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Sunday 29 September 2013

Autumn Memories - " Book of Me - Written by You".


Wilton Lodge Park, Hawick in the Scottish Borders
With grateful thanks to Louise for letting me feature this stunning photograph
Copyright © 2012 · Louise Wallace.    All Rights Reserved.

Autumn is my favourite season.
I love the colours of, brown, bronze, burgundy, green and gold.  Has this anything to do with the fact I was a "September" baby - as were my grandmother, mother, aunt, two uncles and husband?   These colours were staples in my wardrobe in the days when I was a brunette, and still feature  in my  home decor.  


 I recall as a child:
  • Scuffing my shoes through the leaves, and enjoying the crunchy sound - this still appeals to me!

My little granddaughter enjoying
a walk in the woods

  • Collecting different coloured leaves to take home and make a picture.

  • Taking hips and haws into school for the nature table.
  • Gathering blackberries in the hedgerows and bilberries among the heather - and turning  our  lips purple as we sampled the fruit.
  • Watching my mother turn the glut of apples, pears and plums into tarts, sponges, crumbles, jellies and jam.

  • Singing harvest hymns at school and Sunday school - among  my favourites  hymns with their rousing tunes and evocative lines "~We plough the fields and scatter",  "Come ye thankful people come, sing the song of harvest home", "To thee, O Lord our hearts we raise" , and of course "All things bright and beautiful "  where I especially liked  the image created by the verse
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;



Autumn also meant for me new beginnings – of a new school year, armed with a new pencil case or satchel, new shoes or uniform.  Later on it meant the sense of anticipation of a new university year, riding on the top of the bus on a crisp morning,  seeing Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile skyline rising above the trees changing colour in Princes Street Gardens 


Now living in the Scottish Borders, the autumn gold colours can be magnificent - we just don't always get the clear  blue skies to show them off!     Autumn comes early, when there is a different smell to the  early morning air in late August.  The light in the sky changes and  mist hangs over the valleys.
Looking across from Hawick to the twin Minto Hills in the distance
A rare dry summer.
This view reminds me of the line from the hymn "Fair waved the golden corn".


The rowan berries  in full bloom on 20th August 2013.  Does this early sign herald a bad winter?
 Sunset over Hawick - October 2011


I was lucky enough to spend time in New England and yes, I became a "fall foliage leafer peeper"



I once read of someone who hated autumn because “everything was dying”.  I thought what a pity that they could not see the beauty in this time which to me is truly  epitomised by Keats’ classic poem  - I know it can be regarded as cliché, but it is so apt:

"A season of mist and mellow fruitfulness"






 Other Photographs Copyright © 2013 · Susan Donaldson.  All Rights Reserved

This post was prompted by Julie at Anglers' Rest  and her new  series " Book of Me - Written by You", where she asks  us to write about our Favourite Season.

1 comment:

  1. Such a beautiful part of the world you live in Susan...thanks for sharing. Cheers, Catherine

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