The Upside Down Rainbow

It’s the last day of the month; and, while autumn is still officially three weeks or so away, there’s a sense that summer is ending.

Another week and then the children will return to school. We’ll fall into routines, old and new….start looking towards longer nights, turning leaves, cosy fires.

Spring was so gorgeous this year; summer so dismal. And yet….did wishing bring it about? The final day of August has been one of the loveliest days of the year. A true, blue sky day. Topped off - most remarkably - by an upside down rainbow. Not on the horizon - but far above the earth where the clouds pass by.

Of all the rainbows we’ve had recently, this was the most special. There’d been no rain all day - just sunshine and warmth. Then suddenly, hanging from the heavens, this arc of light.

That has to be an omen of good things to come.

The Purple Heather

I couldn't let August slip away without showing you the heather in its prettiest frock.

The gloom and rain of this month have made for a dearth of photos; but I managed to salvage these.....leaden skies and all.

If you're wondering what entitles Joss to be in the frame, he's chewing on a stem of heather - an habitual pastime when up on the moors.

The blossom's just beginning to turn now - the purple buds fading to brown.  Let's hope that as the colour leaves, the sunshine returns.....

P.S.  Today I'm taking part in Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House.  Why not pop on over and take a look at some of the other lovely mosaics you'll find links to there?

The Muck Midden

In case you were thinking that life in the country is all roses and heather, I’d thought I’d show you this. The muck midden!

The cowsheds were cleared out yesterday and this was the result - a towering mountain of manure at least twelve feet tall, twice as deep and about four times as long. You can probably smell it from where you are. J

Whilst the sight and the pong may not send humans into a happy tizzy, insects love it. And a dung heap crawling with creepy things and peppered with grain seeds draws birds like a magnet.

The farmer tells me that before a farm was established on this land, there were just seven or eight sorts of bird visiting on a regular basis. Today, a quick tally of species he sees often came to almost thirty - including some less common and endangered breeds.

So next time you’re driving past fields and get a whiff of ‘country smells’, remember the feathered ones and be glad!

Every Cloud...

So far as weather goes, August has been - frankly - HORRIBLE!

Cold, wet and unbelievably gloomy. Dark, dreary, depressing and dire.

Get the picture?

But….in the rare intervals been showers and downpours, there’ve been some very pretty rainbows.

Black clouds, it seems, have colourful linings.

The Same View: August

I can’t tell you how disappointed I am by the picture above!

All year long as this series has progressed, I’ve been itching to show you August - the month when the heather flowers and the landscape is suffused with purple.

And as surely as the seasons turn, August has come and the moors have put on their annual spectacle. And it‘s breathtaking.

And yet....this!

As I stood on my habitual rock this morning, I could have panned my camera through 360° and in every direction you would have seen purple, purple, purple. Except, it seems, in this one.

I hadn’t realised just how dominated this particular aspect is by fields. To be sure, the faraway moors are resplendent with blossom, but the

gloom that’s been our lot this month renders them grey at this distance. Which leaves us with a token smattering of purple in the foreground.

And so I’m offering you today what I wouldn’t have thought was even possible - a green Pennine landscape in August.