Friday Favourites: Autumn Light and Golden Days

 

Autumn is slowly creeping in. Ravens converse in trees and on rooftops with voices deep and rasping, or smooth and liquid. Trees turn rusty red. Golden light pours over the land. In the morning I'm thankful for a warm jacket. In the afternoon, a t-shirt suffices. 

On a recent walk I gave into my magpie tendencies to collect things and picked up the above assortment. It's given me pleasure to look at these past couple of days. 

I spent much of last weekend lying on the couch. I think influenza season has begun early. There was much drinking of tea, many naps, and little else. Just two days and I was feeling like getting up and doing a few things, and my energy is returning. Now my husband is lying around. Neither of us felt like reading or even watching television. 

The garden called when I started to feel better and I began the clean up. There are still tomatoes to harvest. Since last summer I've weighed and recorded the garden produce. This year, so far, I've harvested over 30 kilograms of tomatoes! (66 pounds) We've eaten many of them. I canned 12 pints of diced tomatoes, and 14 pints of salsa. Some were roasted and tucked into the freezer. I'm not complaining at all!

Hello there! We've noticed three deer, a mama and two young ones, roaming the neighbourhood lately. They would find a feast in our garden, but fortunately it's somewhat hidden from the adjoining properties, and deer won't jump fences if they can't see what's on the other side. If the deer saw my hydrangeas I'm sure they would have been right over. This angle is deceptive, for the deer cannot see over the rather ramshackle fence. I'm quite high above it on our patio. 

It was a warm and pleasant late-September afternoon. Shadows were distancing themselves from the trees, the statues, the people. Elongating. Straining away.

Louise Penny 

Is there anything more lovely than the warmth of autumn sunshine? When I was ill, I sat in a pool of sunshine on our patio and let the warmth soak into my aching body. How lovely it is. 

I'm out of library books so I pulled Louise Penny's All the Devils are Here from my bookshelf and have begun reading. The story begins on a September afternoon in Paris, in a garden. 

Soup season is here, although I will gladly eat soup on any day of the year. Trine Hahnemann, a Danish cook and cookbook author, posted a recipe for Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup on Instagram recently. I welcomed a new way to use up some tomatoes. It's delicious and will definitely be going into my regular rotation of soups. I made with half of a large butternut squash and three tomatoes and have enough for several meals for the two of us. 

Blogger seems to be working as usual once again, after not being able to leave comments and then blog rolls not updating. I've avoided that by use Feedly. It was easy to set up and most people's blogs showed up there despite blogger not updating. 

There's a picnic birthday celebration planned for this weekend as we enjoy the lingering moments of warmth and sunshine. I hope you have something lovely to anticipate, as well. 

Edited: It's not my birthday, but three other family members! Mine is next month.

Friday Favourites: September Thoughts

 

Today's skies are clouded, the light dull. Temperatures are inching downwards ever so slowly. From my window I see the top lilac leaves have changed to deep brown-red. The birch tree leaves look tired and worn. It will be another six or eight weeks before the trees are bare, but yesterday, while I was running errands, gusts of wind blew handfuls of crisp leaves across the streets. 

Earlier in the week, I went to cut some basil to make pesto. The skies were that deep blue of September, like a glass bowl over the earth. Apart from the bees busy among the cosmos and mint flowers, the air was still and hushed. Golden light poured over everything. My heart ached with the beauty of the day. Beauty - "heaven's sweet gift" according to poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. I could hardly bear to return indoors and clipped a bouquet of zinnias along with the basil, and took time to admire the lingering sweet peas, bright Rudbeckia, and creamy roses. 

My reading lately has been a bit sporadic. I've indulged in dipping in and out of several books, and some older Victoria and British Country Living magazines. The books that appeal to me most are gentle reads, many from my own shelves. Here are the books I've finished most recently.

September by Rosamunde Pilcher

When I finished September, I closed the book with a sigh of contentment. I do love the settings she evokes, and the description of the homes people live in. 

