Here is the Hurricane Tree. It's right outside the kitchen window, and above it's outside Mattman's bedroom window which is where we stood ? years ago when Hurricane Ophelia blew through, relatively kindly as it turned out. We thought we could track the strength of the storm by how bare the tree would get hour by hour. It didn't! So here is the tree in the first weekend of September. I imagine month by month bare is exactly what it will get. And I am really very happy to see the first few orange leaves and to feel that different coolness in the air and to hear the crisper rustling in the branches that whispers Autumn. Is it too early to get the pumpkins out?
I'm also very very very happy that my little pear tree has THREE pears this year. It has only ever had one pear per year, and that only twice. So this is a rich harvest indeed. I am very excited. I am less excited about the potential broccoli harvest. Mattman and I joined the home produce enthusiasm over Lockdown, but I have to admit that growing food has never been my success, and if we get one head of skinny broccoli, we will count ourselves lucky indeed.
And because of a blessing in my school's timetabling on Friday, Prince Charming and I got a walk all to ourselves on Friday, and it was sublime. A bright blue sky sort of a day with coast and tides and blackberries and muddy paths and languid cows and fields of corn. It was good to be right out of the city, after two weeks back in school with masks and visors and a circuitous one-way system, and to walk far and wide with lungs full of clean and healthy air.
And so, fine blogland folk, blessings on your September. Here's what I'll be at:
What I'm reading: Psalms; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; Lilies for Gretchen, finally.
What I'm making: a tartan mask for my Scotland loving about to be 80 years of age father; Cushla's Comfort, a blanket in a secret colour; the Hookery Shawl, which only advances by six rows a week at my Hookery Crochet group which has been meeting in Zoom for six months now.
What I'm doing: getting used to us all being back at school (see Psalm 91); still thinking about signing up for an online course, deadline this Thursday; outdoor swimming in Belfast Lough with Jordanstown Lough Swimmers, and wondering if I can keep that up into October...
Happy Autumn (let's all be like trees flourishing in the house of the Lord, whether we're back there physically or not, and whether they grow out of our heads or not) x
6 comments:
Keep flourishing! I've done 5 months of stripey weather scarf knitting. We had 6 rather small apples from our little tree. With a cupful of foraged blackberries I made a successful batch of 4 individual crumbles. So glad that you and PC got a walk in the sun together. Precious moments in a mad world
Love your pear harvest . Are you going to poach them or make a tarte? Many years ago on a trip to the Land of Oz I was shown a fossilised pear my 3x great grandfather found in a stream in Kent . Allegedly . It was bizarre , looked and felt wooden and was definitely a pear . We try to go grow veg every year , part of our plastic free July effort . With being at home all summer , we were hoping for a bumper year . Nope ! I think our garden must thrive in neglect .
I admire your wild swimming ! I went midnight swimming in the Lough in June 1978. My newly permed hair went straight and I got a dreadful tummy bug . That’s all I’m saying .
Good luck with Bernadine . Much too modern for my current frame of mind . I’m reading 1930s classic crime these days.
A beautiful walk! Swimming?!? My grands and their folks are going to the headwaters of the Mississippi today for their annual family photo. I don't think they'll be wading around. It's only 47F this morning! Time to fire up the woodstove. And time to empty the wading pool in the yard. Enjoy your cozy reading and crocheting! Hugs! :)
Ahh - this is a lovely post. I want to be a tree flourishing in the house of God. We studied that a bit on Sunday, looking at Solomon's temple, and the pillars like the tree of life in Revelation.
Congratulations on your pears! Have you considered baking them? Yummmm. Your hair is getting so long, Mags! Very pretty. Glad you two got out for a walk in the country air. Here in the US, apparently lots of people who are financially able are selling up their homes in the big cities and buying homes in the countryside as fast as they can. Our little farm is growing in value with the days!
NO hurricanes this year! That is my hope.
But wait -- you finished Lilies long before I did! Or maybe you are talking about a different book altogether, Lilies for Gretchen... Who's the author? It sounds like one I should read. ;-)
Your pear tree sounds like a cousin of my plum trees. Five fruits this year off two trees! But I never try broccoli; I'm sure the aphids and/or the cabbage worms would finish it off before I could eat any.
I wish I could come and visit right now and breathe your fresh air!! I was looking at this interesting visual that shows fresh air swirling around most areas of the globe. I will forevermore appreciate all the "blue" and "green" air that I can get.
https://www.iqair.com/earth
Hello dear Mags!
I'm so glad you got to go for a nice, long, and free walk together!
Maybe it is time to focus on pumpkins. And mums!
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