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Friday 6 October 2017

Last rose

Our weather has been unseasonably warm, 20 degrees Celsius and sunny with warm breezes. We are not accustomed to Octobers with such weather. We are wearing summer clothes, though the fall and winter clothes are on stand-by. An October walk by the bay showed a mix of the last gasps of summer and the promise of autumn.

Wild mustard blooms are almost gone and the seed pods are visible.




Aster blooms are abundant although some have withered and gone to seed.




This type of thistle appears to partially bleach every autumn. Could this effect be due to an iron deficiency or sun scorch?




The winterberry holly has its characteristic berries now, a ready bird food for the winter months.





Grasses along the river which flows into the harbour are showing their age,  as they become more straw-like.





Bees are busy still and wasps are particularly aggressive.





This old tree trunk which we call the perch, is a resting place for a mourning dove on this day. Many species of birds use the perch but a number have already flown south.





And of course, some leaves are changed already.





The Last Rose of Summer, a poem by the Irish poet Thomas More, came to mind any time my husband and I came across the rare fading beauties.




The poem was set to a traditional Irish tune which I love. This version of the song, sung by Celtic Woman, brings back memories of piano lessons and school choir during elementary school. 


The Last Rose of Summer is here.








33 comments:

DJan said...

So lovely, Marie. Your temperatures mirror our own, but this isn't unusual for us. I do hope you will get to enjoy many more days of mild weather before needed to don the winter clothes. :-)

Silver in AZ said...

enjoy the warmth while it lasts! Looks like you are! :)

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I love the last roses of summer Marie.. how funny is it that in my garden I'm just seeing the first roses of spring/summer. Hope the weather stays warm for the weekend, enjoy ☺

Angela said...

One can see your love for nature, you have a keen eye to every change and color and everything else going on with mother nature. You have a beautiful soul Marie! Such lovely photos! Here too we are getting the trees changing colors and the temps are starting to go down. Wishing you beautiful Autumn days!

Marie Smith said...

Debbie at http://itsallaboutpurple-debbie.blogspot.ca/ says:


it has been downright hot here, too hot for me!! beautiful images, the asters are especially pretty!!

Barb said...

You live in such a scenic area. I like seeing your changes heralding fall. In the mts of CO, we're bundled up and saying goodbye to fall.

Elephant's Child said...

I do love the juxtapositioning of the seasons. And the beauty of your walks. Thank you.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving this weekend!

Bill said...

Enjoy the weather while it lasts. Nice photos illustrating the changes of the season, I really enjoy the changes, different feelings, different smells but still very enjoyable each and every season.

Catarina said...

Nature is changing...

Great pictures, Marie. As usual!!
: )

Marilyn @ MountainTopSpice said...

Wow it really is warm there! We are having frosty nights and cool fall days...love the glimpses of fall on the island!

Anvilcloud said...

It has been like that here too. It's like we missed summer in July and August, only to have it show up in September and October.

Marie Smith said...

We had an outing again today, Jan. We are taking advantage of this great weather.

Marie Smith said...

We really are, Sw.

Marie Smith said...

It is an gorgeous weekend here, PDP.

Marie Smith said...

Thank you Angela, for the kind words. We spent the day out hiking again. It was another great day.

Marie Smith said...

I think our summer was better than yours this year, AC.

Marie Smith said...

How you are recovering nicely from your surgery, Marilyn.

Marie Smith said...

Thank you, Catarina. Happy Thanksgiving.

Marie Smith said...

It is great to embrace the seasonal changes, Bill. No point lamenting it. Doesn't change a thing.

Marie Smith said...

You too, Debra.

Marie Smith said...

As one season yields to another, the overlap is interesting, EC.

Marie Smith said...

You are far ahead of us winter weatherwise, Barb.

Marie Smith said...

Debbie, I wasn't able to post your comment as you left it. I had to copy and paste it. But I put your blog address here as well. Have a great weekend!

Debbie said...

thanks marie...i'm not sure what happened!! when i checked in today, i thought i had not commented but the post was familiar and then i caught this. very thoughtful of you!! have a happy sunday!!!

The Furry Gnome said...

It's been wonderful warm weather so far here too.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos you have shared. I have missed not having roses in our garden this year. We had a few cool days but it is back to being hot/muggy. Wishing you a lovely new week.

Marie Smith said...

Enjoy while we can, FG.

Marie Smith said...

Hot and muggy in October is so foreign to me, Mildred.

jenny_o said...

Your photos appeal so strongly to me; I was trying to figure out just why and realized it's because they seem so familiar. Our provinces have differences but mostly are very similar.

Barbara said...

I love Celtic Woman. What incredible voices and I like the girl that plays the violin also. I haven't seen them in quite a while since I didn't get PBS after I cut the cable. We have cable at the new place so I'll have to remember to watch for their performances.

Marie Smith said...

I agree, Jenny. Different parts of Canada can look similar.

Marie Smith said...

We get them on PBS here too. Hauntingly beautiful!