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...and the first days of Autumn? There is always such an air of melancholy about the end of August, I find - and today that was enhanced by the first heavy mists hanging over the garden and surrounding fields.
The first apples are turning red, the first leaves are turning to yellow and gold...all around are just the first glimpses of Mother Nature of the Northern Hemisphere giving the tiniest of stretches as Her thoughts start turning to rest and sleep.
Just a few more photographs from the Welsh folk Museum, giving some idea of how Autumn Cottage may have looked when it was first built. The image above shows a traditional Welsh long-house .If you look through the doorway near to the horse's head...
...you will see the "entrance hall" - animals to the left
- and humans to the right. Turning right - into the kitchen - you can see the old fireplace -
the heart of the home - especially on cold winter nights - and a wonderful, old court cupboard, where the precious pewter and flatware would have been kept. Notice the date of 1702 and the beautiful patina of 400 years.
And how everything has flourished, because of the warm, wet weather, no doubt.
This is what the artichokes looked like at the beginning of June...
And here they are now...
One of these will be my supper tomorrow :-)
Here's the herb wheel and butterfly bed in June...
And now,
Complete with butterfly patrol cat...Pippin!
Speaking of butterflies...the buddleia is doing what it was planted to do - attract butterflies! Here is a beautiful Comma, supping nectar from a flower (click on the image to see the proboscis more clearly)
And here is a Brimstone on a milk-thistle - butter coloured (from whence the name "Butterfly" supposedly comes)
But from the summer butterflies, and the tender, exotic lantana...
Still, the first touches of autumn are already appearing....apples on the old tree under which my Mother used to play with Hugh
And berries already on the pyracantha
And so the seasons turn, turn, turn....but still, some roses bloom....
Abernodwydd farmhouse at the Welsh Folk Museum, St Fagans
Hello again!
Here I am, my dear readers, showing up at the page again after far too long
away. The summer months are flying past - already the days shorten and
the shadows lengthen. I thank you all for your comments and enquiries,
even when I am not writing here regularly. Life has had its considerable ups
and downs recently, but my generous readers encourage me to put
fingertip to keyboard once more. Thank you - you know who you are.
Since I last put any contribution onto these pages, I have attended a life
enhancing conference on feminist theology, (of which more at a later date)
and spent a delightful, if wet, weekend in Wales with my friend Liz - the
other "Lady of a certain Age" with whom I travelled to Venice, nearly two
years ago now. Oh, yes - where does the time go?
At the moment, I am spending much of my free time sorting through and
throwing away clutter that has built up over twenty years.(Its been too wet
to do much gardening over the last five or six weeks).
De-cluttering is a slow process, but it is happening - Charity shops and
recycling skips are already beneficiaries, and the house is looking
considerably clearer - but unearthing items from the backs of cupboards
brings back so many memories, so the clearing is bittersweet in so many
respects. Baby clothes, "Dragon" bookends, a hand-carved wooden
"merry-go-round" - all from when the boys were small - not the handsome
young six foot four men they are today. Where does the time go?
My committed time is allocated to preliminary reading on "Death in World
Religions" and "Flowers and death" in preparation for return to college, to
cover the last two modules of my Master's degree (only the small matter of
a 20,000 word dissertation to write after that!), and finalising the content of
four new writing/spirituality/creativity workshops that I am running from
September.
And a pre-Christmas one in December.
Oh, and a training day for one of the counselling organisations that I work
for.
And contributions to two book chapters.
I'm also in the planning stages for a writing retreat weekend which I hope
to run in Wales next year - here are some images of the location (Ty-Capten farm barn, below)
- now all I have to do is write the darned course! I'm trying to keep it low in cost, and
the most wonderful thing is that the most important factor - the inspiration
of the landscape and the surroundings to the main accommodation (set on
a 400 year old farm) comes absolutely free. (Any takers? if you are interested, please mail me)
The photographs on the page today are just a few from the weekend in
Wales - inspirational for putting pen to paper and journaling contentedly for
hours, is it not?
Liz contemplating the comfort of a Welsh box bed
Plain and simple on the outside - Llainfadyn Cottage from North Wales
Fancy on the inside - Welsh dresser, blue and white china and the door leading to a bedroom under the sleeping loft
The gardens surrounding St Fagan's Castle
St Fagan's Castle - fortified house
More gardens surrounding the house
Earthenware Wassail jug
Back at the farm - bubbly time!
Picnic supper on the old milk churn stands
Heavenly hydrangeas in the night garden
The extraordinarily ornately carved doorway of Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire
Green Man on the church door
Llanthony Priory
Ty-Capten farm barn - venue for writing retreat, 2009
Sam the Cat - barn sentinel and honorary scribe!
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