Autumn Cottage Diarist

Treen

Since finishing my academic writing last week, I have reverted to something more basic - cleaning the house - which I never knew could be such a pleasure! The pleasure is partially in being able to find the floor again (grin)...and partially in it being a mindless activity, but still something which feels useful - now how's that for a nice display of Protestant work ethic?!

I like to rotate collections - so this 'tidying' includes the packing away - for now - of my little collection of wooden items - known in the world  of antiques as 'Treen' (made from trees). I thought you might like to see some of them - so here they are, all lined up and ready to go (in a box!).

The red horse on the extreme left is one of five...hand painted and I think from Norway or Denmark, as I suspect are the two small wooden dolls on the right. There are several pieces of 'chip-carving'. The three figures at the back right are, I think from Spain - two of Don Quixote and one of Sancho Panza on his donkey. The little oriental wooden dolls are destined for a dolls house when I can decide just which one to put them in. The napkin ring on the right has a carved edelweiss - so may be Swiss, while the little figure next to it, finely carved in boxwood, is, I think, Bavarian (along with the taller of the three wooden dolls).

The chilly, wet, dreary part of autumn has arrived - chilling and wetting me when I went into town this morning. So after working hard yesterday, the Protestant work ethic is going on the back boiler for this afternoon - I am going to sit on the sofa with a hot cup of tea, read a magazine and write in my journal. Cup of tea at Autumn Cottage, anyone? :-)

Let Evening Come...

Evening by the summerhouse

The online writing community to which I belong has been touched by death twice in the last few days. First, one of our much loved members succumbed to cancer, then today another member heard that a local elder, a climbing compatriot of hers, had fallen to his death on a climb, doing the thing that he loved. One death was awaited...the other came unannounced. Both have stirred my thoughts. Though I have met neither of the individuals involved 'in real life', I met my group member and was privileged to witness her courage on an almost daily basis on FaceBook.

No more detail of the particular is necessary - the broader picture is that any close encounter with death brings it into sharper perspective for those left behind - it makes us all think a little more. Sometimes there will be shock, sometimes, relief; sometimes infinite sadness, sometimes inspiration taken from the life that has ended. Permutations of these emotions and an endless variety of other thoughts and  feelings.

What to say? What is the right thing to say? IS there a right thing to say? I don't know. Because each death is different and each person touched by the death of another is different. My own belief is that if whatever is said, is said sincerely from the heart, there's a good chance that it will be OK. I'll take the risk, rather than say nothing, and cross by on the other side.

Some are helped by words of comfort...some by words of philosophy. In memory of 'our' Mary and for Dallas, and for those who mourn them, this gentle  poem, by Jane Kenyon, offers both...

'Let Evening Come'

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

'Cross the Evening Sky, All the Birds are Leaving...

Sumach

The trees are turning, the apples fall, swallows are still gathering on the lines around here. Autumn is arriving, mostly gently, but last night with a thunderous lightening fanfare...drenching and frightening...but also soaking the ground, getting it ready for me to dig.

Each season brings its threats - but reframe the threats and see what bonuses Mother Nature really brings. The falling leaves can be a nuisance - or can be gathered up as an abundant gift of prospective leafmold. Windfall apples? they soon disintegrate into a mush, making them difficult to pick up - but the blackbirds, late butterflies, slugs and snails all love them. The departing swallows always tug at my heart - but I also know that they are off to warmer climes, following the sun - and if they did not leave, how could I rejoice at their return again in Spring?

Seeing these small things in my own garden only reminds me that to everything, there is a season...and I'm gratefully ready, now, here at Autumn Cottage, for this one.

Take a wander round the garden with me to see how it's preparing to rest...

Hostas

Whitebeam leaves falling down by the pond and summerhouse
The last roses of summer, on the arch by the pond

A fine meal for the beasties great and small

Dusky pinks and purples of a hydrangea

Hoping for one last glass of wine here,before the table and chairs go under cover for the winter

Luxuriant growth producing one pathetic globe artichoke (hope for more next year) - but the asparagus alongside was fabulous!

Pip 'assuming the position' until next Spring!

The glorious gold of pyracantha berries - a blackbird feast in the weeks to come

Returning to the Blogosphere... with some Mystery Pics

Well, it's gone - and I'm back. The MA dissertation that I have been working on for what seems like forever (actually only a few months - I postponed my submission last year) has been finished as much as it will ever be finished - and now all that has to be done is to sit and wait to see what the result may be.

Its a weird feeling - coming from spending practically all day and every day for weeks  in my office, to having the freedom to do whatever I like now (within reason!). I feel a bit disoriented, a bit confused as to what I do actually want to do - and then I sit and make a list of all the things that actually NEED to be done (like cleaning floors and windows that have not been properly cleaned for months!), and suddenly I am back to earth with a bump, and my time already allocated for the next few weeks. But still, I am very conscious that I have the luxury of choosing when I do all the things that need to be done.

I suddenly feel very, very tired now that the pressure is off - and have what feels like a pinched nerve in my shoulder from holding it at the same angle here at the computer for too long...but they are trivial, both will pass and then I can get around to sorting out Autumn Cottage, arranging some new writing courses for 2011 - and thinking a bit about what adventures I can have next!

During a few hours off on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago I visited the local car boot sale and discovered a most intriguing box of photographs, taken between the 1890's and 1930's. The most pleasing thing about them is that they are photographs of local people and places - so I might well get in touch with the local newspaper, to see if anyone recognises their great Grandpa or Grandma on them. But for now, here are a few that might intrigue you too, taken, at a guess, anywhere between 1890 and 1910. If any Newbury locals read this - do you know where 'May Villas' may have been? (and do you recognise your Grandpa or Grandma here?)

It's good to be back in the blogosphere again:-)))