As autumn begins in the lakes, the rain has been pretty much a constant addition to the landscape which i don't really mind to be honest. It just makes me want to pull out the scarves and knitwear and examine the log pile for winter. Autumn is here with winter not all that far away. The summer was disappointing but I'm loving the trees starting to change colour. At Whinfell Forest, where I work, the pine trees are dropping all their needles, and the scent of pine is everywhere. It's all so fresh. There is a hedgehog that i've seen now many times snuffling around our garden. I've never really seen one as regular before, and I was under the impression they were in decline in the UK so it's comforting to see this one every night. I've seen lots of red squirrels out and about, on the squirrel feeders and the bird feeders!
Although I've pretty much worked all of August, I have still been so grateful to live in the Lakes and I haven't even had much time to get into the mountains. I've just been driving through. After seeing the destruction that has been caused by the rioting in London and other cities, it really saddens me. Maybe i've been watching too many of the analytical documentaries about the riots, but it scares me the state of society and the actions of others. To be honest, it makes me want to retreat into the country even more and just disappear. I've always been a country bumpkin, and brought up in a very rural village, and living in the lakes now is a dream come true, but I could never feel really comfortable in a city. Day trips are ok into the city, but any longer than that, and I crave open space, trees and the quiet. Just the simple country life would do me.