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I had not previously read this classic, said to be the first of the British Detective style of novel. It took awhile to get into the rhythm of the story, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza

A most unlikely story that had me skipping over sections to finish. It's a dual time-line novel set in the fine art world, focusing on the Van Gogh family - Vincent, his brother Theo, and Theo's wife Jo. I didn't really enjoy this book despite my appreciation for Van Gogh's art.  

The setting sun captured from our patio deck one evening. 

There are three large platters of tomatoes ripening on the dining room table. I grew Mortgage Lifters this year and they are large and meaty. And oh, so sweet. I've preserved some, and we've been enjoying eating them in a variety of ways. A tomato tart is a delicious thing for supper. I posted the recipe on my Substack here, and will add it to my recipe blog later. 

I'm wondering about moving everything to Substack, as I can have different "publications" all tied to the same profile and account. Blogger has been rather full of glitches lately, although they seem to be resolved now. 

Cosmos in that golden light of the morning I mentioned earlier. They are sprawling all over the garden beds, and I am so reluctant to trim them. Since my husband became a beekeeper, I'm more aware of the honey bees that visit my garden. The beehives are at our daughter's small acreage a few kilometres away, but Tim tells me that bees forage quite far. He's also mentioned that late summer/early autumn is when pollen is more scarce and the bees sometimes struggle to find food to carry them through the winter. So I'll leave the cosmos sprawl until frost kills them and the bees hunker down in their cozy hives. 

Nine little jars of basil pesto to store in the freezer. It's so delicious slathered on salmon before baking it, or bread, or tomatoes, or stirred into vegetable soups. I also like it on crackers and cheese. My basil has been prolific this year, and I will likely dry the remainder. 

As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough 

to paint the beautiful things I see.

Vincent Van Gogh

I wish you delightful moments of capturing in your mind or on paper or canvas, or photos the beautiful things you see this autumn, or spring if you live in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Friday Favourites: Seasons in the Forest

 

And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep,

and autumn was awakened

Raquel Franco

September brings some nostalgia for the fleeting summer, and some excitement for a return to cozy, indoor pursuits, along with invigorating walks in the crisp air. But I must hold on a bit longer for the excitement because this month is a transitional time. Autumn in the morning has me reaching for a sweater and socks until Summer returns in the afternoon and I'm back barefoot, without a third layer. Autumn creeps back in the evenings when I read by lamplight and pull a soft throw over my legs. 

We've been away for the week, off in the wilds of Vancouver Island, with no cell coverage or internet available. It was rather nice to be away from it all, particularly with the horrors and ridiculousness on the news these days. We were cozy in our trailer/caravan with lots of good books and delicious food. The sun stayed hidden for most of the trip, but the rain held off until Wednesday. 

Two days of hiking in the wild gave us plenty of exercise. One day we hiked to Baby Bedwell Lake. Internet access would have been nice for just a few minutes to check the trail. It was a challenge, and labeled as HARD. Prior knowledge might have made us think twice. Steep terrain with big rocks here and tree roots there. A very few level sections. We made it to the lake, ate a quick lunch, and began the descent without much of a rest because it was starting to rain. The lake is somewhere on the mountain in the above photo, taken after the hike.  

In our two days of hiking we didn't see any bears on the trail, for which I am extremely grateful, although we were prepared with bear spray and an air horn. However, while driving back to our campsite, we met up with this rather large black bear ambling along the road. He was in no hurry to get out of our way and we followed him slowly for some distance. He kept looking back at us and finally moved off into the forest. 

Several Stellar's Jays loitered around our campsite, flying about while we sat reading outdoors. They are handsome birds, and can be quite cheeky, but didn't try to snatch anything from us. 

One easy hike was to Lower Myra Falls, seen above. We were able to walk far out onto the rocks on either side of the falls. Now look below...

to see the difference 24 hours of gentle rain made. The falls were much louder and fuller. We went back the second time knowing there would be a difference in the amount of water. Fortunately, it was a short and easy hike. I'd like to go back in November and see what the falls look like then. I think all of the rock visible in the photo would be covered with thundering water. 

