Summer has gone in the blink of an eye, and here we are, already into September. I feel ready to move into the new season now. The weather has changed, school is back and I’m feeling that turn inwards. But, before I do, I’d like to have a look back - a reflection on how my summer turned out.

You may recall a post at the beginning of July, where I laid out my plans and intentions for the Summer - my Summer Manifesto, if you will. I revisited this list yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see how many of my hopes had been realised. Some have been documented already here: our St. Kilda trip, swimming, reading, beach days and our mainland trip. I’ve been outside as much as possible, early morning wandering, garden pottering, sipping wine by the outdoor fire, and a fair amount of just sitting around enjoying the sights and sounds of summer. Not everything has been documented, but that’s as it should be. I do feel I’ve taken advantage of the sunny days. Yes - there were a few, although thankfully we escaped the crazy heatwave that occurred on the mainland.

There were a couple of things on the list that didn’t get ticked off. Not an issue, because - it wasn’t actually a tick list. Still, we never got away on a ramble, I didn’t take any naps, and no raspberries have been planted. I can live with that. We did a lot of city walking on holiday, I discovered that winter is the best time to plant raspberry canes, and napping just didn’t happen.

I did manage to press some of the garden flowers, though. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out, and I think I might use them to make bookmarks. I completed a couple of craft projects, over the summer, which I hope to share in a future post.

And that’s been the Summer of 2019. A low-key, gentle and nourishing break - exactly what we needed before the boy started High School. We were able to spend precious time with family, just relaxing into our time together.

And as we slip into the Fall, I feel the excitement of new starts and possibilities, bolstered by the energy of the summer sun. I have a few plans for the coming months - more house, garden and croft work, and a holiday too. Thank you Summer - you’ve been wonderful, but now I think I’m ready to celebrate Autumn.