Resting like a Butterfly on a Blade of Grass

In endless sunshine and heat the hours seem to blur. Shimmers of silver, ripple above hot tarmac and dried out lawns. There are warps in the very translucent fabric of light. Entrances to other dimensions? If I stepped through, would time stop altogether and days be warm like this forever?

~Thoughts by me, from a hot summer day in July 2018

What a beautiful summer we have been blessed with. Each night the gentle balm of crickets has been its soundtrack. A soothing tiny insect orchestra playing to Mars as it shines out bright in the August sky. Playing to the ghostly flutterings of white winged moths and the vast infinite star filled skies above. 

We walked not far from home one balmy evening as warm as a greek island and found glow worms. 

August is now dressed to meet September. Her skirt is ripened corn, and hazelnut, thread and woven with the remains of dried up grasses, feathers and seeds. Embroidered with faded clover blooms and a pot pourri of meadow flowers. The feather of a magpie and a pigeons egg shell as white as a full moon are stuck to her feet and wasps fly about her poppy seed scattered fading hair, picking at the ripening fruit. Her scent is of hay freshly harvested, dried up earth and dust of well trod stone. Blackberries emerge from her ears and around her neck the engorged ripening rosehips give her a heavy heart, because she hears the call of Autumn and knows her time is almost up. 

This blog has been a little neglected over the summer. I pressed pause and rested like this butterfly on a blade of grass.

For a moment I hopped off the merry go round for a short while to recharge, but then found that I actually needed a little longer than thought and didn't want to climb back on. 

So I stepped away from the fair ground of social media and took a break. Not to go anywhere exotic or anything, just to be here, being in the present and not feeling obliged to post things when really I had no desire to say or share and was feeling just tired mentally and tired of that feeling of 'having to'  share something, anything...  Of course that feeling is all in our minds really and it really doesn't matter too much, but sometimes we succumb to the pressure and beat ourselves up about it and feel as if we have to constantly keep up with things and post regularly on social media. So it was time to listen to my body and pull up the drawbridge and retreat.
It's been peaceful just being semi offline, (obviously I still had my shop open so was always available for queries etc) doing things such as white washing walls, painting a floor, giving our home some time and love and rearranging things. I've had a whole lovely week with my daughter, to watch films, have foot baths and go shopping. Paying Glastonbury a visit again and stocking up on incense. I suppose my body was telling me it was time for some 'me' time. Some would say 'resting and nesting' Other years I have felt a little the same during the summer time and feel the need to go quiet. Maybe my DNA is part garden bird (preferably robin of course ;-)) as they also go quiet and stop singing for a few weeks during the summer months.

I managed to harvest some hazelnuts before the squirrel snaffled them all up. It was a  bumper crop this year and this is just a tiny amount, enough for us, so the squirrel had the rest and hopefully the nut hatch? These pigeons have their latest nest in the hazel. They haven't had much luck with nests this year and do tend to make them in precarious places. But what a sweet photograph, side by side in their humble abode.

I feel more refreshed now and almost ready to jump into Autumn... I can feel a turn in the air, the scent is different and summer is definitely singing her last song. Darkness is coming earlier, the skies are as pretty as the northern lights and being a winter person, I can feel my sap beginning to rise.