Wednesday 15 August 2012

First signs.

Four crane flies (Daddy-long-legs) have been on the kitchen window - the outside I hasten to add - all day. There were almost two hundred swallows on the wires this morning. The rowan berries outside the kitchen window have turned orange and, as happens every year, the pesky blackbirds have not given them a chance to ripen, They are almost all gone already.

After a spell of fine, warm, sunny weather it broke again today and in the two hours between three o'clock and five o'clock, two inches of rain fell here on the farm and the yard and the field opposite flooded. Now the sky is clear and the water is going down, but these are all signs that Autumn is almost with us.

I have been with friends today across the Pennines to Farfield Mill Craft Centre to look at a few exhibitions and to eat lunch in the cafe. Lunch was somewhat livened up when someone left the tap running in a room above the cafe and water started pouring through the ceiling. I love the exhibitions in these places - shows which showcase work (paintings, textiles, jewellery etc) - because they show us people who have the ability to be really creative, to get on with the work, to put an exhibition together and to mount it on time. These are all skills to be admired. I know some of the work involved as my previous husband was a water colourist. It is not just the painting of the watercolours, it is also the mounting, the framing, the choosing of the right pictures for the exhibition, the carting of said pictures miles to the venue, the mounting in the exhibition hall. It all takes time and perseverance over and above the creative ability to do the work in the first place.

I left the farmer holding the fort - getting his own lunch once I had started it all off, walking the dog, loading the dishwasher etc.- he seems to have managed very well without me. Perhaps I am surplus to requirements.

8 comments:

Pomona said...

Autumnal signs here too - harvesting going along and the smell of chutney in the kitchen!

Pomona x

angryparsnip said...

Autumn is just a distant hope where I live. The monsoons started early and are lingering but we need the rain !
As for the farmer and his lunch... I can not believe you are ever, "surplus to requirements".
I have meant to say Tess's new bed is indeed very smart.

cheers, parsnip

Heather said...

I thought there was a tang of autumn in the air the other morning and the hedgerows and verges are beginning to have a very late-summer look about them. Not a nice thought - I'm still hoping for an Indian summer - any sort of summer!
I'm sure you aren't surplus to requirements but much appreciated.
Glad you enjoyed the exhibition.

John Going Gently said...

a lovely picture you paint my friend

Dartford Warbler said...

If the northern swallows are lining up on wires then autumn can`t be far away. I have noticed that the New Forest bracken is now turning rusty brown at the base and we too have lost most of the rowan berries to the birds.

Hildred said...

I will be leaving Charles a peanut butter and honey sandwich when I go out for lunch tomorrow, - his favourite, so don't feel sorry for him.

No signs of autumn here yet, - we are still deep in the sultry heat of August and could use some rain before we are beset upon with forest fires.

The Solitary Walker said...

Lovely post — indeed, I've really liked all your recent ones, Pat. These almost day-by-day impressions of your life are so interesting and valuable.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Well, we complain about lack of Summer but at least we don't have that terrible fear of forest fires that they are having in parts of the US - so we should be thankful for that. Thanks for commenting.