Autumn

Thursday Thoughts – A Double Farewell

/ Leya / 16 kommentarer

These foggy mornings – forebodings of November grey – still have their own beauty.

My father just turned 85, and our daughter flew home for the celebration last weekend – despite having a big exam three days later. Love ♥

Driving her to the airport – she wanted a walk in our forest once more. So brother and sister walked ahead of us, chatting and laughing, but also talking about serious things.

Forests are good listeners. Up north, where she is heading, there are no autumn colours, only firs and pine trees.

So, when she left, this autumn’s last colours were mirrored in the little lake in the early morning light. I hope Emma will picture them in her mind during the long winter darkness in Umeå.

Thursday Thoughts – Following a Country Road

/ Leya / 11 kommentarer

I knew this would be the last day of the Indian summer this year. So, I decided to drive through the colourful October landscape over to a neighbouring hiking area.

I did not take the fastest road, but followed the old country roads through the rural landscape in its late evening glory.

Piled trunks, waiting to be chipped, creates another kind of rural harmony in the landscape. Just like the animals, they are essential for the farmers to make a living.

Then the hard road surface softly turns into gravel…

…and just around the corner, new views are awaiting.

Cattle silently munching, not knowing that soon they will have to return to the stable – or…maybe not…

Number 1!

The evening is warm and hazy, colourful and still. I stand in the middle of the road, just to hear the silence and feel the sunshine. There is a certain sadness…coming over me.

Soon we will be there. Ready for the evening walk. Milo and me.

 

 

 

 

CFFC: Leaves or Trees

/ Leya / 25 kommentarer

Leaves or trees – leaves And trees are my kindred spirits. For Cee this Tuesday, I have focused on two of my favorite countries and some of my favorite trees and leaves. In the header, autumn coloured beech by the lake near my home in Sweden.

Tree ferns of New Zealand are plants I would have loved to have in my country. They bring magic and beauty to the world.

The Kauris of NZ, here Tane Mahuta, are both majestic and endemic giants. See the people on the ground below!

When paddling through the thick, mangrove like trees, we admired all the other plants living on the tree branches and tree trunks. This is the east coast of NZ.

The Southern Beech is a very beautiful tree with rather tiny leaves, seen in enchanted forests by the road to Milford Sound. The fallen tree trunks still full of new branches.

 

WPC: Temporary

/ Leya / 35 kommentarer

Everything in life is temporary. I know. But sometimes, we would just give anything to keep that precious moment alive… and we know that we cannot… make it stay. No photos, no written words…nothing is in our power to hold on to it. In our hearts we can keep this moment, maybe, but soon time will change our memories of it… until we do not know what truly happened or what we truly felt.

Ben asks us for a photo that says temporary. Of course our children are the ones who make us feel this ”temporary” the hardest way. But also the seasons do. I go to the forest to make the best of my days, and yesterday, I went just before sunset. A beautiful autumn day had come to an end, and the leaves will all soon fall to the ground, adorning the forest floor. All the beauty made a sadness come over me, and I lay down beneath the thin canopy to think, and to take a photo – this photo. A futile try to make the moment stay, but I believe we both felt the same, my best friend, Totti, and I. Everything is temporary – enjoy every day if you can.

The Early Bird Catches the Worm

/ Leya / 26 kommentarer

Yesterday morning I went with Totti for our daily morning walk – but soon realized that this morning would be something special. Frosty, no wind, sun from a clear blue sky. This grey autumn, there has not been many opportunities for the two of us to really enjoy the early mornings… so, I went back after three minutes, grabbed my camera and the car keys – and off we went.

The path starts 5 minutes from my home, up in the forest. No cows today, they have been taken to the barn for the winter. Silence, but for some small birds chirping happily in the first rays of sun. Follow the path down and turn right at the bend, and you will soon see…

…your own shadow on the left side of the path, in the golden morning light.

In the corner, down to the right, the shadow of Totti is sitting down, waiting patiently for me to go on walking. And not only his shadow…himself as well…

On turning right, the sun is peeping through the old trees in the east, gently providing long shadows and turning the frost into shiny green.

Totti is enjoying the fresh air and some good rolls in the leaves. Breathing is easy – and I feel so grateful for being alive on a day like this.

As we walk down the path, I look right – and a wall of glorious trees is looking back at me. This is indeed my country.

This morning, I will remember during the long and rainy winter days to come. But now, both Totti and me are getting hungry for breakfast… having spent some refreshing, silent hours in our favorite landscape.

I hope you are returning with me – or else you will not have any breakfast!

(As usual, click for a larger view.)