Farewell Summer....

As much as I love Summer I look forward to the change of seasons. Autumn is my favourite, I enjoy seeing the changes in the garden. Our hawthorn tree has just developed it's first berries for the season. In a few weeks it's branches will be hanging heavily bearing masses of it's pretty fruits. They may be inedible but they look oh so pretty and tell me Autumn is here!

I shall miss the blue skies and sunny days of Summer and yet I enjoy so much more the cooler Autumn days.
I'm just not cut out for very hot weather. I wilt like a delicate flower and hide indoors lest my lily white skin be burned to a cinder in the blazing Australian Summer sun.
Sadly we don't get the right kind of change here to give us the autumnal delight of changing leaves on the various deciduous trees. How I long to visit a place where the autumn sees a landscape palette of ever changing reds, greens and golds. I have seen photographs of places in Australia and overseas that take my breath away with their majestic Autumn flush of colour.

Cooler days mean more time to spend taking leisurely strolls around the garden. Evenings to sit and enjoy creative and crafty pursuits.More time to read! Of course I can do all of these things in Summer as well but usually don't. Summer is usually spent trying to keep cool, out of the sun. Summer is time with the children, preparing for Christmas & beyond. Organizing back to school and making plans for the coming the year.
The months fly by and before we know it Summer has ended and Autumn is here.

Autumn eases us from Summer to the resting and recuperating time of Winter. I hope you enjoy the coming season as much as I know I will.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Photo courtesy of http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=9669&picture=autumn-leaves-pattern

Where did Summer go?

One might be forgiven for thinking it was the middle of Winter here in Geelong today. The rain has barely stopped since yesterday. We usually have a beautiful view from our place right over Corio Bay and on a fine day can often see as far as Melbourne and the other side of Port Philip Bay. Today the houses of the nearest suburb, a mere kilometre away is barely visible due to the rain.

I am not complaining however, the Eastern States of Australia are currently suffering the most devastating floods in many, many years. Whole towns have been literally washed away and in Queensland, the centre of Brisbane city and many suburbs, is in parts under water. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones (the death toll is expected to rise) and those who have lost their homes, pets and posessions. The images on TV and the internet show absolutely terrifying and horrific damage and loss. It is still raining in many places with rivers yet to reach their expected peak. The impact of the damage will be lifelong for many and it is difficult for me to imagine how you begin to clean up such a mess. The task will be massive and take a very long time. The heartache caused by these floods will be overwhelming. My heart is heavy and full of sorrow for my fellow Australians who are experiencing the full force of mother nature at her fiercest.
More shadows than sunshine today but wishing you sunshine in your shadows sooner rather than later
Helen

**photos my own looking over Corio Bay

Summer Love

Summer is here at last. One of my favourite things about Summer is the stone fruit that comes into season.
We have a small orchard and productive vegetable garden at home and if we can beat the resident possums to them we pick a lovely amount of fresh organically grown fruit at this time of year.
Our strawberries are doing well and we always have a lovely lot of plums. The wildlife got the apricots before we did last year so I am watching them carefully as they develop & ripen. Unfortunately we are missing my favourite - nectarines.I really love nectarines! Really must plant one this coming year!
Our cherries succumbed to the drought so it will be store bought cherries for Christmas this year.
Do you have cherries at Christmas? Which stone fruit is your Summer love?
Wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Photograph my own