This is the first post of my new blog, showcasing photographs taken by my husband, daughter and myself. We live in Earlston, Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders, an often forgotten region, south of Edinburgh, rich in beautiful landscape, history and heritage - all of which will feature in my posts - along with places much further afield.
AUTUMN is my favourite season.
I
love the colours of, brown, bronze, burgundy, green and gold. Has this
anything to do with the fact I was a "September" baby - as were my
grandmother, mother, aunt, two uncles and husband? These colours were
staples in my wardrobe in the days when I was a brunette, and still
feature in my home decor.
I recall as a child:
- Scuffing my shoes through the leaves, and enjoying the crunchy sound - this still appeals to me!
- Collecting different coloured leaves to take home and make a picture.
- Gathering berries (hips, haws and rowan) to take into school for the nature table.
- Gathering
blackberries in the hedgerows and bilberries among the heather - and
turning our lips purple as we sampled the fruit.
-
Watching my mother turn the glut of apples, pears and plums into tarts, sponges, crumbles, jellies and jam.
- Singing harvest hymns at school and church - among my favourites hymns with their rousing tunes and evocative lines "~We plough the fields and scatter", "Come ye thankful people come, sing the song of harvest home", "To thee, O Lord our hearts we raise" , and of course "All things bright and beautiful " where I especially liked the image created by the verse:
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;
Autumn also meant for me new beginnings – of a new school year, armed with a new pencil case or satchel, new shoes or uniform. Later
on it meant the sense of anticipation of a new university year in
Edinburgh, riding on the top of the bus on a crisp morning, seeing the castle and the Royal Mile skyline rising above the trees changing colour in Princes Street Gardens.
Now living in the Scottish Borders, the autumn gold colours can be magnificent - we just don't always get the clear blue skies to show them off! Autumn comes
early, when there is a different smell to the early morning air in
late August. The light in the sky changes and mist hangs over the
valleys.
Join me in an Autumn ramble around Earlston and places close by.
I once read of someone who hated autumn because “everything was dying”. I thought what a pity that she could not see the beauty in this time of year, which to me is truly epitomised by Keats’ classic poem - I know it can be regarded as a bit of a cliché, but it is so apt:
"A season of mist and mellow fruitfulness".
And TRUE AUTUMN GOLD
All photographs taken in the Scottish Borders
Copyright © 2021 · Susan Donaldson. All Rights Reserved
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The River Teviot at Hawick 