September showed up right on schedule,

and lasted a whole month.

Jenny Wingfield

As I write this post, I'm aware that there is something afoot with Blogger and no one is able to leave comments. So read and enjoy! And write on your blog how September is beginning in your corner. 

Friday Favourites: Flowers, Fruit, and Books

 

The slant of morning light confirms that we are at the end of August. Here it casts shadows on the wall and illumines the vase of dahlias. I had to be quick to catch it before it moved on. Days are shorter, mornings darker. I'm savouring the many lovely moments of late summer. Here are a few of them. 

One: Summer Fruit

Summer began with strawberries, then cherries, apricots, raspberries, blueberries, and finally peaches and blackberries. I don't count apples as summer fruit; they belong to autumn. I made a Peach Platz to share with friends. Platz is a dish from my Mennonite background and is wonderfully adaptable with any kind of fruit. It's very similar to German Kuchen. 

We picked blackberries, enough for just a few small containers in the freezer. They are wonderful added to crumbles and crisps. We replaced our raspberries this year, and pulled out the old canes to replace them with starters from our son's berry patch. I didn't think they would produce anything this first year, but we are enjoying enough for our breakfast every couple of days. And my strawberries are producing again, fat and red and so sweet. 

Two: Garden Exuberance

The Cosmos continue to bloom exuberantly. They have sprawled out of control, and I'm reluctant to cut them too much for they still provide food for the bees. And how pretty they look in the sunshine. 

I fussed about my tomato plants not setting fruit and wondered if I would have any tomatoes at all this year. I needn't have worried. There are so many! Every day I go out and pick one or more heavy red tomatoes to finish ripening indoors to prevent critters from getting at them. I made a double batch of salsa with some of them, and will be making tomato sauce with more. They are full of sweet flavour that no hothouse tomato can ever match. 

We're consuming green beans, zucchini, and carrots at a steady pace, and soon late-planted kale and chard will be available. I do love going out with my basket and clipping delicious things to eat. It feels like so luxurious.  

Three: Music and More Flowers

I'm not much of a fan of country music, but Dolly Parton's recent death had me listening to a few of her songs. Tributes have poured in from around the globe. She was a very special person, and I don't think any scandal was attached to her character. I love these words of hers: 

I make it a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and 

smell the air after a good hard rain. I re-read passages from my 

favourite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me.

These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious

pieces of good in the world.

A good reminder to take notice of the little things that enrich life. 

My garden is a tangle of colour these days. I'm letting things go a bit wild. There will be time enough to tidy it later. For now I enjoy seeing it all through the kitchen window when I'm working or from the patio when I relax. 

Four: Reading

I learned about Persephone Books through Miranda Mills, an English author. The company republishes older novels and collections of short stories and social commentary, many by women. They are not commonly found here in Canada and I was surprised to see a Persephone book in the used bookstore, and I recognized the distinctive grey cover immediately. The covers are all the same with beautiful and varied end papers. 

The book I picked up was They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple. It was a fascinating glimpse into the lives of three women, sisters, who married very different men, and how their lives evolved. I enjoyed it very much, and it made me think a lot about how our choices determine life's trajectory. 

Other books read recently:

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

The Key to Creativity by Pam Vale

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

(this is a prequel to Jane Eyre and paints Rochester and his first wife in a whole new light)

Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Surprisingly, nary a mystery among them. Some are re-reads. I have several mysteries out from the library that I'll be tackling next. 

Five: Time with Grands

There have been dinners together, time on the boat, driving children to various activities, and I've loved it! When school begins, the grandchildren are busier and we don't see them as often. 

Our youngest daughter has completed her Masters in Counseling (hooray!). All summer I've been enjoying the company of her two young daughters one day each week while she worked at her internship. 

