..but the moon rising

On our way home from the city we stopped on the sea front in Dunoon with a fish supper from Anselmo's (fish and chips wrapped in newspaper - very British!) and watched the very red moon rise over Gourock.

We have had a week of amazing sunsets and harvest moons, with warm sunny days. A lovely end to September.

And an end to my 'media break' which turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined.

Lovely to be back!

3 am

Watching the lunar eclipse.

Thick mist on the loch to our backs but the sky is clear over the forest.

Profound silence and not a breath of wind. It is not cold, and we watch until the sliver of moon goes down behind the trees....

I wonder if some of you are watching too.

Awesome.


10am There is a wonderful collection of photgraphs here - do look on full screen!

In the studio this morning, looking at sunlight on ordinary things I felt a surge of joy and realized it is joy that makes me want to paint....and take photographs.

And share them.

I am taking another week's retreat before I begin posting daily again.

Be well.

And if joy strikes you, en-joy it to the full!

I wonder if you know this song?

Halfway down the stair is the stair where I sit
There isn't any other stair quite like it
It's not at the bottom
It's not at the top
But this is the stair where I always stop

The new seat half way down the path reminded me of this and I have a mind to go and sit there every day.

My 'media break' I have decided should include blogging - I hope you will excuse me for a week, or maybe two....

Nothing is simple really!

But sometimes we create complexity where there is no real need.

I often forget what is supposed to be my mantra here - 

'Is there a simpler way to do this?'

..when the news is so heartbreaking.

I may take a media-break. Have you ever done this?

I think I can justify it on the grounds that a sane me is more likely to be able to do something helpful than a stressed-out me....

Such a lovely word, relish.

So, I am still relishing the colours in the garden. Are you? The hardy geranium Ann Folkard is a star plant, flowering as it does from June till September and spreading gently for yards around but never suffocating anything else. It's young leaves are a delicious limey green.

It is beginning to thread its way through a bed of black grass (Ophipogon nigrescens). The colour in the first photograph is more accurate.

I have just committed to opening the garden again next year for Scotland's Gardens Scheme (Eeek!) and I think I shall extend this area and make a greater feature of it. 

..some Indian Summer weather and the last of the flowers.

They are extra precious gifts the late flowers. This is an unexpected second flush of Campanula lactiflora. The colours seem more intense in the autumnal light, or do I just see it that way, lingering over them knowing that they will soon be gone.

At the beginning of September I was turning my attention indoors, but we are relishing the chance to soak up some warm afternoon sun, to eat outdoors, to pick some posies, to eat some seasonal foods....

What are you savouring these mid-September days?

Do you like their slogan?

And the police box?

You may remember it appeared in another photograph in April...

I wonder who decides to repaint it, and who chooses the colour.

Fuchsia Pink next I predict.

Do other cities in UK paint their old police boxes wonderful colours? 

Do tell.

Well, what do you know there's a website!

 
Fuchsia 'Genii'

 I like the reflection in the glazed black pot (I've just realised it is me, with tripod!) which makes this photo look like a painting. There are water droplets as I've had to water all the pots lately....warm sunshine in Glasgow today.

What is doing well in your garden?

It was dark and late as the old vaporetto chugged its way to the Piazza San Marco, calling in at dimly lit stops on the way, the buildings only appearing out of the hushed  darkness at the last moment, and one or two people embarking or disembarking quietly as the rugged engine changed sounds. and the sounds floated over the water of the lagoon

We disembarked and walked across the empty silent Piazza in moonlight and the two unseen figures struck the bells of the clock high on the Clock Tower:  midnight.

Magical.

I always knew I would go back.

I remember sowing the tiny little encrusted C-shaped seeds of Mr Fothergill's marigold 'Nova' which have succeeded where almost all other annuals failed!

To be grown again definitely.

if a bit less sunshine..

Short posts this week, but sharing the joy in the little things.

I hope you are finding sparks of joy in your days too.

You might like Leo Babauta's latest post How Not To Do It All.. (especially for Maggie).

..in gorgeous sunshine!

..on the loch with friends, under a blue blue sky.

Thrilling!

The season slowly changing - the swallows gathering, the berries ripening, the butterflies (at last!) flitting around the late flowers.

What are you watching?


(I'd like to pass on a compliment I heard lately. Someone spoke to me of 'the great group of women who comment frequently on your blog.' I couldn't agree more, so thank you all for the thoughtfulness, generosity and kindness of your comments. I really appreciate and value it.)

There's not much for picking in the garden just now but this thug of a plant makes a surprisingly good cut flower. I had one stem in a vase a while ago (see here) and looking at the vases I realized I have quite a few tall thin ones so...I lined them up.

Do you ever find you make your best meals when you think you have nothing to make a dinner with?

It felt a bit like that!

Free fun.


I meant to ask yesterday - do you have a least favourite month?

A little background if you are a new reader here...

I used to dislike February (see here ) and chanced upon a way to make it more fun (see here) Little did I know February would become the month I looked forward to most! (Lots more under Simply Write should you have time to browse.)

This year we spent the whole month in a friend's house in Buckinghamshire which we found wonderfully enjoyable, and although I was writing a few hours a day, we still had lots of time to explore. See posts for Fabruary 2015 on side bar..Oh I love that typo and will leave it in!

FABruary.

Yes.

Next year in Venice.

I have quite a few books about Venice (which does make me think this idea has been simmering for some considerable time) and I am working my way through this beautifully illustrated one a page a day by leaving it open under the lamp in the sitting room..

I'm also reading Venice by Jan Morris, and Venice Pure City by Peter Ackroyd and have just re-read Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers, which is set in Venice.

If you have any recommendations I would welcome them....

To celebrate completing our path (see here) we had a barbecue on the beach this evening.

Venison sausage, thyme and butter mash and baked beans. A glass of  clean sharp vinho verde.

A ripe peach on the dying embers with a chocolate placed on top to serve, and I always save a little wine to have with dessert.

It was mild and still, the only sounds gulls, eider ducks, oyster catchers and the haunting sound of the curlews...

We stayed a couple of hours.

September's looking good.

I hope your September has got off to a good start too.

..30 day challenge. Which was to spend at least 30 minutes a day on doing something that I had been putting off!

It's been hard work and I managed 22 days - which does represent a lot of things getting done. Of course the list is long and is always getting added to...

I won't bore you with the details as it is of course the most boring things that I put off. (Appointments/enquiries/energy comparison sites/setting up the new printer etc).

Having said that it has been a satisfying achievement and I do feel better for getting some of the long standing tasks off my mind.

Are you trying a 30 day challenge? I am continuing with the exercise video (here),  once or twice a week and the Italian programme (here) most days for just 10 or 15 minutes.  These were my last two self-imposed challenges and I will keep up the latest one until at least the 30 days.

It's really just about focus. Leo Babauta, from whom the idea came (here) says being accountable to someone is a great motivator, and committing myself publicly here on the blog to doing these things did help me stick to them.

For September I plan to do something a little fun every day, push myself out of my comfort zone in some way, be a little daring, follow a whim, have a giggle, be a little silly..

Join me?

You could start with a wee laugh over at Lucille's.