Muted.

The last few mornings I’ve woken to a cooler, fresher, atmosphere, it appears that the sun has ceased it’s hostilities for the moment, possibly for the year given that we’re now fast approaching September, a month that traditionally signifies the onset of shorter, cooler and, often, wetter days.

Recently we’ve had more unsettled weather, we’ve had heavy dews, mists and fog, we’ve had daytime showers and while we’ve enjoyed periods of wonderfully sunny, warm weather it is time for a change. It’s time for the countryside to recover a little, things are looking distinctly tired. The fields are brown, the crops are in, only the maize is still in the fields but even that’s only a matter of time, a few short weeks and the farmers will be looking to harvest the final crop of the season. The land can breathe a short sigh of relief before the cycle begins all over again for another year.

In the meantime the hedgerows are burgeoning with the autumn crops of berries and nuts, the blackberries are ripening and the hazlenuts and sweet chestnuts are beginning to show. Wild hops weave in and out of the hedge tops in places, bright green with their freshness against the tired foliage around them, they make such a contrasting sight.

Mornings and evenings now we will be treated to more muted colours, any sunshine will be a welcome distraction and a link to the fast disappearing dregs of summer but it’s not a time to regret, rather a time to celebrate the newness of fresher things. The smell of newly turned soil in the fields, the heady fragrance of the earth and meadows after rain showers, the wonderful golds and reds of leaves before they fall, the mellowness of another year turning. Goodbye Summer and hello Autumn my old friend and , as if to celebrate, the Fair is in town bringing it’s own brand of excitement and another opportunity for photographs.