The Last Day of August

"It's in the trees... it's coming............"    

Oooh bloglies .... can you smell it?  That tang.... that nip in the air.... the signs in the hedgerows?    

If I stand on my very tip-toes and squint a little .... I can see Autumn just around the corner....

My very favouritest favourite time of year. 

I shall welcome it with open arms.
Today I've been walking over the fields, intent on availing Mother Nature of the huge and abundant blackberries Charl and I had discovered on Sunday morning but couldn't harvest at the time.  I took HTH with me and we had a wonderful couple of hours, just walking and watching and listening.   The late Summer sunshine was really warm on my back and it was so blissful to be out there, just half a mile from home, but at the same time deep in the countryside that I love. I 'heard' two other people (on the other side of the hedge from us), walking their dogs.  I saw no other soul from the minute I stepped out of our garden gate until I got back.

Unusually for mid-morning, I heard the owl; I spend my wakeful insomniac hours listening to her calling into the early hours but today I could hear her hoo-hoo-hooing softly in the trees above me.  I looked and looked for him/her but couldn't see where the hooting was coming from.  All I know is that he/she was very close to where I was blackberry picking.  I also heard - and saw - two young buzzards wheeling around directly above.  My poor old camera just caught dots in the sky though.

I won't bore you further with my waxing lyrical so I'll let the photographs do the talking.

The Lightning Tree.   I love this tree.  A lot.  And it hasn't been hit by lightning at all - but that theme tune always comes into my head when I see it.  Yes I know...... moving on .....

Beautiful vistas framed by elderberries

Clouds.   Sigh..





Ivy scrambling up a dead tree trunk

Mellow fruitfulness

The elderberries are really ripe for picking

Now look here.   I can see an elephant lying down.  Front legs (ok one is a bit thinner than the other), trunk sticking up in the air and a white tusk.   I've shown this photo to family members who have either smiled politely and nodded whilst backing away at top speed, or called me a raving loony hippy.  Tut.   How rude.

My beautiful blackberry bounty

Home to gifts of damsons.....

And apples......

And home made cottage pie.



Summer is drawing to a close.

I'm glad I celebrated it with a simple day full of simple pleasures.

It suited simple me perfectly.