Summers End

Today marks the Autumn Equinox and there's no denying it now - Summer is officially over for another year. The past week has been absolutely glorious, a truly beautiful end to my favourite season and I've been drinking it in at every opportunity. 

On Monday last week J and I took a flask of coffee and some chocolate and set out to climb The Crag - it's been a while since we were last up there and I'd forgotten what a beast of a climb it is. I felt like every cell in my body was screaming in protest, but the stunning views combined with the deep down feeling of achievement (and sheer relief) once I hauled myself up to the top was definitely worth it.

It was a lovely walk in perfect late summer weather and I was so glad we made the effort to get out there to enjoy it.

Our days this week have often started out in a very foggy way with a thick bank of whiteness hanging low over the landscape. It's been atmospheric and beautiful, and has made our morning walks to school feel very Autumnal.

There is something very unique about the morning light in September, don't you think? There is a softness to it which I've come to really love, and even though it signals the end of summer I find I really don't mind it at all.

Coming home after the hectic morning school run, I try and make time to sit quietly with a coffee for a short while to gather my thoughts and just breathe in the stillness. It never fails to make me feel that all is right in my world when I have a hot milky drink in my hands. 

I've been walking around town more than usual this week as I've somehow had a lot of errands to run which have taken me from one end of town to the other.

It's certainly no hardship to run errands in my town. I've lived here for almost twelve years now and I absolutely love being able to walk from my house to the shops via roads like this ↑↑

....and along pathways like this ↑↑

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to walk along these watery pathways every day and never take it for granted.

We gathered up Little B on Saturday and drove into the Yorkshire Dales to walk alongside the river Wharfe. This walk has become a firm family favourite during this past year, ever since we discovered the delights of the Old School Tearoom. In fact it was Little B's idea for us to walk there at the weekend, and I'm pretty certain that his decision was entirely banana milkshake induced.

Even though I've been holding onto the idea of Summer still being with us, the trees along the riverbank were most definitely displaying their Autumn colours. Most trees are still very green (hooray!) but the horse chestnuts are always one of the first to turn.

They look lovely though, especially when the sun lights them up.

Little B was on a conker-finding mission, although really it's still too early for them. He was overjoyed by the very small ones he found and we now have a very teensy collection of them sitting in a bowl in the kitchen.

The tea room was delightful as ever and it was warm enough for us to sit outside to eat an early lunch. Note the banana milkshake of dreams (!), he was so happy with his drink and his conkers, bless him.

I used to have a major addiction to buying tea towels, I wonder if you remember? I've not exactly grown out of it but have learnt to curb it and haven't indulged in a good few years now. I was looking on the Cath Kidston website for a new purse as my current 22 year old one has finally fallen apart. Somehow I found myself looking at tea towels instead (old habits die hard) and well, the 'shrooms just called out to me and had to come and live in my kitchen. I think they look very Autumnal and so blinkin' cute, I love love love them.

I've got some glorious sunflowers on my table at the moment, a gift from a good friend for no other reason other than she knew I would love them. She wasn't wrong, I do absolutely adore them and every day they make me smile. They are very Septemberish I think, a real end of Summer treat.

My mantel is still in Summer mode, and it shall stay that way until after Yarndale. We are forecast some rotten weather this week so I am doing all that I can to summon up some sunshiny summer vibes, just enough to get us through the weekend would be good. 

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Comments

[Lynne Stankard]

Hello Lucy, Many, many thanks for a lovely Autumn Blog - this really made me smile this morning. Remember, tell Little B., it starts with tiny conkers and soon they are HUGE!! Loving your pics., sunflowers - adorable, Milky coffe - yummy, leaves - beautiful, canal barges - evocative and shroom teatowels - made me smile. If there is a greeting like Happy Autumn I'm wishing it to you (and if there isn't there should be!!) xxxxx

[Susan R]

Lovely to hear from you again...love your blog .xxx

[Teresa Kasner]

I love it when you share your canal walks.. I'm rather obsessed with those colorful canal boats. I hope the good weather holds for Yarndale! I'm looking forward to the photos of the event. Don't work too hard!!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Hedy]

Thank you Lucy for such a lovely note. We all so enjoy seeing your pictures and taking a piece of your life into ours. I wish we had walking trails here in the US.

[Nora Mcgrann]

Thank you Lucy..anotherlovely blog. Xx

[Kathy]

I enjoy so much seeing all the beauty of Yorkshire (and the other places you share); but it has made me stop and look around and enjoy the beauty of my region. The beauty is there but perhaps I have stopped "seeing". Thank you for your example of being "aware".

[Charlotte.]

Wishing you every success at Yarndale.

[Mitzi]

I do hope the sun can find its hat again for the weekend. Every time we have come up to Skipton for the Yarndale weekend it has been glorious sunshine even if it was tippling down the day before.

Look forward to seeing you in the knit & knatter lounge at some point over the weekend Lucy.

Mitzi

[Mary W]

I could almost smell autumn in the air with your glorious early morning pictures. What are corkers? Are they the nuts? Do they float? Are they used for fishing? Are they the empty shells? How does he open them? I'm too curious! Your beautiful mantel just screams summer! Keep it up as long as possible.

