Wednesday, May 23

Changing Seasons

When the seasons change, I seem to get a restless feeling. Autumn is my favourite time of year, always has been, it seems. I love the leaves falling, & the changing colours.

This is our little Maple. It is not spectacular when it changes, like some maples, but I love it even so. It always looks beautiful in Spring when it gets the new leaves, & during the winter there are huge clumps of Clivea growing underneath it, which are given sun in the absence of the leaves, & seem to love being snuggled up to the Maple trunk.



You can see the bright shiny leaves of another shrub I planted called Wizard Magic- I think!, or something of that nature. I fear it is going to be much larger than promised, so it will need trimming. It has pink flowers, & is a pretty sight, but it is a little smothered under the maple.







When we lived in Christchurch in New Zealand, we lived opposite the river in the Inner City Hotel. The River was the Avon, of course, & there are beautiful old trees growing on the banks. They have spectacular foliage & look wonderful when they change colour & drop the leaves.



Tbey are also very beautiful in the spring when they grow their beautiful lime green leaves, & then become covered with flowers like huge candles of pink & white. We lived in an upstairs flat, so the line of sight out of our windows was the magical trees.



And in the Autumn when all the leaves fell, it was fun to rush through all the leaves with the children. A safe & happy place to play, & throwing huge bunches of crisp coloured leaves was fun for adults as well as the children.



Because we had no grounds or lawns, at the Hotel, we used to spend quite a lot of time over in the beautiful Botanical Gardens, a truly magic place at all seasons during the year. Wonderful fields of daffodils in spring, & beautiful gardens of roses, & Irises and all manner of other flowers for all seasons.



A small pool was built in the gardens so children could swim or have a splash in the hot summer days. There was a wonderful area for picnics, & it is really a lovely park, so close to the city centre.



The edges of Hagley Park had huge trees of the deciduous type, that all shed their leaves & it was lovely to go running through the deep drifts of leaves, lying like great curdles of gold & brown under the bare branches, in the late Autumn sun.



GOM's parents lived within walking distance of our Hotel, & we would sometimes take the children through the Park on the way, & I think their favourite time was Autumn also, when the leaves were such fun to romp about in.



Once, GOM lost all his keys to the Hotel! We searched for hours to no avail. He knew a man who collected the leaves, as they did from time to time, & he promised to look for them. We never did find them, & all the locks had to be changed on the Hotel doors, although there were no identifying marks to say where the keys belonged.



The falling leaves were the bane of GOM's father's life. He had retired, & he loved to potter about so GOM offered him the job of keeping the Hotel carpark, & yards clean & tidy. He loved doing it, & he came up every morning to have breakfast with the children, so it was a nice chance for them all to really spend time together. He was a very nice man with a great sense of humour.



But he would get out in the yard, & he would grumble at those leaves! And he would cut all the flax really short, & trim all the shrubs to within an inch of their lives! And of course when the riverbank trees shed their leaves, they would inevitably blow across the road, & into the carpark, making him grumble all the more.








And here is a beautiful sunset taken up at Tuncurry Caravan Park, where Mr & Mrs NN have recently been staying for a little break. It is so tranquil looking.




Maybe it is seeing pics like this that have given me this restless feeling, that I would like to take a trip or just have a change of...of ... something!

12 comments:

Tanya Brown said...

Go for it. Go on a trip or get a change of scene. It's good for the soul.

Peggy said...

I love the sunset!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Enjoyed your reflections on weather, seasons and life. I've been to Christchurch. Looks like a great place to live.

Lucy said...

Lovely leafy post, Meggy, I loved the 'great curdles of golden brown', delicious!
We grumble a little bit about the leaf litter at the front of the house at the end of the year, from the chestnuts that throw out shoots all along the hedgerow in front of our house, and worry a little bit in autumn gales about the big ones blowing over onto our roof, but it's worth it I think for the lovely dappled light that filters through them and into the front of the house in spring and autumn. Blessed trees!

Sheila said...

Autumn is a favourite with me. The colours of the leaves, and the cooler evenings, make the days leading up to winter so enjoyable.
It is also a great time for a vacation, so go on...treat yourselves..!
hugs
xx

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I agree with you that the sunset photo is a compelling one. Your reminiscences of your FIL "yard man" are a sweet and tender tribute. How wonderful that your children could enjoy breakfasts with their grandfather...

Joyce said...

You make NZ sound so appealing I think I will have to stop there on our next trip to Australia. My daughter has an enormous Cottonwood try in her yard that sheds truckloads of leaves in the fall. She's not fond of it now either, although it was a selling feature when they bought the house.
Your neighbour is lucky to have such a beautiful baby to cuddle.

caramaena said...

I love autumn too. I once lived in a town that had a lot of english type trees and autumn was just stunning.

A holiday sounds great to me :)

Anne Ida said...

Autumn is a beautiful season! I love the colours and the smells! And I feel a longing for a hike in the woods in the fall, reading your post (which is nuts seeing as summer is just starting here *lol*). Enjoy it! And if you want to go on an adventure, why not do it???

meggie said...

Hi All, Christchurch was/is such a beautiful city, with so many 'free treats' for the taking. Of all the places we have lived, I loved it the most.
I dont think we will be having a holiday- GOM is too attached to our dogs, & says he couldnt leave them in a kennel. I am sure they would survive, as dogs do.
There is a lovely Japanese Garden here, which I have never visited, so perhaps I will get there soon.

herhimnbryn said...

I like your Maple and your thoughts on Autumn.

Leaf fall here, means clearing fire breaks and I often moan about it, but it has to be done and offers time to think!

fifi said...

That's a nice story meggie.

There are no deciduous trees round here to admire. I am always amazed when I come across one though.

That baby is lovely.

I think the change of season inspires restlessness.
I am always restless though, but thats just me.