Autumn is for Hoarding

Autumn is all about hoarding. Hoarding food, hoarding images of bright colours and still warm days to keep the cold of winter at bay, hoarding memories of the year gone by as it slowly approaches its end.

Leaves on the bandstand in St Helena Park

Yesterday I decided to hoard some images.  It was bright and sunny. The autumn colours are approaching their best but a night's frost or strong wind could denude the trees.

View from Ice House Hill

 So I decided I'd devote Saturday to photography. But I'd forgotten that with himself away at a family celebration, I'd have to do all the chores, give the dog his first walk of the day, catch up with laundry and tidying the house.
I adjusted my plans and decided that rather than driving around the countryside, I'd take my camera  with me while doing the grocery shopping and get some shots how autumn also brings beauty to town.

Ice House Hill

 Dundalk is lucky to have two fine parks close to the centre of town - St Helena's Park with its lovely old bandstand and mature trees, and Ice House Hill, with its pond, public art and, of course, the ice house to which it owes its name.

Feeding the ducks in Ice House Hill

Wildfowl on the pond at Ice House Hill

The bandstand in St Helena Park

Chasing the Colours of Autumn

This weekend I wanted to follow the autumn colour, to capture the golds and yellows and coppers in the woodlands, to walk on crisp fallen leaves along the ancient forest park, to fill up my memory card with beautiful images and feast my eyes on the countryside in her patchwork of autumn colours.

A slight case of the sniffles put paid to my plans so instead I found some colour at the Flower Market and the quiet country roads close to home.

With our mountain walk to Slieve Gullion cancelled, we drove around Ravensdale instead and visited

the old 'waterworks' which once provided water for the town at Annaskeagh instead. A colleague had said it would be a nice spot to get some photographs and he was right.

Tippings Wood

Looking towards Dulargy

Ravensdale view

Annaskeagh Resevoir

Autumn's Paintbrush

I love this time of year, always have done.  I love the changing colours which mark the transition of the seasons more spectacularly now than at any other time.
Autumn has got her paintbrush out.  Splashes of colours are transforming  the country lanes and the streets of town. The leaves are changing from calm and lush greens to a vibrant palette of gold and crimson hues. Late blooming flowers pick up the warm tones in an exciting symphony of orange, pink and purple.
 Mother nature is giving us the gift of colour to enjoy before the greys and browns of the winter  landscape arrive. Colours to soak in, to remember, to keep us warm during the cold months ahead.

Mellow Fruitfulness

Autumn has arrived. Chilly mornings and hedgerows bursting with mellow fruitfulness.  Nature has bestowed a rich harvest for humans and wildlife alike.

The bushes are laden with berries and fruits, the brambles bear flowers and a rich palette of berries from the palest green to deepest black.  There are sloes and elderberries for gin and wine and blackberries for crumbles and pies.

I caught a few minutes of an interview on local radio yesterday about foraging and how much free food there is to be found in the hedges and ditches.  Not just berries and fruits, but dandelions and nettles which can be used in salads, teas or soups.  

We seem to have lost our knowledge of the wild harvest which can be gathered on our doorsteps. 

Aside from the obvious blackberries and field mushrooms, I know I would be loathe to cook anything else growing outside of the garden for fear of poisoning the family even though we may be missing out on some free delights. 

When September Comes

There's a crispness in the air that says we are on the cusp of a new season. The fields are busy, the harvesters are humming, the swooping swallows are stocking up for their long journey, and evening comes surprisingly quickly.

We've been blessed with warm sunny days which have allowed farmers to save their crops.  The race is on to harvest the grain, the potatoes, the carrots.  Tractors and combines take to the highways and byways.

The flowers of the hedgerows give way to autumn's harvest of hips and haws and and berries.