The blue sky, the sunny, seeping, creeping, warmth,
the spendour...
The idle comfort of the warmth upon your limbs,
As you lie back, upon the cushions of the lounger.
Think to yourself, this is the perfect life,
Perfect comfort.
The gentle waft of breeze, gentle upon the skin,
Warmly caressing, lulling, into peace, & wellbeing.
The wonderful warmth, creeping into your bones,
Your whole being, warming, cheering, ...solace.
The sudden, sharp, chill wind,
Slyly, sneaking around the corner, bringing chills,
Nipping ankles, the small exposures of skin.
Cheeks, suddenly chill, red, glowing from cold.
A shadow over the sun. Confusion.
What is reality?
That wonderful warmth, lying in the sunsoaked backyard?
The semi conscious reality of the perfusion of the warmth?
Another reality, with family, cares, worries.
Autumn Dreaming is such Bliss.
BFJ.This is for you.
Roy Orbison, Blue Bayou.
Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20
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!
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!
Thursday, March 15
Autumn is my favourite season
Perhaps it is because of the cooler temperatures, but I also feel the colours are just 'me'.
I can remember the little church, where I used to go to Sunday School, & the way they would decorate it, with pumpkins & fruit & flowers, as well as vegetables. I never really understood the church's relevance to the Harvest season, but I suppose it was to 'give thanks'.
Autumn reminds me of the end of the Apple picking season, when BFJ & I hitchhiked down to the Southern City for Easter weekend. The weather was perfect, & it seemed a magic city somehow, so pretty with the river running through the centre, & the wonderful trees, with all the turning leaves, beginning to fall, & lie like huge curdled carpets all over the wonderful parklands, and green river banks.
We had hitchhiked down, & were lucky enough to get a lift with some young lads, who offered to take us back, if we were out on the Highway by a certain time, on the Easter Monday.
Somehow we got a bit late getting out to the Highway, & we were walking along, with our 'weekend bags'. I think we got a lift out to one of the small towns to the north of the city, & we continued walking, hoping to see our 'lift'. Some young chaps offered to take us to Kaikoura, & we were a bit doubtful, but got into the car. They turned out to be local lads just out for a laugh, & as we discovered this, & were getting out of the car, we saw our 'ride' go flying past!
So back onto the road, & trudge trudge. Finally, a smallish car with a huge car engine roped onto the boot, stopped & the two men offered us a lift. As the day was moving on, & we were a long way from our destination, we accepted.
Imagine our horror when we realised the 2 men were both drinking beer, as they travelled, & the driver would take large swigs out of his bottle, & offer it to us. We politely declined. As we travelled, we became very worried about the state of inebriation of the driver, & the road along the coast & through some gorges, is very rugged, & steep in parts, & very winding. The weight of the car engine in the boot, seemed to make the car hard to control, & as we skidded & slid at breakneck speeds, we began to fear for our lives.
The beer kept flowing, with more & more bottles being opened, & more & more offers to us to "Go on have a drink!" We kept refusing, & in truth were too terrified to think about it!
At last we arrived at Kaikoura, & we have never been so glad to get out of a car & lurch about to get the terror out of our jellied legs. As we stumbled out of town, we got offered a lift on the back of a truck, going to Blenheim. We accepted, & felt much safer on the truck, & even though we were a bit chilled, at least the driver was sober. The young man driver stopped at a hotel for a drink, & must have taken pity on the windblown girls on the truck tray, as he brought us a lemonade.
Once we got to Blenheim, it was getting late, & was in fact almost dusk. But we decided to keep on travelling, & got a lift to a small town called Havelock North, where we found a Youth Hostel, & decided to stay the night, as it was now dark. On entering the Hostel, we were met by a large hearty girl with blood all over her face, & front.
"OH Hello har har," she bellowed heartily at us, "Sorry about this, har har, just having a nose bleed!" She then told us she went mountain tramping, & it always gave her nosebleeds. We went sniggering off to our hard pallets to try to get some sleep. We couldnt help wondering why she continued to go tramping.
It was a very cold night, & we didnt have bedding, so we slept with almost all of our clothes on, in layers to try to keep warm. In the early morning, after a cold wash, we left, & found a bakery, where they were making beautiful fresh bread. We begged to buy some, but they wouldnt sell us as much as a crumb! We could never understand why. I confess, I think we would have knicked some, if we had had the chance!
So we got out on the road again, & managed to get a lift with a truckie, who was not going as far as we needed to, but at least it was warm in his truck. When we had to leave him, at another village, we found a phone to let our employers know we were still enroute from our trip.
