Bittersweet Conclusions.

They say that; "No man (or woman) needs a vacation more then the one who just came back from it", and let me tell you, ain't that the truth.

As I return to the familiar routines in my life, once again in solitude with only Batcat to keep me company, I recall with bittersweet sensation my experiences of the past few weeks. In not so distant future, these will become wonderful memories, which will keep me warm in the coming months, when cold and dark days will reign my part of the world. I decided to dedicate the next few posts to this recollection, but before I share with you those precious moments, let me first share with you - in pictures and words - the natural beauty that envelops my white house right now.

The eighth month of the year is closing towards its end. Slowly, there is a palpable change in the air. It begins gently, simply as a mild notion of a certain undefined difference, barely there. But within weeks this notion will turn into the change of seasons.

When I gaze upon my immediate surroundings, the summer finale is so very obvious everywhere. The light is slowly turning golden and the shadows grow longer, as the sun looses strength, moving lower across the sky. The days grow colder and the nights are no longer light. The Birch Trees are sprinkled here and there with golden leaves, the initial sign of the approaching autumn. If I look closely, the first mushrooms can be spotted in the shade of their rich crowns. Bushes and shrubs bear the first fruit and the evergreens are lush and majestic, as they reach the end of their growth cycle.

August in my mind is the tint of dark green and golden. There is a certain clarity to the air, making the colours in nature vivid and vibrant, as the haze of hot summer days disappears. It is the final month of richness and the commencing month of harvest, when crane flies fill the air, amidst the fluffy seeds of Thistles, while bumblebees and the scented bloom of Honeysuckle slowly depart. The early autumn Heather blossom replaces slowly the indigo blue flowers of the Clematis, which fall to the ground in a erratic motion, as the wind picks up in strength.

This is the last month of the summer and it is ending. As always - way too fast, leaving us before it even began. All that remains now is the notion that perhaps when the rich season crosses the seasonal doorway upon its departure in a few weeks, we might experience the final warmth of a few Indian Sumer days...