It's Still Life

2. The Apostle Trees: Or should I say, My Apostle Trees, because the county arrived with clipboards and land registry documents with official wax seals, and informed me that the two trees in question are on my property (even though they’re on the other side the fence). So it’s up to me to remove the limb from my tree since it’s in my garden.

“Go ahead, son, try to pick it up — go on,” I put my hands in my pockets and waited, “Yes, so if you can’t pick it up, how do you expect your granny to pick it up,” to which he replied, “You’re not my granny,” to which I laughed, “Lucky you.”

He went back to his little white van and returned with a chainsaw. I am thankful that’s done.

3. I am thankful this is not the last rose of summer. The scent should be the prime ingredient in every inhaled breath.

4. Chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven, and a glass of cold milk.

As a snack, m grandmother used to let me dunk freshly baked bread into a bowl of thick buttermilk. Yum.

5. A week of rain, and the Rudbeckia is alive, fully recovered, and blooming again. Thank you, Freyr, assuming that this was your doing.

6. Two weeks ago, the lawn was dead, stubbled hay. Then it rained. A lot. This is why we never waste precious water on the lawn. Now it’s lush and green again. Thankful for a bit of rain during our drought.

7. Our water butts (connected to the downspouts) collected enough rainwater to fill all 4, for which I am very thankful because we are not permitted to use the hosepipe for water until this drought is finished, which may well be into next year before the local reservoir is full again.

8. A heart-shaped beefsteak tomato in the greenhouse. I mean, isn’t it just lovely?!

9. A long walk at Eastbourne, fish and chips, ice cream on the pier (off in the distance), and the occasional bite of autumn in the air.