Sunday, September 16, 2012

To bend and bless

To Autumn

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to bend and bless
With fruits the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage trees,
And fill all fruits with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er brimm'd their clammy cells.

~J. Keats

This time of year always makes me think of one of my favorite poets, John Keats. Winter is saved for Robert Louis Stevenson. But anyway, the nip in the air does something funny to my brain, so thoughts and artistic outworkings lean to the mossy, poetical and romantic. Times of being awake and seeing are a blessing. A harvesting. Finding little bits of beauty to be thankful for in the everyday. Life is rich.


Counting blessings

499 - Thankful for my young friend Audrey, who not only shared her awesome recipe, but illustrated it as well. What a treasure!

500 - fair light, fair maid and flags

501 - tonic

502 - the rustle of corn and the clack of kindlng

503 - sunlight on a shelf





Joining Ann today

18 comments:

Rhys Lake said...

CAAAAAAAAN'T wait to go to Terrain with you in the snow!!!!!

Unknown said...

perfection.
xoox

Amy said...

Love that you have poets for the seasons. May need to do that:) And, love the illustrated recipe! Happy to see a bit of your beauty here.

Kim said...

Goodness....I have been blessed indeed this evening, and I absolutely adore the recipe, what a keepsake.

It's Just Dottie said...

Be still my heart!!!
Beautiful!
Dottie

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Blessings, indeed. And the chiefest may be the eyes, ears, hands and hearts to recognize them and rejoice in them and be filled with gratitude.

I LOVE the phrase "the rustle of leaves and the clack of kindling". What perfect onomatopoeia.

Anonymous said...

Dear Jodi,
The poem is a very pretty one.
There is one poem by Robert L.Stevenson that is about fall and I always want fall to come when I read it.
It's called "Autumn Fires".
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
see the smoke trail!

Pleasant summerover
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all,
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

It's so short, but so nice.
I hope you enjoy making the Biscotti! I forgot all about the illustraitions on my recipe.
Thanks for putting it on your blog!
~Audrey

Kat said...

Yes, yes, and yes! I love that poem, and so treasure the skip in my heart and bit of "funny to my brain" that that extra nip in the air gives me, and enjoyed the pictures from your thankful lookings. Thanks for always encouraging with your blog.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Life is rich indeed...and Autumn seems the richest of seasons for many of us I think, myself included...

Nancy Franson said...

Bosom-friend originated with Keats? How did I not know this? How did I miss that Anne with an e was quoting Keats? I'm such a literary Luddite.

In any case, rustle and clack are such cool words. And the light falling on that fair maid--swoon worthy.

Leslie said...

sigh...

Bronwyn said...

Eeep, stop making such lovely posts! It's getting hard to pick which one is my favorite. ^.^

Olivia said...

Just last Thursday, in the back of Grandpa's truck, I burst into recitation of that very poem.
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness / Close bosom friend of the maturing sun!"
Grandpa and Ben smiled indulgently.
"Keats." I explained.

Thank you for your posts and for appreciating this, my favourite, season!

Quotidian Life said...

Our fall is a bit truncated here in the Middle East, though I have learned to appreciate cool mornings and the mellowing intensity of the afternoon soon. Thank you for sharing your autumn beauty, Jodi, made that much more beautiful through your eyes.

Rachel said...

I can't believe it is autumn already, but I am looking forward to the season change, what wonderful things to be thankful for, may your autumn be full and blessed!

Connie Smiley said...

Love your list, Jodi-- especially sunlight, and Audrey's recipe. What a treasure.

Chelsey said...

I like the illustrated recipe!

My daughter wrote out a recipe when she was 5 or 6 with illustrations too.

Southern Gal said...

I came over to read another post, but it says it doesn't exist. I didn't realize I had missed a couple of your posts.

Love that poem and the recipe sharing.

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