Summer draws to a close.

I cannot believe we are moving into Autumn, I've said it before and I'll say it again life goes to fast. It does not seem five minutes since the summer holidays began. Long lazy days spread out before us. Dreams of picnics and days beside the sea, seem  to just vanish in a whisper. Now the harvest has been brought in. Next years planting is already in the ground. Crop spiders (so I'm reliable informed) seem to be entering my house in a constant stream. (Every time I turn round there is a gigantic black one sitting on the stairs. I throw them out the window and I am sure the cheeky things just run around to wherever they gain entry and  march right back in again.)

With all that said there is something I love about the Autumn. Tidying the garden and preparing it to settle down for its long winter nap.
 Amidst the pink amber glow of sunset, bonfires crackle and spit, in the dusk. The children drag cut  branches to throw onto the fire sending up a blaze of orange sparks as they throw on the wood.
Warm woolly jumpers and a good excuse to have a mug of steaming hot chocolate (if you ever need an excuse)! And thoughts turning to preserving the ever ripening fruit in the hedgerows and doing something with the glut of vegetables. From the vegetable patch.

But I think one of my very favorite things about Autumn is the wonderful vibrant colours. We have a virginia creeper on the gable end wall of our house and it just seems to blaze in the sunlight at this time of year. The leaves on the trees turning slowly golden before turning that rich warm red., and floating gently down off the tree.

Glossy blackberries clinging in clusters amongst the red rose hips. The golden stubble against the backdrop of clear blue skies. And of course the most incredible harvest moon, hanging so low in the sky, giving everything a luminous look and making you feel as if you can reach up on tippy toes and grab hold of it!

And as the nights draw in the flowers in the shop begin to turn from the lovely pastel colours of  spring and summer into kaleidoscopic colours of orange, reds yellows and deep pinks. It is lovely to fill jugs with a mixture of flowers, berries and some ripe corn, sit them where you will see them often and they cannot fail to uplift your spirits.