August

Back from holiday, a wonderful break from the overwhelm I was feeling before we went. Hope the sense of calm will last for a while.

There is already a feeling of late summer here although school summer holidays go on for another three weeks. School holidays have been part of life for so long that even without children to consider it tends to be the way I mentally divide up the year.

As I took this picture of the first blackberries and the ones below of ripe wheat, maize, and the stubble remaining after harvest, I realised I take similar pictures each year. Most of my blog posts now record the changing of the seasons and the countryside throughout the year. If I look back at posts from a few years ago, my life was full with the boys and their school and after school activities. Now they are grown and life is less hectic, I have time to walk and to notice the details and changes happening throughout the year.

Late summer has a slow feel to it, the growth and flowering of spring gives way to a gentler pace, fewer flowers now as seeds are forming ready to complete the cycle for another year. 

As I get back into my home routine and the worries and concerns resurface, I must find time for my restorative walks and remember that seasons change throughout the year and throughout life. I need to remember that after busy energetic periods, all living things needs slower, quieter times.