End of Summer Week

It's not "officially" the end of summer just yet, but this past week definitely felt very much like we are slowly but surely approaching early autumn. No day has been warmer than 27C/80F, and some mornings were rather chilly at about 12C/53F.

Also, the light has a certain quality it doesn't have in early and mid summer, and the shortening of daylight hours has been making itself felt. Add to that the harvest largely brought in, blackberries and rosehips on the hedgerows and chrysanthemums, dahlias and sunflowers in people's gardens, and you can't miss the signs. 

I know I say this every year this time of year; late summer/early autumn puts me in a special frame of mind. Part of me does not want to let go of summer, of the time when I can just up and go for a walk without having to think about coats and scarves and boots, of bright sunlight streaming into my kitchen first thing in the morning, of flowers in the meadows and green leaves on the trees. But I also love the golden light we get from mid-August onwards, the evenings beginning to feel cosier with a blanket on the settee, the green of summer slowly giving way to the colours of autumn, and walking effortlessly in crisp air instead of arriving at the end of a walk all sweaty and ready for a shower.

Last Monday (18 August), the only thing worth mentioning was my after-work walk to Benningen. It was the warmest day of the week, but not so hot as to make being outside uncomfortable.

Tuesday (19 August) saw me meeting my group of "girl"friends (we are nearly all in our 50s now, which makes us not exactly girls anymore) for a meal in the evening, something they have been doing more or less regularly but I had not joined in a while for various reasons. It was nice to see them; the restaurant that two of them had chosen wasn't very good, but nobody left hungry and the most important thing was to be together. We won't be going to that particular place again, though.

On Wednesday and Thursday (20 and 21 August), I worked at the office. On the Wednesday, I got off the train in Zuffenhausen and walked the rest, visiting my Mum. It was nice to sit and chat on her balcony facing west, now that it's not too hot anymore. 

Rosehips along the way between Stammheim and Pflugfelden

It finally rained on Thursday evening (the only rain we had all week) - not for very long and not all that much, but it was better than nothing, and the gardens around here looked a little less dusty and somewhat fresher for it.

O.K.'s sister had her birthday on Friday (22 August), and I was invited, too. A good train connection allowed me to arrive there earlier than when I usually travel to O.K. for the weekend, and we enjoyed a delicious meal at her and her husband's with family and friends.

Saturday (23 August) was a day of working around the house and garden for O.K. while I took care of a few household things at the cottage and spent most of the afternoon resting and reading. 

For the evening, we set up the small electric grill on the balcony and asked O.K.'s Mum to join us for a batch of spicy Merguez sausages, a tomato and feta salad (I used the tomatoes harvested earlier that day by O.K.'s sister at the family allotment) and crunchy bread. 

While O.K. and I were having coffee and cake on the balcony in the afternoon, he spotted something on the grey cover over the sunshade... it turned out to be a hawk-moth, an anmial we don't remember ever having seen before. According to wikipedia, they are not uncommon in our parts, although they cover Germany and central Europe only as a migrant species, not permanently as across large parts of Africa, for instance.

We were both impressed with this beautiful moth and kept checking on it until after dark, careful not to disturb it. As we were clearing away the things from our small BBQ, we were hoping to watch it fly, but it took advantage of a minute or two when neither of us were looking, and we were left with the empty spot where it had been resting, a few drops of its business on the foot of the sunshade (easily wiped off) and of course the photos.

On Sunday (24 August - 4 months to Christmas Eve!), the village band were booked to perform at a village fête about 45 minutes away by car. Those who were not away for their summer holidays all gathered at a parking lot in the village, loaded themselves and their instruments into various cars (we were able to go with a young couple) and set off.

Some members of the local village band after their performance

"Our" village band

After the previous band finished and "our" musicians could settle themselves on the stage, I had a bottle of water while listening to them. I then left the large tent and went exploring a little bit on my own. 

My short walk along the river was very pleasant. Fresh air, the Black Forest rising on all sides, blue sky with white fully clouds, green pastures with cows and sheep, picturesque houses and colourful flower gardens - it really is a beautiful part of the world, and I was a bit sorry that O.K. and I weren't here for a hike. We can of course always come back another day.

Eventually, the band wrapped up their set, and we finally had something to eat. Afterwards, O.K.'s fellow musicians drove us back to the village, and the two of us spent the short remainder of the evening quietly before it was time for lights out in view of our early start the next morning.