[Miss Daisy]

Love the tea towels , those mushrooms are just too cute. I enjoyed our walk this morning , love your town. Have a Blessed week.

[kazzy]

hello Lucy, lovely to see your posting, look at those sunflowers such a cheery sight!;)
I love seeing other peoples landscapes and views...
yours though with the canal and rocky moor land does look quite similar to here down in Devon...I love the canal boats , we definitely dont have them on my canal...i'd love that if they did. I often dreamed of owning a boat in my 20s, but sometimes i wonder where they put all their things. we'd soon fill it up and have to sleep on the roof i think hehe!.
I always remember a place in london with a canal and they had all the pretty gardens on the top of the canal boats filled with flowers...Camden used to be similar as well.
I love toadstools!...i have two of the Ck mugs with the toadstools on, but i love those new tea towels...my mugs must be over 5 years old when she first designed the pattern.
Your mantel always looks so sweet and colourful, love the bunting and colourful cottages.
We'd had two weeks of beautiful sunlight and golden rays of light in the evenings but now the rains have arrived...hopefully not for too long.
Loving all your yarn dale makings too! bet that is exciting but full on for you, good luck!
lovely post as always, kazzy ;)

[Susan Smith]

A lovely post & as it isn't long since we got back home, I can still feel the joy of also walking alongside the canal & down to Coopers Cafe. All the best for Yarndale & I'll be in touch after it's all over. Thanks for the photos, take care & huggles.

[carol partridge]

yes, Yarndale usually has good weather. I remember the first one. It was beautiful and sunny. As well as wool my husband bought me a woven basket to put it all in. That looks a hard climb.Your photo's are always lovely.Hope you have a good Yarndale...then you can have deserved rest ! ( until your next project )

[Carol Langley]

I love your cheery blog Lucy, despite the fact that I can’t knit or crochet to any useful degree. Your photos are always so lovely. I also like the tea towels - I’ve got a few yet to be used that I bought because I liked the fabric.

[carolyn mary jackson]

Hi Lucy, I have enjoyed all your teddy photos, but a bit worried I havent seen mine, I do hope it hasnt gone astray, being from NZ. I will keep looking as I have sent a parcel each year to Yarndale and they have all arrived. Hope you have a great w/end and all goes well.
Carocraft20@gmail.com

[CJ]

Your town is so very pretty, a lovely place to walk about I think, and I love how you still appreciate it. It looks beautiful up on the crag, well worth the climb. I hope Yarndale goes well and that the sun shines on you all. Good luck! CJ xx

[Emily]

Hi Lucy,
I always love to get a sneak peak of your days. You always take such wonderfull pictures. the nature around you is so beautiful. I get why you're always go hiking. I would too if I lived somewhere like that.
I wish you lots of fun at yarndale.
Have a lovely day.

Sweet greetings,
Emily
(casacreaemilia.blogspot.nl)

[lou]

Dear Lucy, I love your blog and wanted your new posts to pop up in my email inbox - I'm experimenting with going lower-tech (used to use a blog aggregator called Feedly to collect all the lovely blogs I enjoy but it is a bit mindless-scroll-y!). Anyway I hit the 'subscribe' button at the top of your homepage hoping I could get your blog by email subscription instead as then I won't miss any. It doesn't work! I know you are ramping up for Yarndale and this is not going to be your top priority at all, but just letting you know for when you get to draw breath... Many thanks.

[Ruth]

Good luck with Yarndale and the weather..it’s usually glorious isn’t it? Xx

[Molly Goodwin]

Lovely blog and photos. Conkers are the nuts from a horse chestnut tree. They are rich brown and shiny with a green prickly shell. When I was young, children would pierce them and thread a string through then have a conker fight by swinging their conker and trying to break their opponents conker! It was great fun - then along came health and safety, and it was banned in schools!

[Miriam Stevenson]

Lovely blog. We've been very lucky with the warm sun and hazy mornings. A real taste of autumn in the air now and my favourite season begins. Good luck for a wonderful Yarndale. I hope you have a wonderful time and get a good rest afterwards x

[Heather]

Thank you for another great post! I am so looking forward to Yarndale and hope the weather is better by then so we can have a walk around Skipton too!

[Angela]

Where is your studio I would like to pop in

[Doris]

Hello Lucy,
thank you so much for yet another post with beautiful pictures. I wonder if the British tourist industry knows what a great promoter of your country you are :D. I never considered the UK as a vacation destination for some reason (I don't know, maybe the weather?), but you share so many great pictures, just gorgeous and I would really love to come and walk those moors myself one day.
Looking forward to your next CAL-pattern, if you feel like sharing a sneak peak, pleeeeaaaasseeeee do, can't wait :) :) :)

[Josephine Firth]

I love your photos Lucy, so warm and inviting. I also love sunflowers, tea towels and conkers! (My auto correct changed that to consumers!!)
How strange that we share some of the same ideas! See you at Yarndale on Sunday, hope you have a peaceful run up to the weekend. Even though a wet one is forecast for our region. Love Jo.