Autumn Sunflowers

It's official, Autumn arrived at 12.30 on Friday morning, I stepped out of the office and there it was, a split second in time when all the elements came together in an instant. The sun was shining, but lacked any real warmth, a pile of golden leaves swirled around the car park in the breeze which carried a faint smell of damp and decay and bonfires. It was a fleeting moment and then it was gone, blown away but imprinted in my mind.

The drive home appeared normal, and it may have been my imagination but... was there was tiny change in the colours of the leaf canopy? Almost invisible when looked at face on, but from the corner of the eye a slight fading perhaps? A hazy sunshine, the caw caw of a rook loud and unatural and slightly disconcerting. He obviously knows.

At home the garden is still verdant from all the recent and continuing rain. But there are signs, red rosehips, crab apples, seed heads and elderflowers that seem to have ripened overnight! An then there is this:-

Majestic is the only way to describe it. 7 foot 2 inches of pure summer sunshine, but peel away the centre buds and the seeds are formed and starting to ripen.

Isabel has fed and nutured this beauty for weeks now from pushing the seed into a damp pot of earth, to the planting in rich soil and the magic ingredient, (which is a carefully guarded secret!) She has watched it grow as high as herself and then overtake her on it's way to the blue, blue sky above.

The seeds will eventually be shared between the chickens and the doves and all the wild birds that visit the garden. A few will be saved for next years plants and then the main stem will be chopped and composted and it will gradually rot back into the soil from whence it came, a full circle of life and death as nature intended.

Here our thought are now turning to Halloween and all that entails. The lovely Heidi has arranged a vintage swap so if you are interested then contact her. I am also toying with the idea of my first blog giveaway as well, not sure what to actually give away and when to do it, but watch this space anyway!

Dev X