Friday, August 27, 2010

A Passing

our memorial garden where I sit and knit and watch the passing shadows

It never really changes in the Adirondacks, though summer concedes, early, to fall, and then all goes to cold, and snow, and howling winds...and back again. The samenesses of Julys and Augusts for all the generations I can think of and all those to come...tart blueberries dropping in a pail held by some child or other, startling fragrance of the lemon lilies, glinting sharp sun darts caught in the little ripples of a little lake...and mountains, soft and primeval, sloping from sky to water as great sleeping beasts might, in a dream of great beasts.

Late August is often a sad time for me. The crows fly low, muted. The dark, though not bitter yet, comes sooner each day, minute by lost minute. Leaves fall through the raindrops, bright and dead...

And my little girl grows up, and summer ebbs in diffuse light through ancient pines, that were here before me and will be here still, long after I'm gone.

20 comments:

Brian Miller said...

august is the first kiss of fall for me...this is when i come alive...but i too feel that passing...

Anonymous said...

"Es wird a Wein sein
und wir wer'n nimmer sein -
es wird schöne Madeln ge'hm,
und wir wer'n nimmer leh'm ..."

There will be wine
and we will be no more
ther will be young girls
and we will be dead

A terrible translation of a sentimal Austrian (Viennese) song, "Schrammeln", only bearable with a lot of wine.
August is dangerous, the moment when it turns around and goes back, Pan is silent, and life has lost. Ye older one gets ... and you see them grow, and HAVE TO like it.

Glad that you are back.

The Unbearable Banishment said...

Late August shouldn't make you so sad. Look what's coming. Cool nights. Thick sweaters. All day pots of hot coffee. Roast beef and potato dinners. And the Jets and Giants are right around the corner!

mapstew said...

That was beautiful.

The coming of autumn can remind us all of our own mortality.
But mostly it reminds me that 'salad days' are coming to an end, and the stews and casseroles and chowders are not far off.

(I know fuck-all about Jets or Giants!) :¬)

xxx

Megan said...

Definitely a difference in the light and the air this morning. I will miss the long days.

Baino said...

I feel for you but longing for some spring warmth down here. It must be nice to have such a pensive place to just drop out and relax even if it does bring some sad thoughts. Hedgie has a while before she's grown up, enjoy the moment.

nick said...

A wonderfully evocative description. It's funny how some late summer days have a sort of transitional magic about them while others just feel gloomy and ominous. How do you explain that?

Warden Files said...

Bitter, sweet words of an unbridled passion for life. Concealed behind a backdrop of mystique that will lift as will long lost mist that still haunts far off Scottish mountaintops, and yet tinged with a sadness of what might have been.

Alway look to the future my dear, never the past, for only one can be changed. Of that I am sure.

Pat said...

I find autumn sad too, mainly because I love the summer.
I once experienced the end of an affair in Paris in the autumn and with the fading light and the swirling leaves it was so over the top I almost laughed, but wept instead.

Me said...

Came here from Everyday Goddess...congrats on post of the week!

This was lovely. I too feel an ache in late August...a very melancholy time for me.

savannah said...

what a difference a few hundred miles can make! down here i'm surrounded by lushness still, but it's the intense sort; the deep hues of near decay, the heaviness of slowly releasing fluids, as if tomorrow it will all be dark, dank and rotten.

but, come october, the windows will be opened and we'll enjoy the crispness of autumn, the joy of cool rain and breathe a sigh of relief when november passes and hurricane season ends.

congrats on post of the week, sugar! xoxoxo

CiCi said...

This is a great photo. Lucky you to be able to live in this lovely place.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Lovely.
Where I am though, we long for the luxury of open windows. Autumn will be a balm to our souls.

Fragrant Liar said...

I'm with Unbearable Banishment -- except, go Cowboys! Lots of fabulous things to come in the fall. But I must say you paint a beautiful picture of your knitting space and the nostalgic end of August. Lovely to meet you.

Chantel said...

Your garden is lovely....just begging for you draped in a shawl, cup of tea, and a novel. Enjoy now...for it's all we're guaranteed.

Princess said...

Beautiful Leah, just beautiful...
You have such a way with words.
I felt like I was sitting next to you with my needles clacking away watching the leaves falling.
What a lovely spot to sit and create or contemplate or just be...
Thankyou for the photo.

Betsy Brock said...

What a wonderful post...beautiful and melancholy all wrapped together. You certainly have a wonderful little spot there for reflection!

Cece said...

I love it when the hot lazy days of summer pass and the cool crisp mornings of autum arrive. The changing of the leaves from green to orange, red,yellow, and brown. Autum is one of my favorite seasons. Right there next to Spring.

Tom said...

yeah. love the cooler weather, but hate what is coming up behind it. sweet words

Leah said...

Thank you, dear visitors, for all the lovely comments!

I will be back in Brooklyn soon, with better internet access, so I'll be able to visit around and return your comments more easily.

xoxo