This morning, seemingly overnight, our view has changed. Our world is suddenly golden. Leaves that were olive drab yesterday are transformed, especially when viewed backlit with sunshine.
I’ve been pondering all summer, as we had week after week of nearly perfect, beautiful sunny days. I couldn’t help remembering all the books, diaries, and memoirs written in or about England and how perfect those months of spring and summer were weather-wise just before the war came in totally disrupt their lives. Many recalled feeling very close to their families, their landscapes, their communities with a poignancy they hadn’t felt, or at least acknowledged before. Many called it “that golden summer.”
That’s the way I’ve been feeling for months, that the weather is almost too perfect for words. The crops are more abundant than they should be, given the lack of rain because nearly every day was pure sunshine. Sometimes, I think it is God’s gift to compensate for the woes of the world right now. Sometimes, I fear it is the calm before the storm.
The light frost we had earlier this week may have worked more magic than I initially thought, chilling the leaves to bring on this luscious color. These are days to savor, to cherish in our minds for their beauty and their calm. It restores my soul. All morning I’ve caught myself humming the old hymn…
“For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies. For the love which from our birth over and around us lies. For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night, Hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light…”
Today is calm and beautiful. I’m going to take advantage of it, and spend a lovely day in the potager, planting the garlics, harvesting more herbs for drying, tidying, and just generally savoring every minute. I’ve even moved a ladder to the back of the Lady Cottage to fill the carpenter bee holes with wood putty! It’s an ambitious list, given how unmotivated I’ve been lately, so day’s end will tell the tale. Whatever gets completed will feel like a victory. Just being alive and outdoors on such a perfect day is magic. I hope it is as lovely wherever you are, and that you have time to soak in the beauty around you. Blessings!
herbalblessingsblog 
Isn’t it a wonder how fast the colors change. sometimes it really is over night.
I have finished weeding the hoop house which was over run with every weed in the county. I have hauled in top soil to refresh part of the deep beds in the hoop and hopefully will get something planted before it is too late. I just seem to be slow but still moving.
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I applaud your industriousness! You will definitely be happy for any productive crops in your hoop house. I have been thinking that I need to make more use of the extra weeks the greenhouse might give me in terms of salad greens. You’ve inspired me to do some planning and planting!
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Autumn had to come ! Lovely post.
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The colors have been spectacular this autumn!
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