Summer draws to a close

Strolling through the leafy lanes of Glastonbury, nature's signals are unambivalent: summer is drawing to a close. We may be blessed with long days of warm sunshine and yet the berries are ripening in this gentle heat: hawthorn, elder, blackberries. I took a new path today on my walk and found myself in a disused orchard. A glade of unkempt apple trees their fruits fully ripe, some of which had fallen were fermenting and decaying, a perfect illustration of the cycle of life as I recall how delighted I felt at the emergence of blossom so much earlier in the year.

In the UK we have just enjoyed the late August Bank Holiday, and from here on we are focussed towards the autumn and beyond. Reluctant school boys are wriggling reluctantly into stiff new trousers, we may be preparing our winter wood store, our diet begins to subtly shift to welcome in richer flavours and velvety textures.
I enjoy the ritual of storing summer clothes and reconnecting with the warm colours and comfort of an autumn wardrobe: velvet, corduroy and wool.

It is time to create a new routine and become re-established at home after the travelling and merriment of a summer of festivals. I am pleased to be starting yoga drop-in classes in Glastonbury next week, thus beginning a period of settled regularity. I am looking forward to this greatly.