Waiting

For me August has always been a month of waiting - waiting for the first small signs of autumn. It is the crown of the agricultural year but still it is my least favourite month. I think the only place to really enjoy August is by the sea relaxing on a sandy beach and exploring rock pools or walking along the cliffs. I live quite a long way from the sea and to me this time of year always seems tired as though the Earth Mother is exhausted after the exertions of the spring and summer and, like me, is just waiting for the renewed energy that the autumn brings.
The photo shows the field across the lane from my son's house in Suffolk which has just been harvested and is also waiting. Soon the plough will be turning the stubble and preparing the field for sowing the next crop.

There are those who do enjoy August though especially on hot sunny afternoons when they can play in the paddling pool.

Rowan berries - always the first of the autumn berries to ripen and always a welcome sight, a lovely splash of colour among the greens and browns that are the dominant colours in the countryside in August.

Blackberries are beginning to ripen now and there seem to be a lot of good sized ones around this year.

Autumn is my favourite of all the seasons but the one thing I don't enjoy about it is the procession of spiders that come into the house looking for a warm place to spend the winter. I have no problem with snakes, mice, frogs, slugs etc but I'm absolutely terrified of spiders. Nevertheless I do admire the beauty of the intricate webs that some of them spin.

Up on Blackamoor some of the bracken is beginning to turn to the lovely warm golden tones of autumn.

August often brings hot, humid days that don't suit either me or B Baggins. I try to walk in woodland where there is access to streams where he can cool off and have a drink on days like we've been having recently. This is on Blackamoor but the lower part which is wooded and where we pass three streams evenly spaced apart, this makes a big difference to his ability to do this walk.

B Baggins is coming up for 131/2 now and with only three legs he does well to still be able to manage it. There's a pretty steep climb up Lenny hill but it's at the beginning of the walk and once he's at the top it's all flat or downhill the rest of the way. So here he is - he's waiting too, not for autumn but for a treat to appear from my pocket:)