They say Autumn Looks Best in Moray. They aren't wrong. Autumn at Logie is my absolute favourite time of year. We might have shouldered, heads down, through a particularly damp October, but Autumn is wonderful nonetheless. And on generously-lit days we exist in a world of colour. In this photoshopped internet age, our eyes are so overloaded that there are days where you can't quite believe that reality could be this audaciously gaudy.
Having grown up in the mild, damp air of the South West of England, where spring and summer are celebrated with a riot of new life and hedgerows bursting with flowers at every turn, I hadn't really appreciated the beauty of Autumn until I moved here seven years ago. We left on a damp, muddy Cornish day, with water running down the lanes and mist lying low in the valley. We arrived a day later, finally greeted by Logie's tree-lined drive where every tree - leaf even - displayed a different shade of Autumn and I was immediately hooked on my new favourite season.
Autumn inspires me at every turn. Simply, it puts a smile on my face. Even the view through the office window is Autumn Red.
Going for a walk, especially along the river paths, is bliss, but even being outside doing muddy jobs is now something to savour. To the extent that it takes me twice as long to get anything done because I suddenly have to photograph every tree with sun shining through it, or stoop collect an interesting leaf. This is the time to stand and stare.
I can't resist bringing a bit of the beautiful things I find outside in. I've stuck some raucous leaves and berries in a jug (see above), and even done craft projects with the children after they too brought bucket-loads of colourful leaves and twigs into the house.
No, I'm not at all 'crafty' - I'll leave that blog to the expert Jude, but here's a couple of our attempts!
The hedgehog is simply a bit of cardboard cut into an oval with a point at one end and some leaves stuck on for spikes. We had a googly eye sticker but you could just use a button or a felt tip - as for his nose. Max (6) is pretty pleased with him!
This simple leaf wreath is just a paper plate with a hole cut in the middle and leaves glued around with PVA. We later tied a ribbon through the hole and hung it up as a decoration. Neither of these crafts will be long-term keepers but they were fun to do and have given us several days of pleasure and will probably remain on the pin-board, shedding leaves/spikes for a while yet.
So there you have it, my obsession with all things Autumn. If you're thinking of coming down to Logie Steading for a browse or a walk, the colours are wonderful just now. The scene changes almost daily and the difference is noticeable from a week ago.
Thanks for reading this far. Jo.
Coming up from today onwards, we have a week of blogs from the people all around Logie, giving their own take on Autumn. We start tomorrow with a blog about why leaves turn these magnificent colours in Autumn, from Logie House Gardener, Panny Laing. Enjoy!
