Monday and Tuesday this week were two of those glorious golden days we sometimes get in September. Rarely as warm as these, though. On Monday I decided I should make the most of it and lie in the hammock under the wisteria with a book, but by the time I finally got out there, it had cooled off too much to stay long.
On Tuesday morning I suggested we should go to the seaside and catch the last of the summer sun. Not the packed beaches of southern England, but the quiet beaches on the Lincolnshire coast.
All the same when we got there the car parking strip along the top of the beach was full, not many people on the beach and certainly well spaced out, not at all crowded. Lots of motorhomes and camper vans, as well as cars. We thought we wouldn’t even be able to park, one space as we’d driven down, but somebody went in to it as we reversed back up (no space to turn round). But we were lucky somebody pulled out leaving us a space.
After eating our picnic I went for a paddle. It was reading 29°C on the car thermometer, fairly breezy, but a warm wind, although the sea was pretty cold. No where near as warm as last year when I went for a swim a couple of miles up the coast. The tide was on it’s way out, and a fair pull so I only ventured up to my waist. It certainly cooled me down.
As I walked back up the beach I picked up a few pebbles and shells, mainly for their textures, patterns and colours. The smallest pairs of razor shells I’d ever seen, but the smallest ones I picked up were blown off my hand. I didn’t want sand in the camera so the photos are taken at home on a piece of fabric I batiked on a course sometime ago with Nicky Dillerstone. The lines were representative of breaking waves. And the blue on the left was the colour of the sky on Tuesday.
We then pottered back up the coast on the coast road, stopping off a few times to look at places we’d not been to before. One was Theddlethorpe Dunes, a nature reserve with a couple of shortish walks, mainly on good paths. The buckthorn were laden with bright orange berries, stunning against the complimentary blue of the sky.
The path led to a walk along the edge of the marshes, lovely colours in the sunshine, but must look very bleak on a grey day. You can just see the sea on the horizon line.
Then back inland, where there were loads of dragon or damsel flies flitting about. I tried to photograph them but they rarely settle and when they do not for long enough to get closer and zoom in. This I took for the berries on the tree and have just by chance got one.
We also stopped off at Saltfleet Haven just for a look. The track was full of deep potholes so a very cautious bumpy drive down. An old friend no longer with us used to have a tiny caravan nearby. The campsite seems to have been developed since we were last there, with cut grass and fishing ponds, the wind whipping the water so it didn’t look real. It looked stitched or smocked.
We then had a final stop at the playing field at Grainthorpe for a Bentley’s ice cream. The best rum and raisin that Colin has ever tasted, I had honey and ginger nut, one of the flavours for autumn. It’s so good we have it marked on the map book. It is sold in the deli by the church in Louth, and they get to various local shows normally. Well worth looking out for.
Very much the last of summer, I woke to rain and grey skies the next morning, and the temperature has dropped to 14ºC. We lit the fire last night.
Autumn has arrived as the photos I took in the garden this morning between showers testify. The colours have taken on an autumnal hue.
The changing colours have prompted me to work on the Nicola Hume long and short stitch tulip, maybe a spring flower, but the colours are current! Part of the delay with this has been the threads have been ‘borrowed’ for something else, so instead of just picking up the wallet with everything ready to stitch, I’ve had to find the ‘right’ colours. It’s proved a bit of a challenge, it’s not my first attempt, but have finally made a decision, the ‘right’ light is likely to get worse over the autumn and winter not better, so go with it.
One more stitching session should see it finished.
debbidipity 