bathe in pure sunlight
nature’s balm upon your skin
reviving your soul
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Meadow
Changing Seasons: August 2017
Grasses have ripened into swathes of gold,
and leaves have deepened their colour in maturity,
for the meadow and woodland have passed their peak,
accepting the inevitability of the ageing year.
It’s been a few months since I last joined in with Cardinal Guzman’s Changing Seasons photo challenge, but I thought that, seeing as I’ve still been visiting the meadow and wooded area despite moving away, I may as well post the pictures I’ve taken. As I no longer live in the village, my visits haven’t been as frequent as they were in earlier months – which mainly means that this post was far easier to put together. I only had a few dozen pictures to sort through, rather than a few hundred!
If you’d like to see what was happening in the meadow at other times of the year, please check out the Changing Seasons category at the top of the page.
Peculiar Life
Tread carefully as you walk the woodland paths, as you seek the peculiar life emerging from the earth’s fertile darkness. See them stand proud and defiant in the new day’s light, each embracing their opportunity to shine.
Toadstools are definitely one of my favourite things to photograph, and this August has been great for them. They seem to have flourished in the warm and wet English summertime we’ve been been having. Here are a few more pictures that I’ve taken.
The photos were all taken in the meadow and wooded area of my old village – which is still my favourite place to spend a few peaceful hours enjoying the natural world. Despite not living there any more, I’ve driven out for a number of dawn walks this month. I just can’t stay away!
Wordless Wednesday: In The Dawn-Lit Meadow
Wordless Wednesday: As The Daisies Grow
Watch the Rising Sun
sit amidst the
long grass and watch the rising sun
lovingly caress the meadow
*
golden rays revealing
the innocence of daisies as they sway
to a light morning breeze
*
breathe deep the
blissful quietude and embrace the
awakening of your soul
These pictures were all taken at the meadow in my old village last month. I might not live there any more, but I just couldn’t stay away. Hopefully I’ll manage to get there again sometime soon. Unfortunately, getting there for a dawn photo shoot now includes a half hour drive, rather than simply a stroll around the corner!
I’m joining in with Camp NaNoWriMo again this July, which means my blogging is going to be taking second place to working on my novel for a little while. I have got a few photography and poetry posts (like this one) sat in my drafts folder, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep things going on the blog for a little while, even if I have no little stories to share.
In case you’re interested, the novel I’m working on is the same one I began last November’s NaNo. I’m hoping to get it to a point where it’s actually a coherent whole – which, as I don’t generally write in a chronological order, but rather leap around the story wherever my imagination cares to lead me – can be quite a feat! The novel is a young adult, otherworld steampunk fantasy, and, while it doesn’t really yet have a title, here is the initial blurb:
Centuries ago, the Kennithi-born mages ruled the world with an iron grip, their magic giving them the strength to subjugate any and all lesser races. Their reign only ended when the Order of the Veil learned how to bind their powers.
The world moved on, with science and steam-driven technology taking the place of magic. Marked by the silver web of magic frozen in their veins, the Kennithi became the downtrodden people – feared and despised. Their only protectors became the very Order that kept them chained.
But everything changes when an inventor, experimenting with electricity, accidentally sets free his Kennithi assistant…
With any luck, I might even manage to complete it sometime this year!
Wordless Wednesday: Midsummer Meadow
CB&W: Cornflowers and Daisies
bask in memories
of sun-filled days aglow with joy
there amidst the cornflowers and the daisies
breathing deep of nectar laden air whilst insects hum
at peace with nature
This post is for Cee’s Black and White challenge. This week’s prompt is the letter C or D. The pictures were both taken last summer in the meadow.
Changing Seasons 2017: February
February arrived at the meadow and the little wooded area beside the stream, enticing nature to quicken as the year edged slowly onwards…
(Remember to click on the galleries for better views of the pictures!)
As youthful sunlight grew bolder, caressing the earth with an enlivening touch, new life began to stir amidst the leaf litter. Green shoots pushed free of chill dirt. Soon, hosts of delicate snowdrops bowed their heads in shy greeting, whilst hearts and minds swelled with romantic ideals.
Bathed in dawn light or dusk, the paths meandered over the meadow and beneath the trees, drawing footsteps onwards. Benches invited those visitors brave enough to face the frigid elements to sit awhile in peaceful contemplation. Meanwhile the stream flowed on in a silvery ribbon…
Within the tree tops birds gathered, peeking from behind branches and darting from perch to perch. In search of partners with whom to share the coming months, they sang their boastful songs as they preened, their chests puffed out in self-importance.
Amidst February’s burgeoning landscape, a multitude of detail was hidden – for those who were willing to look. Bracket fungi provided stepping stones into fairy lands, whilst ivy bedecked in dewdrops glistened in dawn light. Strands of fur tangled around brambles, hinting of life forms present when a human gaze was absent.
This post is for my February edition of Cardinal Guzman’s Changing Seasons Challenge. It’s a little later than I’d hoped to post it – mainly because my internet is still not completely back to normal. It’s not too bad for visiting blogs now, but unfortunately it takes forever to upload pictures!
If you’d like to see how the meadow, wooded area, and stream have looked at different times of the year, please visit the ‘Changing Seasons’ category in the menu at the top of the page.
Do you have a favourite picture? I’d love to know!
Changing Seasons 2017: January
As the midwinter celebrations fade into memory, the new year settles into a haze of grey monotony – a progression of days shrouded in obscuring mist. But even amidst the gloom, an allure can be found if you open your eyes to the sight. Light will filter through even on the dullest of days.
(Remember to click on the galleries for better views of the photographs.)
Find your way to the natural places, and breathe deep of the chill air. Bathe in the peace to be found as you connect with the earth. The daylight might yet be thin, lacking the strength to which it will grow in the months to come, but it is strong enough to enliven your spirit as you walk across the meadow and beneath the trees.
Whilst no flowers yet bloom, and the trees remain starkly bare, there is still beauty to be found in the minutiae of the wild places. Beneath your feet toadstools continue to emerge, whilst moss, ivy and lichen add touches of greenery to a largely umber world. Droplets cling to leaves and branches, reflecting back at you a miniature world, bathed in light.
Amongst the branches a multitude of birds flit, darting from perch to perch in search of sustenance. Blue tits, long tailed tits and blackbirds can all be spotted, adding life an movement to the wintry tableau.
A final sight to lift your spirits can be seen as January draws to an end. The first hints of Spring’s revival can be found amidst the remnants of the old year – fresh green leaves reaching towards the sky. Soon new life will arrive.
This post is for Cardinal Guzman’s Changing Seasons 2017. As usual, I have far more than the 5-20 pictures we’re asked to share – though this is barely a quarter of those I could have included. Sorry, Cardinal. 
I’d say that I’ll try to stick to the limit better next month, but I know just how low the likelihood of that is!
As I began last year’s challenge in February, this post actually brings me full circle. I had thought about photographing a different place this year – but the meadow, wooded area and stream is where I always want to visit when I head out of the house with my camera. And there’s always something different to be seen…
If you’d like to take a look at some of the previous posts for this challenge, I’ve now added a Changing Seasons category to the menu at the top of the page to make them easier to find.
