One Year Pond Study Week 31: Finding Autumn

Here is our pond this week:

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This week was all about the signs of Autumn.  I love Autumn more than any other month of the year.  I love the warm colours associated with it; I love our wood burning stove lighting up our 200-year-old living room each night whilst Gary and I are snuggled up watching NCIS dvd; I love the food which lends itself well to the cooler nights; I love that we can burn apple and cinnamon candles around the house as the evening closes in.  I just love everything about Autumn.  So said, you can imagine my delight at the glimpses of my favourite season down at one of my most treasured places.  Here is the start of Autumn in pictures at our pond:

The medlars ripe for picking
The medlars ripe for picking
Seeds ripening on the trees
Seeds ripening on the trees
Berries slowly darkening, nearly ready to be picked
Berries slowly darkening, nearly ready to be picked
Leaves dying off....
Leaves dying off….
...and falling to the floor to replenish the nutrients in the ground for next year
…and falling to the floor to replenish the nutrients in the ground for next year
Pods popping, releasing their seeds
Pods popping, releasing their seeds
Conkers which inevitably leads to...
Conkers which inevitably leads to…
Conkering
Conkering
If at all possible with your brother and sister to help trawl the treasures home
If at all possible with your brother and sister to help trawl the treasures home
Climbing trees, which are looking distinctly Autumnal in nature
Climbing trees, which are looking distinctly Autumnal in nature
Michaelmas Daisies with their beautiful purples
Michaelmas Daisies with their beautiful purples

So much wonder to behold and yet we didn’t forget to check in on our feathered friends:

Our Heron leaving just as we arrived
Our Heron leaving just as we arrived
The mallards storming up and down the pond, all their former energy and vitality having returned alongside their mating plumage. So wonderful to see
The mallards storming up and down the pond, all their former energy and vitality having returned alongside their mating plumage. So wonderful to see
The young Moorhens without their parents, now fully independant. Worryingly there was no sign of their parents or their two younger siblings.
The young Moorhens without their parents, now fully independent. Worryingly there was no sign of their parents or their two younger siblings.
Our Ash tree, slowly showing a yellowing of its leaves in its lower branches
Our Ash tree, slowly showing a yellowing of its leaves in its lower branches
And with a backward glance at the pond they love so much...
And with a backward glance at the pond they love so much…
...the children wander home playing tag along the way.
…the children wander home playing tag along the way.

Though life sometimes throws us challenges we are forced to face; ups followed by the inevitable downs; worries that maybe life might change one day more than we would like;  somehow it is nature that seems to keep us grounded, its roots reaching far deeper than simply the earth around it, indeed touching the very epicentre of our souls.

For down at my pond, regardless of the difficulties I face, I am at peace.  Metaphorically speaking, I am able reach out and touch the hand of God, drawing strength from the one who created everything I hold so close to my heart.