured, and pass by far too quickly I'm sure. Flighty xx

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    1. Thanks Flighty. We really have had some wonderful autumn days - although now it has turned dull and drizzly - oh well, you can't have everything all the time :)

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  7. Gorgeously autumnal pictures and words from your week. Thanks for expanding my vocabulary!

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  8. Love that word librocubilarist - I now know I am one of these too. Enjoyed reading about your week and seeing all your lovely photos. You certainly live in a beautiful place and know how to capture it so well. Please have a great week and enjoy the rest of those cherry tomatoes. Mine are almost gone as well. Hugs!

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    1. Hi Debbie
      It's a great word isn't it - not sure how you'd introduce it into conversation - a bit of a tongue twister :) Always sad when you pick the last of the tomatoes for the year, but I have plenty in the freezer to see us through the winter. Have a great week yourself. Hugs!

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  9. Delightful photos as always and it is lovely seeing photos of autumn. I am also a
    librocubilarist but have never heard or seen the word before.

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    1. Thanks Susan - someone just probably made it up, but I like it.

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  10. If you read in bed using an iPad are you still a Librocubicularist or a Technocubicularist? Either way, I love your misty fields pic!

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    1. Ha - good one Jessica. Yes I love that pic too - just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

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  11. A beautiful week in a nutshell Elaine, your Ode to Autumn is wonderful. Favorite picture is the misty field with treetops, great capture, but you have to be early.
    When I had Snarf still, I always was early around in the morning but the last few months I´m late, too bad I think.
    Now we have another beautiful sunny day, I hope on your side too. Enjoy your Sunday.

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    1. Thank you Janneke. My favourite too and yes it was very early when I took it. I bet you miss your walks with Snarf, I miss reading about him too. Have a lovely week.w

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  12. What stunning photos! Love the week in review style post. :)

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    1. Thank you Marcie as long as I remember to write everything in my journal I'm OK otherwise I forget the little things :)

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  13. Lovely reflections and photos on autumn. I love the misty fields and copper-green trees photo. I know we could do with a lot more rain here but the sunny days at this time of year are beautiful.

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    1. Thank you Wendy. We haven't had rain, proper rain, for quite a while. Although I think next week is going to see the weather deteriorate - Ho hum!

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  14. You live surrounded by magical landscapes, Elaine. I like your week in review - it's a glimpse of life far from my own. I am definitely an outdoor addict and a Librocubicularist. Have another good week!

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    1. That makes two of us Barb :). Glad you enjoyed my week in review - it is the little things that make each day special isn't it.

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  15. This was so very beautiful <3

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  16. Hi Elaine. You do keep busy and frankly if I lived in England I'd be busy tramping through those lovely woods of yours. Corn fields on the prairie just don't compare. I love your fall photos and your weekly routine. And yes, a positive attitude helps. I am by nature one with a cup not just half full, but brimming over.

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    1. Dear Ann
      The countryside around here is looking lovely right now although the tree are slow to change colour, the weather hasn't really been cold enough yet. I have a busy Autumn so far and am loving being outside and keeping busy. It won't be long before we will be kept inside and other leisure pursuits will have to be enjoyed, but at least I have all the spring bulbs planted now, so all I have to do it to wait for spring to come around again. Nice to see you back blogging after your little break.

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  17. And what a lovely week it was! Such a marvelous atmospheric post, showing autumn in all her splendour. I did enjoy your ode and loved the pics, especially the one of the ghostly, misty trees. The stars are beautiful now, I just love the autumn and winter stars, they do seem so much brighter.xxx

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    1. Thanks Dina. Nice to hear from you. Still a little too green round here for my liking, but looking at photographs of the last couple of autumn the leaves didn't really show off their glory till November - so still a way to go yet.

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  18. A pleasant and peaceful week Elaine.
    I am reading Nigel by Monty Don and loving every word.
    A lover of dogs and gardening cannot go wrong with this book.

    Isn't the countryside beautiful at this time of year............

    I see you mention spring bulbs in your last comment.
    I planted 200 before I left for a weeks holiday. On my return at least half of them have been dug up and some eaten.
    It really is disheartening sometimes. I have replanted them :)

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    1. Hi Cheryl,
      Monty Don is a good writer - I have read quite a few of his books, so I will look out for this one. It has been a nice dry autumn so far, thank goodness, I am not a fan of dreary, wet autumn weather.

      Sorry to hear about your bulb disaster, those pesky bunnies - hopefully not too much damage done and they will give you a good show in a few months time.

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  19. "my week in a nutshell."

    I must say it was a lovely week to read about and see in your photo's.

    All the best Jan

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  20. I think I might like the book letters from skye.

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    1. I really enjoyed it - I like books in the form of letters or diaries, so this was right up my street :)
      I found it very moving.

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