Indian Summer

Summer Days have not yet took their leave.
Ninety eight degrees predicted for today, far too hot to get excited about Fall decorating.
The closest I've come, is adding a  few pieces here and there.  Our rainfall has been little to none for an entire month, many of the trees have already shed their brown leaves.

The air conditioner continues to hum....


 

An early American writer described Indian Summer well when he wrote, "The air is perfectly quiescent and all is stillness, as if Nature, after her exertions during the Summer, were now at rest."

      ~ John Bradbury 1817

Ode To Autumn

There is a subtle change in the air.

Cool mist-filled mornings, and daytime temperatures are seasonably pleasant.

Trees are slowly changing from greens to oranges and browns,  Autumn has unmistakably

arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

~ John Keats

Morning Wake-Up

How loud does your alarm clock MEOW ?

 

 

Goodbye Sweet Summer

 " When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream of beauty glides away. "

 

~Sarah Helen Power Whitman
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crawleys Return

Well, it's  time to polish the silver, and put the kettle on, because today our favorite Yorkshire estate in early 20th-century Britain is back with a feature film airing today in theaters.
The opulence returns.

Tennessee Countryside

Sometimes all you need is a mid-week drive down a country road.

 

 

 

 

Say Cheese

My home county of Cheshire, England is known for being the birthplace of famous author Lewis Carroll, of Alice in Wonderland fame.
It also holds the bragging rights to making some of the best cheese in the land, Cheshire Cheese.
The making of the cheese dates back to the early 16th century, and is considered the oldest in Great Britain.

Cheese was mostly stored in a cheese-keeper, as refrigerators were uncommon.
My grandmother's cheese-dish sat on her kitchen table, always with a nice piece of Cheshire cheese beneath, and a jar of pickled onions close by.

I fell in love and purchased this Royal Winton cheese-dish some thirty years ago, at an antique sale in Cheshire.
It's from the 'Country Diary Collection' and the delicate display of flowers reminds me of my grandmothers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire

 

 

September Days

   

"September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours,

But in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.
The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life.
The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath,
And their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds,
Now silent or departed."-
 

~ September Days : Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont

 

A Moment Of Silence

 

 

 

Together we pause to remember the victims,
to grieve with the families and friends of those who died,
and to honor the heroes of that day and each day since,
who have sacrificed to save lives and serve their country.

 

Rain-Less Days

With hurricanes dancing to the East and South of us , you would think a little rainfall would be in our forecast, but nary a drop has fallen.

Three weeks now, since we've had a decent rain, and trees and flowers are showing significant signs of stress.

If the head gardener didn't take it upon himself to water the flowers each day, I'm afraid they too would be long gone.

Even the songbirds seem to be more scarce, and nests are emptying fast.

Cooler nights, have arrived, and shopkeepers on Main Street are displaying their colorful pots of Chrysanthemums.

A sure sign that Autumn is fast approaching,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer's Last Smile

The last of the Summer flowers are giving us one final show.
The temperatures fell into the fifties last night.

Sweater-grabbing crisp air, the likes of which has not been seen since early Spring.

We're enjoying a day of quiet time , keeping those affected by hurricane Dorian, in our thoughts and prayers.