Wednesday 15 October 2014

a dreich day


I am the only person out in the soft rain and the squirrels ignore me, rustling industriously through the beech leaves. I can hear the thin shriek of a kite high overhead and the muffled flap of wood pigeons as I disturb them. The creaking bellow of  a stag resonates from tall bracken close to the path. He watches me as I cautiously walk past and I am relieved when he eventually turns away.


In my head I am making a shopping list: braising steak, eschallions, smoked paprika, chorizo, passata, soured cream. Tonight we will have spicy red goulash and I can see broccoli, bright green in contrast, and creamy mashed potato on my blue plates. 


I walk on between fields to the edge of the woods, seeing the shine of limp leaves and the sodden linings of chestnut cases. The sky is a damp, pallid grey. This is autumn and there is no going back but there is so much to look forward to that I hurry onwards.

*****

This post is for Nicola to say thank you for the very thoughtful email - it was much appreciated.

8 comments:

  1. Lovely...and that fern image is exquisite.

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  2. Even if you talked about dust, you would do it with grace, details and colour.

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  3. Beautifully written, and lovely photographs too. CJ xx

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  4. you do write beautifully Alice x

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  5. Who was I to think you'd need my 'observe, observe, observe' last week when you wrote about what to do in autumn. And I love the word 'dreich'. Cath

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  6. I love that post, especially the moment when you encounter the stag. I love all the sensations you convey here, all the contrasts. Hell, I can even smell the goulash!

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  7. A truly lovely post. Thank you Alice.

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