August 2025 - A Seasonal Diary
A seasonal diary of nature spots and little moments
"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time"
-Sylvia Plath
Hello August
Whilst searching for the quotes I felt most described August for me, I realised I am not a summer person. Most of the great literary creatives declared it a wonderful peak of the year - to me it is not. The year for me will always peak in June, really I find July and August a sort of existence. Whilst dry sunny days with the boys are magic and I do enjoy them increasingly each year, the inspiration I find in the landscape is mostly lost. Save for the bales scattered over golden fields which I LOVE to gaze upon, August feels exhausted. The wildflowers, plants and trees are tired and just hanging on, waiting for the seasons to give them permission to rest. And the flies, surely nobody is enjoying all the flies?! Sylvia Plath nailed August for me with this one ^
A wandering time it has been, harvest finished so early, a weird never before occurrence in which we find ourselves. The Farmer riddled with guilt about doing not alot, and yet, not alot is there to do. For him August should be and always has been a busy time of reaping what he has sewn, the literal sense not the figurative. Drilling next years seed isnāt on the calendar until next month so here we are, bridging a chasm of quiet between two exceptionally busy months. He's ill at ease around us at home and Iām off kilter for him being here. I feel the strange feeling for him but none the less he's been magic, having him home with the boys must mark a special summer, one which may never be repeated, and for that August I am grateful.
8th August - Beetroot Day or Purple Kitchen Day.
Today be the day of the beetroot harvest, I can't believe how easy these things grow. I proclaim to the farmer all the time he should be growing these purple tennis balls on mass. He ignores me as he does with most of my un-solicited un-educated advice (rightly so) and this little repeated chunk of recommendation sails swiftly over his head. Never the less my own beetroot efforts, (I say efforts but they do really seem to grow themselves) have been marvelous and we now have 8 jars of spiced pickled beetroot and one purple quiche.
I did leave one pan of beetroot to bubble and pop itself dry on the aga hotplate, then spent a large amount of time - time I didn't have - trying to salvage my pan. She was I can gladly report, saved.
16th August - The Local Faire
Our neighbouring village runs a fun day every August and due to the farmer being elsewhere engaged I had no choice but to manage running my stall with both children in tow. Itās a fabulous day but business-wise it was a disaster, I sold one card and a mug which was so disheartening after putting so much effort in. I was asked repeatedly If I painted all the hares and things in the garden centres (I think they must be refearing to the very talented Wrendale designs) to which I replied āno, I wish!ā. The kids loved it and I got some pretty photos of my set-up. Beryl the van was on her best behaviour. I think next year we will probably just attend in a recreational sense, not a business one. An experience and a lesson none the less.
22nd August - The End Of The First Chapter
Change is afoot for us, not necessarily in the seasonal context for september feels more ''changey' to me. Iām talking about change in our lives themselves. Teddy is about to start school next month and so nursery must end. What has been a weekly routine for 4 years is about to be turned on it's head. My beloved WAH nursery will no longer be his 3 day a week home and I feel a grief I was not expecting. Today is his last day and whilst having him to ourselves for 10 days is a wonderful gift before he begins his next adventure, I can see he feels the loss of days spent playing with his friends acutely. I am boring in comparison.
26th - 28th August - London
My little paleontologist deserved a special finishing nursery trip. My parents had Toby for a couple of days whilst Mummy and Daddy (Daddy not being in the original plan but an early harvest left him with little excuse not to come) took Teddy on a railway adventure to London, just for two nights to see the museums in Kensington. He stood on the tube platform, massey ferguson tractor cap on his head staring in disbelief and wonder as wind, lights and noise announced the arrival of an underground train. Such an Alien world to him and to us, he loved it all, the science museum, the dinosaurs, the food. We went to five guys one evening for tea for his favourite kind of food (burger) and i realised how country bumpkin we are out here in East Yorkshire. The natural history museum was a shock to the senses, the sheer volume of people in one building is unnatural, ironic considering the name of the building but none the less he loved it and to see all the animals over time was inspiring. If only we could stay for a sleepover rather than being pushed around in a large crowd.
The London plane tree caught my attention, i've never noticed them before or cared but now I am obsessed with how beautiful and special they are. I pressed a leaf into my journal and brought it home. Created a few hundred years ago by crossing a plane with an americal sycamore, they are now all over Kensington and huge too with a beautiful olive pealing bark. I feel cross with myself for not taking more photos.
We lasted a full 24 hours before I declared myself feeling short tempered and needing a break of city air so the afternoon was spent wandering Kensington Gardens, eating ice cream and playing on Princess Diana's children's park. Our train on the way home was of course cancelled, this is the UK after all but stood rammed into the passageway of a neighbouring train like cattle we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Our fellow passengers being northern and somewhat more chatty felt like a hug from home and made the lack of personal space much more manageable. Thank you London for having us, you were great fun and the perfect little end of summer trip but I am happy not to visit you again for a long while.
31st August - Calendar Launch
A sensible person would book the Calendar launch in the diary for a more suitable day but I chose the weekend after a trip away and the last weekend before my little boy starts school when there are multiple things to buy and sort - not to worry. The email was scheduled and everything sorted in time and my temper remained un-frayed. Thatās a lie, my temper was freyed I was an iritable beast with The Farmer but I did still get special time with Ted and all worked out well. If you want to have a nosey you can find it here. Iām so proud of it, itās been a real labour of love and so much time has gone into it, I would love to know what you think.
Garden Days
Courgettes and pumpkins still seem to be in control of the garden. Not a path is there that isn't sprawled over by pumpkin vines. The squash tendrils will soon be penetrating the house windows I am quite sure. I did discover my husbands old metal rain gage holder and took it for my own use. It now stands proudly in my Peter Rabbit flower bed with an old teacup gorilla glued to the top of it. I am so lucky to have such an unobservant husband, if I never tell him of the theft he will never, ever notice and so we are good and will continue down our path of marital bliss and ignorance. We had 6 blueberrys this year. Exciting times. Caught a photo of the boys eating an alfresco breakfast, they looked very much like an old couple eating a hotel breakfast. The garden plums are not ripe, not ripe, not ripe, then theyāre over ripe.
Nature Notes
Wall brown on the muck heap - I donāt see many of these so this felt special, why it chose the smelly muck heap I donāt know.
Green Grasshopper - We found it! Me and the boys stood listening for ages and couldnāt find it but we did in the end.
Scarface the garden rabbit - I think alot of our rabbits (Garden bastards) are coming down with myxi but scarface seems okay, not sure if heās blind or not but Iām seeing him most days near the apple tree. He runs off when I tap on the window so heās okay for now. I hate the rabbits for the damage they do but my heart canāt cope with them getting myxi. Itās too sad and I feel responsible because I am a human too, just like the people who invented the awful disease.
Blackbirds eating the wasps from the windfall apples
House martins are still swooping around the house
Pigeons seem to be everywhere
Peas and bikes. The boys rode their bikes, I walked and ate copious amounts of Peas.
Thereās been a lovely little brown bee, well a few of them on the lavender for weeks and theyāre just magical to watch< i love the colour of them against the mauve, I need to find out what type of bee it is, carder maybe?
Small tortoiseshell, Red admiral and Comma in the garden
Elderberries are ripening, made a cordial / syrup which is lovely with hot water or in yoghurt.
August In Watercolour
Stories from the studio, a little glimpse into my watercolour creations from this monthā¦
What has August been like for you? Have you seen anything out in nature thatās made you smile or just peeked your interest? I would love to know, tell me in the comments below...
