*summer memories

Just some fleeting summer memories –

dried flowers,

the scent of warm air on the fields,

soap bubbles all around,

lifting secret dreams up to the sky.

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*late summer in garden & greenhouse

Every time when I recently picked a cucumber I thought it was the last one and then suddenly I spot a new one to my surprise. Even when summer was super hot, the warm season was too short to bring all my tomatoes to ripen. I wish for some more to turn red, but the temperatures dropped quite low already, last Friday we had ice on the car, so it won't be ideal anymore I guess. Also I always have trouble to get seeds from certain plants as it freezes too early. The zinnias are still blooming like there is no tomorrow, very much to my amazement! And also the cosmos flowers, but the rainstorms broke many of them off, so I had to remove those. 

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*more ceramic pieces

Some more high-fire pieces that I have not showed here yet. I like how they turned out, especially the little bowls with the flower painting and the snail. What do you think? It is really tricky to paint thin lines on raw pottery, the paint is so thick and the surface soaks it up so quickly, but somehow it is a nice challenge! Also you never know how the colors react in the kiln, I had a really pretty set of little plates with bird paintings where the colors faded too much in the high temperatures which was a pity!

Anyway, September is coming to an end already, it went by incredible fast! Yesterday packed my clay out for the first time in months and made a vase, maybe I can make some more pieces today, but the garden is also waiting and a bunch of other responsibilities.

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*fluffy seeds in the wind

Softness and harshness

are so close to each other in nature.

I often think about that.

Like with this thistle: 

So full of thorns,

but when it starts to develop seeds

it turns into this incredible soft ball

which is so nice to touch,

like a fluffy bunny tail.

On that day I took out the bike for the first time after months, the sunflowers were already withered and the old farmer that I met on my way showed me his wonderment that I wanted to take pictures of them when they were not "pretty" anymore. I had a hard time explaining him that I like this advanced stage of sunflowers and he also thought that I'm going to build up a tent when I got my tripod out of the bag which was really funny. I can see how the tripod has similarities to the rods of a tent though.

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*September happy list

• using my handmade lavender soap

• making plum jam

• reading 📖

• making the first kimchi after a summer break

• finishing my crochet hat

• solving some computer issues

• lighting the first candle in the very early morning hours

• little surprise gifts from my dear sister

• September light!

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*one breezy summer evening

I remember that August evening well, the heat was gone for a moment and made place for a comforting mild summer breeze which felt so refreshing in my whole being. We were out looking for flocks of birds, but we did not find any, instead the sky looked beautifully dramatic with the heavy clouds that were giving space for some sunbeams here and there and the sunflowers were heavy in seeds so that they were compelled to lower their heads.

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*Snails, flowers & crochet in late summer

{Music: With me, with you – Moux}

Late summer has something so beautiful! Days are mild and the light is slowly changing and reveals a special glow in everything that it touches. Every year at this time I feel like taking up needlework again and this time I decided to crochet another bag with raffia yarn. Snails and grasshoppers are visiting my garden and sometimes there is nothing more cozy than reading under the birches while my little furry friend is taking a nap on my lap.

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*Riviera bag

As promised, here are some pictures of the new bag I made with raffia yarn. The pattern is called "Riviera bag" and is available in English and German at Paulastrickt, in case you want to make one for yourself. I changed it a little bit to fit my needs though, but I really love how it turned out and it fits perfectly to my new second-hand linen dress. Also I finished Neil Gaiman's book "Stardust" some time ago which was a nice side trip into wondrous worlds and happenings.

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*a soft glow of summer | part 2

Warm summer sun,

Shine kindly here,

Warm southern wind,

Blow softly here.

Green sod above,

Lie light, lie light.

Good night, dear heart,

Good night, good night.

{Mark Twain}

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*a soft glow of summer | part 1

On that day the light that came into our bedroom was just amazing and my zenit-B could catch the atmosphere perfectly. Yesterday life made me a special gift, two grasshopper were sitting next to each other on my zinnia flowers which made me instantly happy! I filmed them a bit, so I can include them into my next little movie. Hopefully I will soon find some time and energy to cut it. 

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*Ceramic palettes

There are still many ceramic pieces left, that I haven't showed you yet, like these painting palettes and brush holder bugs.

On Sunday I took, the first time in over three months, my watercolors out and painted a little bit. Not because I was actually wanting to paint so much, but more because I had an image in my head that I did not want to forget and so I captured it in this way. It felt so weird to hold a brush after such a long break, but I feel that sooner or later I will start to paint regularly again and my fingers are slowly but surely itching more and more to make some ceramics again. This is a good sign I guess.

The night temperatures are dropping down to only a few degrees already, so the house starts to get really chilly and this morning I decided  to make the first fire in the stove. It is always a special moment, but I surely need some time to get into the heating routine. Also I opened my little Etsy store again and spent most time of yesterday on packing orders.

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*The one thing...

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you.

Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision.

So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can."

{Neil Gaiman}

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*Garden update

Good morning!

I just made my first tea from my roman fennel plant in the garden and thought it would be nice to make another little garden update here. There are still so many zinnias blooming new every day and finally my little grasshopper friends found them too! The watering got easier and it is truly the time of the year where we can harvest the most different veggies at once. It is true abundance! I hope weather stays stable for some longer so plants do have enough time to develop seeds. Sometimes frost comes too early and I am not able to get seeds from certain plants. It was a bad year for beetroot, but luckily carrots and parsnips grew well. The grapes got ripe earlier than ever and soon it is time to get the potatoes out of the ground. This is also the time of the year where I already think about the next garden season and what I will do differently or which new plants I want to try out.

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