Weaving among gold

Golden Mornings. Golden evenings. But each one arriving and departing with a hint of chill mist and dew. "Ginny-joes" (otherwise known as dandelion clocks) floating everywhere, alighting anywhere (in my hair, on the leaves, before flying away again). Warm colours beginning to tint the leaves, sighing a more rustle-y whisper when the wind blows through. September. With your pools of gold.

Coffee with a friend at favourite cafe, among trees, where they have piles of woollen blankets to keep you warm.

A little change in the air.

A week of sunlit warmth for Summer to slowly begin to wave goodbye.
Golden patches of sun to be found later in the mornings. Walks with an occasional leaf falling quietly and slowly. Morning and evening surprises of Summer-sounding birds. Window still open, reaching for an extra cardigan in the evenings.

Some new prints from my on-line shop:

You make my branches grow.
Summer is shyly waving goodbye here, but is waving hello on the other side of the world. The cuckoo sings its arrival, meadows bloom and trees come into leaf. The ewe bleats after her lamb and the cow is lowing for her calf.

Star-gazing seat.
Light dims earlier and then starry skies. A low-hanging crescent moon, a sliver of gold nearly tipping the earth. Next weekend is a full moon. Lets sit on this comfy seat and watch for it.

St. Kevin and the Blackbird. (a Seamus Heaney poem)
St Kevin was known as a lover of nature. Legend has it that one day Kevin was praying with his arms outstretched in his cell in Glendalough. His cell was so small that his hands reached out the windows. As he was praying, a blackbird came and nestled in his open hand. The blackbird built a nest and laid her eggs. St. Kevin decided he wouldn't move his arms until the egg had hatched and the chick flown away. 

Octobering

October is leaving with a smile (sun shining) and a hug (warm breezes). So mild the window is open. No need to have the radio on with sounds coming through the window from outside; wind rattling leaves, a neighbour over the wall raking his garden. They are in tune with my paintbrush rattling in a jar of water.

Happy last day of October - thank you for your colours and fruits and berries and your leaves that accompanied me everywhere - swirling down into my hair, crunching underfoot, sticking to tyres, whooshing in the door.

PS. Above: a painting that hopefully soon will be available as a print.
PPS. More Octobering 

Three islands and Summery Autumn

These September days holding onto Summer's warmth a bit. In the daytime anyway. Sunny walks and outdoor cups of tea, decorated with many colours now; dots of orange and red berries,  yellow leaf speckles underfoot, trees brushed with rust and gold. In the evening though, Autumn is at the door, the light retiring sooner and chill, smoky scents in the air.

Above: 
Three islands. One with an ancient ring fort edging a 100 metre high cliff, the one in the middle with the smallest population, and the smallest one with a lighthouse and a dolphin visitor. Boats instead of buses - stay on til the last stop!

September sunsets and supermoons

Reaching the coast in Dublin, just in time to see the super-full-harvest moon rise over the horizon line in the east.

Turning around to face west, the sky on fire.

September sunset dips behind the horizon so quickly. Impossible to catch the exact moment.

The view in that glass tower! East, west, north and south all at once. I wouldn't know where to look.

Sky fire, bleeding into the sea.

The scent of the sea. The scent of an Autumn night. Cooler air beginning to nip at fingers.

Light departing to let the earth be one with night.

More and more lights glimmering. Time to go home. After the first hot chocolate of the season to warm cold fingers.

Little Autumn. Fómhair beag.

Evening mellow light. Scarf needed now for nippy air.

 Underfoot crunchiness as sound accompaniment

 Feathers falling from a bird's duvet in the trees above

A little umbrella for rain shelter

More little Autumns here.

Be Kind

 

To yourself. 

As well as to others. 

The days are getting late earlier. Warm days making way for cooler evenings. Birds are quieter and trees are tinged. More layers being pulled out from wardrobe. First evening candle lit.

Song investment

If she feeds the birds now in Winter, maybe they will come back next Spring and sing all Summer long.

Don't forget to feed the little ones if it gets cold this Winter!

Changes afoot, underfoot

Every day, a new leaf painting underfoot.

Downward looking

It's hard to not not look down while out walking the past few days. Changes underfoot every few steps.  Here, yellow speckles of Lime tree leaves on tarmac. There, papery pink Sycamore polka dots. Then, curvy oak leaves making splashes of burnt sienna. Sometimes scattered, sometimes mixing all together. Sometimes spattered on green grass, sometimes scattered on navy tarmac.

Above, blackberries and "jinny-joes" for a belated September birthday. Now to unwrap a slice of the belated birthday cake from tin-foil and put the kettle on!

Be-jewelled Autumn

 Have you ever noticed how the colours of Autumn are full of jewel and gem tones? Gold, ruby, bronze, copper, amber, topaz. Even smudges of amethyst on blackberry stained fingers. Like as if the trees are arraying themselves in all their rich loveliness before Winter's unadorned repose.

Glimpses of be-jewelled trees, footpaths, doorsteps, window-panes, windscreens and puddles to your week!

Septembering

These past few days, golden leaves speckling the footpaths, decorating my walks. Not many yet, just hints, but every day a few speckles more.

Beginnings and ends of days cooler. The trees and birds and air are quieter and more still - as if remembering to prepare for their Winter sleep to come.

During the days, sunny with blue skies and delicate wispy ribbons for clouds - September hasn't quite cast off August yet and I can still bring my cup of tea outdoors.

So cute to see the little girls and boys starting school for the first time yesterday with their brand new schoolbags and uniforms. 

Above, a couple of illustrations from a children's book  I illustrated a while back. 

August, a month with two seasons in it.

The air is cooler and fresher. The sometimes golden sun still echoes Summer but it hangs lower in the sky making the shadows reach further. The big, old oak and sycamore trees cast long shapes across the windy grass. Their leaves are hinting, tinting yellow, red and brown. The swallows are gathering and preparing for their long journey. Gentle reminders of Autumn.