This past week I sewed linen foraging bags for the girls for them to use when out and about. They love collecting bits of nature - pine cones, leaves, stones, sticks, etc. They also discovered that the bags could hold their water bottles. The girls decorated their bags themselves with markers. Iris made a pattern and took great care with colouring it. Cora's isn't so visible but she drew a girl, herself, with a basket and all sorts of eggs, from a large ostrich egg to a tiny hummingbird egg. 

As summer wanes, I look forward to autumn, but I'm in no hurry for it. September frequently holds warm and sunny days and I'll enjoy each one. 

Wishing you a beautiful closing to August. 

Friday Favourites: Parties, Flowers, and Tastes of Summer

 

For my mother's 90th birthday party, 60 of her friends and family gathered. We set the tables with china plates and teacups - hers, mine, my sister's and sister-in-law's. My sister and I bought various plates to make the three-tiered stands and Tim drilled the holes. The hardware is available online. They made the tables look very elegant when they were filled with all the party treats. 

After the party hullabaloo this has been a much more relaxed week at home. Beautiful warm temperatures. My roses are having another bloom of flowers although the foliage is looking a bit tired. Above is Boscobel, fragrant and pretty. 

I've been filling vases throughout the house with flowers from the garden. Such a delightful occupation in the cool mornings. I've also been walking before breakfast and enjoy seeing everyone's front gardens. Dahlias are having their moment - many of the plants are taller than I am with blooms of all shapes and colours. 

I'm always fascinated by the changes in hydrangea blooms. One bush has changed completely from deep blue to green. Still very pretty. Another is blue now and changing to pink. 

All summer I wait for the tomatoes to ripen. They are coming on fast now. One meal I enjoy is freshly baked focaccia bread with basil pesto and tomatoes. It's the perfect summer feast, simple and so tasty. I took this photo after the meal and only one teaspoon of pesto remained. A slice of fresh mozzarella cheese is also a nice addition. The tomatoes are so sweet and meaty. Yum! 

As the lowering sun shone through the window this evening, I caught it illuminating a bouquet of roses. The light is fading so much more quickly these days, and early mornings are darker longer. Our province has decided to no longer make the change in time, so we will be staying on Daylight Saving Time come autumn. We'll see what happens. Mornings will be dark for a long while. 

A rather quick post today. I wrote another post on Substack earlier this week entitled "Writing to Know What I Think," a more reflective piece. 

Wishing you a weekend filled with loveliness. 

Friday Favourites: Out at Sea, Home Pursuits

 

On a sunny Saturday morning, we launched the boat and set our course to Portland Island. Five of us walked the trail around the western portion of the island before having a picnic lunch and returning to the dock. The trip takes just over an hour. The sea was calm and reflected the beautiful blue of the sky, but the brown grass tells the tale of too little rain. Our soil is not deep, just a thin layer on top of rock that doesn't hold moisture. 

Across the water, snowcapped Mount Baker, in the country to the south of us, shimmers in the light. We've had a few smoky days, but the winds push much of the smoke out to sea. Another terrible fire began in the interior and leapt from tree to tree with astonishing speed. 

I listened to an interview with a man with a wife and two young children who told of seeing the fire grow as he drove home from work to find his family packing what they could. They left within 15 or 20 minutes and he said that by the time he left the house, flames were at the back door. Their house, along with many others, lies now in ashes. We are so thankful for firefighters from Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia who have come to help, along with teams from other parts of Canada. 

On the way home from our boating/hiking excursion, our daughter and her family sat on the bow enjoying the lovely day. 

On another day I took Iris and Cora to the beach for a walk. There was much to explore as the tide was very low. Stranded crabs, pretty seashells, bull kelp, and more. I love their enthusiasm. 

I spent a bit of time in the bookstore choosing cards for various occasions. I also found a book of Cottage-themed stickers that popped itself into my basket and will be fun to use on envelopes and cards. 

You might notice the watercolour of pink flowers in a jug at the centre of the picture. While we were in Alberta in July, we had the delight of meeting for breakfast with Brenda Leyland of It's A Beautiful Life blog, and her husband. Our visit was all too short. Brenda is warm and lovely, just as you might gather from her blog. The card is from Brenda, along with a gift bag of just the sort of treasures I love. 

