The dappled light, reflected

This weekend feels as if it's gone too fast, and yet I feel I've managed to wring as much out of it as possible: long video chats with my mother, and with anya_1984 (one of my oldest friends), a briefer chat with my dad, with cameos from my stepmother and sister #2, two lovely walks with Matthias (into the nature reserve, and along the allotment), a bit of TV, reading one book, a bit of housework and laundry, lots of cooking.

It feels as if it's the last gasp of summer. The light is beautiful, but the sun is setting noticably earlier, the shadows lengthening across the courtyard sooner. My tomato plants are winding down, while blackberries have appeared all along the hedgerows and scattered among the fens. The real sign that summer is over will be the cows — which are let out to graze in all the parks and commons in town, roaming freely around — leaving the city. Right now, it feels as if we, and everything else, is on the verge of taking a breath, to store up light and warmth and abundance in advance of the approaching winter.

And now, a meme, via about four people in my circle so far:

( Three things meme behind the cut )