Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Natures bounty

.There is a corner of our fair isle known as The Garden of England. And here in the County of Kent the time has come to garner nature’s bounty.


Just months ago orchards of sturdy trees stood in rows as straight as soldiers, lighting up the rural landscape with brilliant displays of frothy blossom.


Now in the early days of autumn their bows hang heavy with green and red apples, and trees are laden with ripe purple plums. Shiny cherries hang in twos like musical notes and bulbous pears await the fruit picker’s hands.


The vintner prepares to harvest bunches of grapes from the sloping hillsides, and the time has come to gather in the brewer’s hops which will dry in Kent’s pointed oast houses ready for next year’s ales.

Mighty combines travel back and forth, their rotating blades levelling the fields of swaying crops. Left in their path are bales of hay like so many golden chess pieces.


Soon Mother Nature will enjoy a well earned rest, for once again she has provided us with a harvest as great as any that has been before. Soon the fruit trees will shed their leaves and the soil below protect the dormant seeds and play host to the hibernating creatures of the undergrowth.


All around the world advances, each year different from the year before. But here in the Garden of England, next year and the after will see the familiar cycle repeat itself, exactly the same as it has in centuries past.
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Pictures from DeviantArt
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4 comments:

  1. England at its best - as in the previous post - though perhaps that's Olde Englande at its best! Loved Steeleye Span, too... hard times or not!

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  2. Great pictures, Keith. Those apples look delicious. A great harvest on many levels. Hope all is well.

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  3. Hi Keith, Nice to see you again. I must admit, I am guilty of losing track of you as well. I've solved the problem though by adding you to my following list. I'll be back. Annie

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  4. Such a lovely sight...Nature at its best. Red Apple picture is so rich...loved it. Even the golden fields..looks like they have borrowed Sun's shade!

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