Change of season

It happens all of a sudden - autumn sneaks in with a night that is bright and chilly. And in the morning, I drive to work along the wide river valley, accompanied by layers and swirls of mist where landscape should be.

My birthday tree peony has had some suede seedpods, sitting fat and content all summer where the lovely pink petals were. A hint of a frosty harvest moon night and WHAM! It happens all of a sudden - they had burst open in the night to reveal fat rows of large black seeds. I raced to gather them, (and forgot to capture the moment with the camera.) Only the empty aftermath. Then I discovered that the seeds have to stay dormant for two chilly winters - one to grow only roots, and the next to grow leaves. And then you probably have to wait seven years for any flowers!




This year, I think, wont be a sensational autumn for colour (like Cate shows us) The leaves are turning a dirty brown and dropping off sulkily, like sullen teenagers. I would like to be proved wrong. Cate wrote such perfect words .





A few splashes of burgundy is all the colour left in the garden, but a warm late afternoon sun let me sit and soak up the last of the heat of summer - but the chill of winter is lurking in every shadow.