Forests are places where we can get back in touch with our inner selves,
where we can get away from the stresses of the world about us,
where we can breathe in the sounds and scents of nature,
where for a short time nothing else matters but being there…in the Forest.
It is early morning…6.3o to be precise…a bit earlier than usual for me to be up and about but I didn’t sleep very well. Probably due to being on antibiotics and steroids for an upper respiratory tract infection. Hopefully the drugs will do the trick and in a few days I shall be tickety boo again.
The only sound to be heard is the early morning birdsong. All the different voices merge together beautifully like a well rehearsed choir. So uplifting…
A wheelbarrow full of grass clippings sits as testament to yesterdays unfinished jobs. The first chore today will be to mulch amongst the Blackcurrants with cardboard and these grass clippings. But thats for later…
By the pond Flag Irises are just showing their yellow flowers…
and the Newts are up and about. Must be hundreds of Newts in the pond. I wonder if Newts ever sleep?
I can see little flower buds on the Water Lily.
Everything feels so alive and vibrant. The growth is so strong that the scene changes from one day to the next. A privilege to be able to observe it…I am thankful.
As the Sun starts to emerge it is time to go indoors and get the kettle on for coffee.
A new day has begun…
So calm and white and bright.
The death knell tolls…
until the reemergence next Spring.
So still and calm this morning.
Tinselled Rubus.
Frosted baubles on the Guelder Rose.
Frozen pond.
Temporary exhibition…soon to be melted away by the rising Sun.
The Sun is getting lower in the sky now casting shadows deeper into the cottage. So nice to be greeted by early morning sunshine on the table.
Strange shadow play on the conservatory wall. Seeds for next year drying on the table. Gardeners are always thinking ahead to the next season.
Still a bit misty outside.
Out into the garden. The Sun is at the south east but shortly the whole garden will light up as the Sun comes round to the south. Still lots of leaves to be collected.
Such a stunningly beautiful morning! More like Summer than November 1st. Been a while since I walked the garden in my dressing gown at this time of year. That’s the good thing about living in the sticks…no one peering over the hedge…ever!
Back to the conservatory for more shadow play.
By December 21st the Sun should be just skimming the top of the trees in the forest behind us and casting shadow and light even deeper into the cottage. As this is our first Winter here we are seeing all this for the first time.
Seeds to be potted on are highlighted too. Canterbury Bells and Dianthus planted in the Autumn to give a head start next year.
Lettie catching a few early morning rays…
while Freddie is needing some TLC. He had his little op a few days ago and has to wear this silly lampshade so he doesn’t go near his stitches.
Be careful if you go down to the woods today…especially approaching dusk. It’s that time of the year when ghouls, goblins and other mischievous beings come out to scare and haunt and taunt. It’s dark and still and eerily silent in the woods on these days around the turning point of the Celtic year. For it is the time of the changing of the seasons. Summer is well and truly gone…Winter has come. The Celts lives revolved around agriculture and the seasons. This time would be the end of the harvest…indeed all berries and tree fruits were picked before Samhain because the breath of the Puca and other evil beings would fall upon them.
People dressed in masks and costumes to disguise themselves and frighten the evil spirits away. That’s where the tradition of dressing up at Halloween/Samhain comes from.
As kids we dressed in old clothes at Halloween. The only thing bought new was a mask. Nowadays the shops are full of costumes for children and adults alike. High priced badly made tat from China. The masks have become so grotesque and horrible…blood and gore…the more the merrier. Despite the recession this stuff is flying out of the shops. Amazes me!
For me it is a particularly poignant time of the year as it is the anniversary of my Father’s death. Twenty one years ago he left us at the age of fifty nine. I still miss him a lot. This year would have been his eightieth. I remember the funeral just before Halloween. While we were immersed in our grief and sadness everyone else was full of the joys of the season. Such is life!
Enjoy the dark time of the year…for us sure as night follows day the Sun will return in the Spring…warming the land for another growing season. Enjoy the fruits that have been harvested this year. The goodness of the Summer to sustain and nourish us through the dark time. A time of reflection, reading, crafting…glowing fires and hearty soups. Will we have snow or will it be a mild wet Winter? The answer will be revealed in time.
Enjoy the season that’s in it. Happy Samhain/Halloween to all who pass this way.
fromacountrycottage 
Ah yes, beautiful pictures that tell it all with minimal words … but the important thing is not to just view the pics that only awaking our seeing and imagining senses. The truth is to actually be there for all of our senses to awaken and allow ourselves the total sense of presence , like every mammal, reptile, bird, bug, plant and tree is doing there in unison too. Everything dancing with the elements as they are served to them through the ebbs and flows of challenge and calm.
This post is such a delight to read and absorb. Thanks!
Lovely post! I am more at peace in the woods than anywhere else, and have been since I was a child. It’s like the universe – so big and so full of life! And somehow, incredibly, everything plays its part!
Idyllic…so beautiful
Beautiful post.
“… nothing else matters but being there …”
That is one of the best ways to experience a forest, as an activity or a presence with its own intrinsic worth, needing no purpose added to being there.
Beautifully expressed!
Woods seem to hold magic, the smell of the fallen leaves and twigs, all the mosses and lichen’s , so beautiful, a place that the fairies would inhabit.
I’m sure they do…
And hobbits and elves…and possibly some Ents, too. 🙂 I can’t help but think of the Shire of Middle Earth whenever I’m near or especially walking within a forest.
Beautiful, Bridget. For me, the forest, like the ocean, is truly natural magic for all my senses. We’re blessed to have them. I look forward to reconnecting with the woods again, as it’s long overdue.
It’s nice to focus sometimes on what we actually have here. I get tired of all the negativity about sometimes.
We do indeed have so much here. Places of beauty and wonder like this forest can help in so many ways and on so many levels to transcend and override the negativity that sometimes does seem and feel overwhelming and pervasive..
Beautiful!
Perfect description of a forest.
The Coca Cola Santa also having a very inspired moment … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot08-yYuYvM
I live in a forest…I feel a part of it…and love it.
Jane x
I feel blessed to have a large, wooded area on our property! Lovely posting. P.x
I love forests – magical places to calm the soul.
I have a deep love of forests in my heart too, they are such peaceful and magical places. Beautiful photos, enjoy your walks there under those big leafy trees 🙂
You too…with your lovely companions.
Ahhh…There’s nothing quite like a lingering tree hug to remind us who we really are. Lovely post Bridget 🙂
I absolutely agree. Forests appeal to all the senses, in all weathers. Fab photos and lovely post. Soothing.