We managed to buy some sandwiches, & continued on foot for some time, walking along by some bush. A call of nature was needed, so off into the bush we went. Imagine my horror when the seam of my jeans split, in the backside, & so I had to rummage around in my bag for my cleanest dirty pair of rumpled jeans, to change into.
I cant really remember how we eventually got back to the farm, but I am sure there were no apples picked by us that day. It was almost the end of the season, & we were soon to leave for the last time, & move on down the Island to that Southern City.
To meet our 'fates' you might say, for we both met & married men in that beautiful city of Christchurch.
I can remember the little church, where I used to go to Sunday School, & the way they would decorate it, with pumpkins & fruit & flowers, as well as vegetables. I never really understood the church's relevance to the Harvest season, but I suppose it was to 'give thanks'.
Autumn reminds me of the end of the Apple picking season, when BFJ & I hitchhiked down to the Southern City for Easter weekend. The weather was perfect, & it seemed a magic city somehow, so pretty with the river running through the centre, & the wonderful trees, with all the turning leaves, beginning to fall, & lie like huge curdled carpets all over the wonderful parklands, and green river banks.
We had hitchhiked down, & were lucky enough to get a lift with some young lads, who offered to take us back, if we were out on the Highway by a certain time, on the Easter Monday.
Somehow we got a bit late getting out to the Highway, & we were walking along, with our 'weekend bags'. I think we got a lift out to one of the small towns to the north of the city, & we continued walking, hoping to see our 'lift'. Some young chaps offered to take us to Kaikoura, & we were a bit doubtful, but got into the car. They turned out to be local lads just out for a laugh, & as we discovered this, & were getting out of the car, we saw our 'ride' go flying past!
So back onto the road, & trudge trudge. Finally, a smallish car with a huge car engine roped onto the boot, stopped & the two men offered us a lift. As the day was moving on, & we were a long way from our destination, we accepted.
Imagine our horror when we realised the 2 men were both drinking beer, as they travelled, & the driver would take large swigs out of his bottle, & offer it to us. We politely declined. As we travelled, we became very worried about the state of inebriation of the driver, & the road along the coast & through some gorges, is very rugged, & steep in parts, & very winding. The weight of the car engine in the boot, seemed to make the car hard to control, & as we skidded & slid at breakneck speeds, we began to fear for our lives.
The beer kept flowing, with more & more bottles being opened, & more & more offers to us to "Go on have a drink!" We kept refusing, & in truth were too terrified to think about it!
At last we arrived at Kaikoura, & we have never been so glad to get out of a car & lurch about to get the terror out of our jellied legs. As we stumbled out of town, we got offered a lift on the back of a truck, going to Blenheim. We accepted, & felt much safer on the truck, & even though we were a bit chilled, at least the driver was sober. The young man driver stopped at a hotel for a drink, & must have taken pity on the windblown girls on the truck tray, as he brought us a lemonade.
Once we got to Blenheim, it was getting late, & was in fact almost dusk. But we decided to keep on travelling, & got a lift to a small town called Havelock North, where we found a Youth Hostel, & decided to stay the night, as it was now dark. On entering the Hostel, we were met by a large hearty girl with blood all over her face, & front.
"OH Hello har har," she bellowed heartily at us, "Sorry about this, har har, just having a nose bleed!" She then told us she went mountain tramping, & it always gave her nosebleeds. We went sniggering off to our hard pallets to try to get some sleep. We couldnt help wondering why she continued to go tramping.
It was a very cold night, & we didnt have bedding, so we slept with almost all of our clothes on, in layers to try to keep warm. In the early morning, after a cold wash, we left, & found a bakery, where they were making beautiful fresh bread. We begged to buy some, but they wouldnt sell us as much as a crumb! We could never understand why. I confess, I think we would have knicked some, if we had had the chance!
So we got out on the road again, & managed to get a lift with a truckie, who was not going as far as we needed to, but at least it was warm in his truck. When we had to leave him, at another village, we found a phone to let our employers know we were still enroute from our trip.
We managed to buy some sandwiches, & continued on foot for some time, walking along by some bush. A call of nature was needed, so off into the bush we went. Imagine my horror when the seam of my jeans split, in the backside, & so I had to rummage around in my bag for my cleanest dirty pair of rumpled jeans, to change into.
I cant really remember how we eventually got back to the farm, but I am sure there were no apples picked by us that day. It was almost the end of the season, & we were soon to leave for the last time, & move on down the Island to that Southern City.
To meet our 'fates' you might say, for we both met & married men in that beautiful city of Christchurch.
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