September

"The breezes taste of apple peel

The air is full of smells to feel -

Ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush

New books, erasers, chalk and such

.................

Like plates washed clean with suds, the days

Are polished with a morning haze."

John Updike

I have always loved September.

When I was young it was the first day of school

and one never knew what the year would bring.....

excitement, and challenges,

learning and expansion of life.

When I was middling young,

Mum to a family,

the start of the school year

held a whole new concept..

the children off to school,

and Mum looking for ways 

to fill her days...

Well, now I am oldish,

and the words of

Autumn Leaves mist my eyes

(I miss you most of all,my darling

when autumn leaves start to fall)

I am still looking for ways

to fill my days.

Grateful for the looms...

I was taken with the idea of a collapsible scarf

and so I wound the warp

and here are the results

driven to see what the magic

of water would do to this warp

I spent far too many hours

for an ancient lady

and so today I resolved 

to make it a day of rest, more or less!

Callie and I went wandering in the garden

(Bruce is too restless to wander)

and we found lovely evidences of autumn

about to descend upon us....

The autumn crocus, and the asters

The lovely orange lanterns that follow us from garden to garden

and the Sedum, which promises to lighten up

the corner of the garden

where it lives.

I found this sweet Hellebore, just starting to bloom

and evidence of the fall crop of raspberries

to store away in the freezer

to make winter breakfasts

reminiscent of summer mornings

the peony leaves speak of autumn colours

as does the mountain ash, liberally burdened

with glowing berries

the last of the honeysuckle, the bee balm and the phlox

but look, the cleome has bloomed this year...

and the nicotiana lends its beautiful fragrance to

September evenings

like the occasional small violets that spring up, thinking

April has arrived

the quince bush shares its fruit

with a small twig of that beautiful blossom

that makes it such a delight in the spring.

A sweet morning to welcome September,

but now I see it is lunchtime.

A tomato sandwich

and a bowl of peaches and cream!!

Will you join me......