Here's a photo of the two of us just before we said goodbye. Brenda and I are both members of the same Canadian writers group, as well. And we discovered some time ago that we attended the same college and lived on the same floor in the dormitory. I was one year ahead of her, and we don't have any clear recollections of each other. But how fun! I hope we can meet again.

After our picnic lunch on Portland Island last Saturday, I filled a container with a few blackberries and made a batch of Peach-Blackberry Jam this week. The scent of hot fruit cooking is definitely a summer scent. I have six half-pints and four quarter-pints tucked away for the months to come. I don't eat a lot of jam, but Tim enjoys it. Sometimes in the evening I'll have a small bowl of yogurt with a teaspoon or two of jam stirred in. 

Our weekend will be a busy one with my mother's party. It will be good to see lots of family - aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends. It's good to celebrate life!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend.

Friday Favourites: Garden, Looking to the Skies, and Baking

 

In August the garden becomes unruly. Tomato plants sprawl, zucchini crawls into bed with the pole beans, and winter squash plants climb up any nearby plant, most recently, a rose bush. I've been busy with other things this week and am feeling helpless when I look at the garden. But we're picking a few raspberries from canes planted just a few months ago, and the last of the blueberries. I clip flowers regularly. Today Cosmos fill the vase on the dining room table - pink and green and airy. 

Earlier this week we joined about 30,000 other people on a long stretch of waterfront. We went early and staked out a spot with a picnic blanket and two portable chairs as a few others were joining us later. It's good that we went when we did. Books and people-watching kept us occupied until it was time for the show. 

The Snowbirds are the official aerobatic team of the Canadian Armed Forces and perform at various events across the country, and internationally. It gives me thrills to see the team fly with precision and do some daring moves. In some formations the planes are just four feet apart. Yikes! This is one of the final shows for these aircraft which are soon to be retired. The show was about 45 minutes long, and there were plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd.

Bees keep busy among the garden. They really like the oregano flowers and the dahlias. 

Rosamunde Pilcher is a favourite author of mine. She wrote four large novels and more smaller ones. Winter Solstice is one I dip into every December; the others are Coming Home, The Shell Seekers, and September. Coming Home was purchased as a hardcover many years ago, but the others are paperbacks and showing signs of wear. It was a bit of serendipity for me to find hard covers of Winter Solstice and September in a used bookstore. I was very pleased with my finds. Now to watch for The Shell Seekers. 

My two young granddaughters spent time with their other grandmother and helped polish her silver. They had a grand time and asked if I had some silver to polish. I said I had a few pieces, but I didn't have any polish. 

Young Cora told me, "Nana, you go to the store and you look for the Silvo brand. Silvo is the one you want." 

She was so earnest and serious that I've laughed every time I think about it. 

Rats have been terrible this year. Many people are complaining. I had one nicely ripening tomato and found it half chewed this morning. We've installed a camera and see the creature come into the garden at night, avoiding the baited trap (although we've caught a few others). In an attempt to save some tomatoes, I slipped sheer gift bags over them. I don't have enough bags for all, and I'm hoping to pick tomatoes when they are just turning red and let them ripen indoors to avoid letting the rats at them. 

Peaches from the Okanagan are something I wait for every August, and here they are! Juicy and sweet. I like them with my overnight oats for breakfast, and any time of day for a snack. Delectable! If I get out to pick some wild blackberries there will be Peach Blackberry Jam. 

What's been keeping me busy this week is lots of baking. Next weekend we're celebrating my mother's 90th birthday with a tea. I've made madeleines, tart shells to fill with fruit and lemon curd, chocolate truffles, and mini cupcakes, plus mini quiches and cheese scones. Everything is tucked away in the freezer for now. My sister is also baking the gluten free items for family with celiac disease. 

Tomorrow we're going for a hike with our eldest daughter and her family. Hopefully the smoke isn't too bad. It's been hazy with a faint scent for a few days. 

Wishing you moments of beauty and grace.