Sunday 21 September 2014

Blackberries for breakfast

I didn't wake early today but not late either, just about right i reckon. On opening the kitchen door i was greeted by a golden light, dazzling & bright with the rusty hues of an Autumnal morning. The air  cool & the field down to the lake sodden with dew, each drop reflecting a perfect inverted world within & the shadows of the trees raked across the grass to meet me, as if to beckon, to invite.
Before i left the garden through the somewhat unkempt & overgrown gate, a Red Admiral alighted upon a leaf to warm itself in the suns smile. Its silhouette through the decaying leaf like shadows upon stained glass.

The shadow of a Red Admiral, so beautiful.

I really must sort that gate out as each time i go through it i lose more threads from my jumper. Entering the field i head towards the lake, it is bathed in golden light & sunbeams, surrounded by patches of rambling brambles. A rich weedy green aroma wafts around & there is more than a hint of Autumns steady decay in the air. I love this time of year, & although the verdant freshness of Spring & the heavy richness of Summer greens, all hot & herbaceous, are wonderful, as i reach September i'm ready for something new & the subtle changes of hue in the landscape with that promise of the saturated hues of October & November to come, suit me just fine. The spreading brambles were full of stained glass loveliness & a tangle of spiky Autumn hued leaves & stems, rampant & colourful offering up its clusters of deep purple, almost black fruity grenades has to be one of natures nicest treats. Only weeks ago i was picking Blackberries & had to be selective, picking only the ripe & the juicy ones, the others red & not yet yielding to ripeness & the green ones, tight & nut hard, still holding onto their delicious secret for awhile longer. None of this selective musings amongst the berries now, all of them are dark & yield so willingly with only a smidge of pull needed to unburden them from their prickly home. Some so soft i would swear that they burst before even being touched. As i wandered around the lake i picked & plucked & with fingers stained purple a fine breakfast they made.

How beautiful is the humble bramble at the start of Autumn.



I've been murdering Blackberries again.

A tangle of rampant beautiful berries glossy, juicy & yummy.
This is my first blog, so now i am a blogger or do i need more than one blog to be a blogger or have i just blogged & am not yet a blogger. Blogger or just one who has blogged, it matters not for there will be more. As the nights draw in, the days shorten & cool & the shadows grow longer i guess i'll have a bit more time for this sort of thing. Its quite exciting, all those blogs that i haven't written yet, all those things to enthuse about, to be passionate about & at times maybe to rant about. Mostly though this will be an uplifting celebration of the natural world & my small role within it, its trials & tribulations ( as an artist there are many ), its ups & downs, musings, thoughts, paintings, photographs, nature notes & one of my favourite pastimes, fishing. And when i'm not doing any of that i will usually be found in the kitchen or out foraging as food is another passion that i may share with you from time to time.

I do hope that with my blog i will offer an insight into the life of someone who loves nature & being surrounded by it. As romanticised as many of you will think the life of an artist is i will endeavour to be completely honest about it. Its not all a bed of Roses you know & there have been many times where i have been looking down the back of the sofa for some money but hopefully if i work hard & honestly & putting my heart & soul in everything i do then i think i'll be ok.


Green gold shadows & sunbeams dapple across the lakeside meadow.

The lake, green & still & glorious.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome to blogging David- this is a brilliant beginning and I can't wait to read more!

Unknown said...

Nice start David!

Elizabeth McCrindle said...

Great start David into the world of blogging. Gorgeous photos...I'm looking forward to following your journey :)