It seems a day
(I speak of one from many singled out)
One of those heavenly days that cannot die;
When, in the eagerness of boyish hope,
I left our cottage-threshold, sallying forth
With a huge wallet o'er my shoulders slung,
A nutting-crook in hand; and turned my steps
Tow'rd some far-distant wood...
I thought of it yesterday... because right now, we’re having the most incredibly beautiful late autumn weather. The skies are crystal clear and soft blue and at night the heavens are ablaze with stars. Daytime temperates are gently warm and the nights and mornings are crisp enough to put the fire on. Still a novelty for us!
Yesterday, I didn’t write a word.
We went to Yungaburra markets to buy more plants and fruit and vegies, and then we paddled
our canoe on Lake Tinaroo. It’s magical to go up and down the little creeks that lead into the lake in a sleek canoe, silently slipping past magnificent rain forest trees that come right to the water’s edge, listening to birdcalls, to a waterfall deep in the forest, watching ducks take off, or cormorants diving for fish.Also, I’m sure paddling a canoe is very good exercise for a writer. After sitting hunched over a keyboard, it’s great to open up the shoulders and use arms and wrists in completely different movements.
I spent the afternoon planting up the bank directly in front of the house. I’m slowly filling it with Australian natives, with daisies and ground covers, lilies and ground orchids. By spring it might be nice enough to take a photo and show you.
What's the weather like in your part of the world?
7 comments:
Barbara, I don't know that poem, but it evoked memories of collecting walnuts and chestnuts when I was a kid. And going mushrooming.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. Usually in Melbourne the nights are cold and crispy, the mornings chilly with perhaps a little fog, but by mid-morning the sun is bright and the day brilliant. Perfect days to be out in the garden.
Your rural adventures are gorgeous -- thanks for sharing them.
Yesterday was a bright, sunny Autumn day but today it is dull and cloudy. At the moment there are thousands of leaves tumbling from the trees all over the city. I love Autumn. Well done with the canoeing!!
First of all, I love the imagery in this post! It was such a great break from our first week of summer holidays and the chaos that comes with it. It was hot and buggy out here today, with some rain showers thrown in. The grass is growing too fast and the garden is almost past the seedling stage. The corn is about a foot high and the strawberries are blooming. Today we had our first summer popsicles. Earlier this spring, a late frost killed most of my flowers; I hope that your flowerbed will be glorious.
Anne, 2paw, a beautiful autumn day is hard to beat, isn't it? We don't have native trees changing colour, although there are quite a few liquid ambers on the Tablelands. We've planted two. And since I've posted, we've also planted two Fuyu persimmon trees. Mandy, sorry to hear about the frosts in Oklahoma killing plants... My garden still has to negotiate winter... no snow here, of course, but we do have frots.
Hope you family enjoys the summer holidays. Don't they start early?
Roland Garros (French Open Tennis Tournament) has started and with it comes summer...at last. It's been a hot week after a dreadful rainy and cold spring.Lawn has grown wildly, so mowing is on the agenda. Forget-me-nots have beautifully flowered as well as the Lilac tree. Have planted some new fuschias in the half shade as I lost the old ones to frost this winter. I also had to replace my bay leaf bush/tree as it was lost to frost too. I tell you, it was cold!
Children will be off school end of June for 2 months of glorious late mornings. Yay!!
Our last day of school was on a Monday (!!), the 18th. Then they start up around August 10. I'm not sure why the schedule is that way; when I was in school, summer vacation was June to the first of September.
So cool to hear about the persimmon trees!
Wow! That's an incredibly long summer holiday. How cool it must feel to be an American kid at the start of that long summer away from school. Our children have six weeks off over summer (what we call the Christmas holidays), which sounds closer to what Brigitte described in France. Ours have an extra four days at Easter, as well as two weeks in June/July and two weeks in September.
Love the sound of forget-me-nots, fuschias, lilac and a bay tree. Sounds very romantic to me, Brigitte.
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