From 'A Calendar of Sonnets'
October
The month of carnival of all the year,
When Nature lets the wild earth go its way
And spend whole seasons on a single day.
The spring-time holds her white and purple dear;
October, lavish, flaunts them far and near;
The summer charily her reds doth lay
Like jewels on her costliest array;
October, scornful, burns them on a bier.
The winter hoards his pearls of frost in sign
Of kingdom: whiter pearls than winter knew,
Or Empress wore, in Egypt's ancient line,
October, feasting 'neath her dome of blue,
Drinks at a single draught, slow filtered through
Sunshiny air, as in a tingling wine!
Helen Hunt Jackson
'O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained with the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit beneath my shady roof; there thou mayest rest and tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, and all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers'. William Blake
Each day of sunshine is a blessing. I fill my soul with each cool, crisp hour; the quick movement of the birds in the garden, the sunlight through the leaves, transparent gold; my hands in the damp earth planting purple allium; fortifying myself with all this loveliness against the dreary days of November.
9 comments:
Such lovely photos, here we are heading into summer, and we have had 2 deliberatly lit bushfires near by already, too hot suddenly and too soon, although thank goodness we are cool and it is finally raining but probably not a lot. I have hoses on as well! Our deep dry sand is always a problem and so far our spring was lovely.
I love the second image of water, the dark water with the green above, wispy dried grasses and the red of the summac(I believe)to the left...Beautiful, so is the last of the rail fence and dried grasses!
Each photo celebrates the "carnival" of autumn, Hildred. I love the shades crimson in your photos. I, too, am savoring each day before the snow gets so deep that I must work much harder on my walks. I like to think of you outdoors with your hands in the dirt enjoying fall's gifts.
Your trees reflect the red sky. We have some red trees here though it is spring.
Thank you for the lovely autumn walk! The photos create the real autumn atmosphere.
Amazing captures of October! Your photos prove When Nature lets the wild earth go its way and you are wise to gather the loveliness. . .or as I hear myself mumbling to myself,
'here we go again!'
:O)
I love this post so much Hildred. Your poetry (your own and the quoted verses) say so beautifully what I wish I could say about how I feel about this lovely month here in Oregon! (Everything except the planting part -- but you know, we can't have everything!)
Every time I come to your "daybyday" I am refreshed by your thoughts, poems, and photographs. You must be surrounded by incredible beauty both day and night and in all seasons. Thank you, thank you for sharing them with us. You are the one person that always lifts me up. You are a sacrament with a small 's' that Fr. Andrew Greely speaks of. Your pages are God-sightings.
I came back specifically to re-read the Helen Hunt Jackson poem -- thank you for posting it. We've had that kind of month, going from one season to another within a day or two. Today is Winter! It is soon time for us to go South, but I am so glad we were here for the season change!
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