As the end of August draws near, nights are cooler, and the relentless chant of cicadas in the cottonwoods, and scrub oak, seems thin and lacking in enthusiasm.
A cool breeze stirs the pines, and slides slyly past to conjure in me some primitive excitement..an almost overwhelming need to....to.......to be off .. following in it's wake....yes...to fly away.
Although I love geese and sometimes I'm as silly as one, I'm not equipped to migrate. From where does this vague sense of unease, arive to plague me each autumn? And why? Will they someday define some gene as the one passed on to me from my nomadic ancestors? Like Mole and Mr. Toad from Kenneth Graham's Wind in the Willows, I'm ripe for change and adventure.
A cool breeze stirs the pines, and slides slyly past to conjure in me some primitive excitement..an almost overwhelming need to....to.......to be off .. following in it's wake....yes...to fly away.
Although I love geese and sometimes I'm as silly as one, I'm not equipped to migrate. From where does this vague sense of unease, arive to plague me each autumn? And why? Will they someday define some gene as the one passed on to me from my nomadic ancestors? Like Mole and Mr. Toad from Kenneth Graham's Wind in the Willows, I'm ripe for change and adventure.
Some garlic chives have naturalized on the top tier of my neglected rock garden,
where bees work busily among the frothy umbels.
A head count confirmed that the Cooper's Hawk was unlucky with it's chicken hunting. It hung around for a couple of hours before departing on other business. Chickens are not as dumb as people think they are.
13 comments:
Beautiful photos! And yes, I can relate to the wanderlust that awakens in autumn. Sometimes I think it's just a Pavlovian response to so many years of the back-to-school excitement (and anxiety!). But sometimes I think it's more about getting ready for the turning inward of winter - my favorite time of the year!
thanks for the nice comment, angie. I always enjoy my visits to thelazyartistslounge.
A Cooper's hawk in my immediate area didn't fare nearly as well as yours. A neighbor showed up with the poor dead thing on a shovel so that we could identify him/her. Like a dutiful citizen, he called the health department & found out that they want to hear only about dead birds that one is certain died within the last 24 hours. I think the calls are all about West Nile, but the criteria make it pretty difficult to make a report!
we must be joined at the hip. I commented today on the approaching autumn, myself. Great minds, etc.
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I am awed by the photos on your site. You really have talent!
gj, I think the HD is interested in West Nile, but in our experience too, it's been hard to interest them in a dead bird. Go figure! Too bad about the Cooper's Hawk tho..
liz, I'll bet your autumn breeze is just a bit nippier than ours!
bright meadow, thanks for droping by!
The approach of autumn has its effect on me too, not so much wanderlust but an energizing feeling and fresh enthusiasm for things in general. Any wanderlust is going to be satisfied by a trip to the US next month visiting friends in NH and hopefully seeing at least the start of the Fall colours.
Great bee photo, Sheofsimilarbraintomine. They are so hard to get in exact focus. And what a well-written post!
I think the excitement of the changing season - especially fall - is felt more in people who live close to the land. We see Mother Nature's hand every day, and that may stimulate some primeval sense that it is time to move.
So glad you "found my blog", and I am happy to find yours. I have added you to my list of "People who sometimes visit the Enchanted Forest", and I will be back to visit you.
rowan, maybe that autumn breeze whispers to us either to migrate or to get busy preparing for the long winter....
Your trip to NJ sounds fun..have you been to the States before?
wiz, I am enthraled by your beautiful site. Thanks for stopping by..
I've been visiting my friends in New Hampshire for over 25 years and love New England. I pretty much regard it as a second home now. My daughter took her first steps in C's kitchen when she was 14 months old - I had my back turned of course so everyone saw it but me:) That's the story of my life - I had the same experience with a leopard in South Africa,our friends saw all of it, Steve and Hannah saw half of it, my daughter caught its tail and I saw precisely nothing! The one animal I really,really wanted to see too.
Old friends are the best! You can just pick up where you left off.
How frustrating to have missed those two great moments! I tried to think of some cheerful platitude here, but can't. It's annoyance with no antidote...
Anyway, have a lovely time in New England, Rowan. I'm looking forward to seeing it through your eyes.
SOLB, I have noticed that the bees like my flowering garlic chives more than any thing else that bloomed at our place this summer. Do you suppose there could be a hive full of garlic honey somewhere nearby that would actually taste good???
katie, it's a thought. We had neighbors who kept bees and gave us a little jar of lovely honey every year, which we appreciated greatly. One year, their bees made honey from buckbrush. It was very dark and tasted as strong as molasses. It was good in cookies and gingerbread tho...
Garlic honey might be good on..on..roasted vegies maybe?
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