It’s September and it’s Sublime

Welcome to a new season

Sep 01, 2023

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          To Autumn by John Keats 

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
   With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
   And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
      To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
   With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
      For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
   Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
   Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
   Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
      Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
   Steady thy laden head across a brook;
   Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
      Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?
   Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
   And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
   Among the river sallows, borne aloft
      Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
   Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
   The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
      And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Today is the first day of autumn, the meteorological autumn always begins on 1st September, however, autumn, as defined by the earth’s orbit around the sun, begins on the equinox, which falls on 22nd or 23rd September1. As the schools prepare to welcome back their pupils after the summer holidays the sun has started to shine. Beautiful blue skies dotted with white and grey clouds, a warm breeze blowing through the heavy boughs of the apples trees, the warmth on my face from the warm sunshine and the birds happy in the hedgerows, it’s hard to believe summer is coming to an end for this year.

This week we witnessed a full super blue moon which I did manage to see, albeit in-between the clouds. A large orange moon that looked more like the rising sun at times. Although the weather was disappointing the moon didn’t let us down, putting on the most mesmerising show.

Whilst out and about I have already seen bushes full of blackberries, sloes and elderberries. Next week I will make the most of the fine weather and head out to forage, looking forward to making apple and blackberry crumbles, jam and Dorset apple cake. I have decided to make a batch of sloe gin this year, which make lovely handmade Christmas presents. This season is full of seasonal produce and abundance in nature.

As well as enjoying the September weather in the garden and going out foraging next week I will be coming back into the studio to start a new commission. Most of my art has been put on hold over the summer season preferring to be outdoors, topping up my vitamin D and pottering outside, however, I have been asked to draw and paint a yellow rose in watercolour. I took a lovely photograph in my garden of a beautiful David Austin rose called Golden Celebration, so I really look forward to getting down to work on it during next week. I will take photographs of my progress and with permission I will share it with you. I feel fortunate entering this new season feeling gratitude for the abundance in my surroundings, the beautiful countryside which inspires me everyday and feeling motivated and valued in starting this new project.

“All the months are crude experiments, out of which the perfect September is made.” — Virginia Woolf

I hope you are enjoying the first day of September and are looking forward to all the abundance and opportunities that this special month brings. Let me know in the comments your favourite things about September and the beginning of autumn.

The Pondering of an Artist

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