Late summer surprises

 

I have not worn my sun hats much this summer, have you? An old shopping basket at our back door is full of my hats. They tumble about there, overflowing and vying for space. There is a cycling helmet, several woolly hats one with a built-in light for the darker nights and my late father’s trilby which I haven’t had the heart to throw away.

One of my sun hats squashes flat to carry in a suitcase on holidays abroad and one is a fashionable ‘straw’ one to use at home so that I look ‘the part’ in the garden. But we haven’t been abroad for a few years now and there has not been enough sun to warrant a sun hat here. Soon, I know, I will be reaching down to the lower layers for warm beanies.

My summer house at the bottom of the garden has been deserted too this year. It is right down the path through the woodland and out into a sunny glade, except that it has not been too sunny this year. To try and create an interest for me there I have bought three little fish for the summer house pond. I am down there every day now to feed them. I even go at night this week to watch the moon rise over the trees.

This month we have two full moons, which does not happen very often.  The last full moon was 1^st August and there is one at the end of the month and this one is called a blue moon I do not know why because the moon is not blue. But it is spectacular as it is closer to the earth, so it looks very big and bright like a lantern seeming to shine through the branches of our trees as I am sitting down in my little house.

These days we only see racing pigeons ‘once in a blue moon’ but there is one on the ridge tiles of our house now. You can tell it’s a racer by its thin sleek look and the ring on its leg telling of its owner. I have seen a man with a van at the end of our lane releasing a crate full of pigeons this week. They fly over in a flock then head for home. People used to be there very week, but it is rare now.

Our dove cote down the path is not used because the sparrow hawks have gradually, over the years, caught our beautiful white doves and Mr T has planted bright red trailing geraniums in the pigeonholes. The flowers are tumbling down just like the doves used to do.

(Taken from my column in the Shropshire Star)

Our old dovecot is growing flowers now that the doves have gone

My little summer house painted by Kirstie Edwards