Total Pageviews

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Another Season, and More Leaves!

I love Autumn, and the colours on the trees this year have been amazing. However, what I do NOT like is when the leaves fall to the ground! When the ground is wet and covered with leaves, it can be very slippery and, apparently, this is one of the busiest times of the in the Casualty Departments of hospitals up and down the country, because of people coming in with broken bones, after falling on wet leaves.

Earlier this morning, I was out in the garden sweeping up the leaves, and this is the main reason why I don't like them. I suppose we must have fifty trees in our garden and, from now until early December, I shall be out there like a whirling dervish, trying to get rid of the ...... things!


In my dreams, I have this lovely south-facing walled garden with rambling roses all around, and I just potter around tending my terracotta pots of assorted coloured geraniums, AND NO TREES!!!
"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn". ~Elizabeth Lawrence.

I rather like the following photo of one of our old apple trees, minus all its leaves.




I hope that the world is treating you kindly at the moment and, for those of my bloggy friends who have not been feeling too well lately, I hope you will soon start to feel a little better.

"Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier".  Unknown Author.

Don't Quit :

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."
by Edgar A. Guest.




(The first part of this post about the leaves, I actually put on my blog at this time last year, but as I did not have many Followers then, I have decided to repeat it again today).


21 comments:

Belle said...

You have a lot of raking to do! It is good exercise though. I love the photo of the apple tree. It is easy to fall on wet leaves. I did that once in Vancouver on a sidewalk and had to go to the doctor. She seemed to think my husband was beating me! Well, if he was I wouldn't use a lame story about wet leaves. :)

"Don't Quit" reminded me of when Winston Churchill said, "Never, never, never give in..." or something like that. He went through some very hard times himself. God bless, Diane. Have a lovely day in Jolly Old England.

Bethe77 said...

Dont Qit is one of my very favorites. I use to have anice size poster of it in my Hallways when my girls where young and I was a single mom.
Your apple tree is pretty even with no leaves upon her.
That does look like quite the job raking all those leafs. Fall is beautiful but must agree with teh wet leaves and the falls that take place. Please dont fall it is not fun. Mine was Summer fall and still far from being doen with the healing process.
I love roses. My mom has lots of roses in her garden.
I love gardens. So do look forward to that garden outside of my patio pot garden. But asm so grateful for it.
As always your blog is such a blessing to me and encouragment.
Blessings

Sush said...

Oh yes, I have fallen more than I care to count because of slippery leaves...wet and dry ones. And the endless clearing off the leaves from the grass and driveway not to mention the roof. Have taken to hiring someone for that job!

Loved your quotes and poem this morning...
Hugs~

Claudia Moser said...

A wonderful post Diane and great quotes as always :)

Southhamsdarling said...

Belle - hi there. Yes, a LOT of leaves. It's certainly not my favourite job of the year, but, as you say, I suppose it keeps me fit! That is a really good poem about Don't Quit, isn't it. I guess we all have times in our lives when the words are very appropriate to us. God bless you too Belle.

Bethe - That poem must have been quite an inspiration to you when you were young and a single mum. Falling is not a good thing to do, especially as you get a little older. Take care, and thank you for your lovely comment today.

Sush - yes, I think there might well come a time when we will have to get someone to clear the leaves for us. Trouble is, hubby will carry on doing it until he drops. He doesn't like paying people to do things! Glad you liked the poem and quote today. Blessings to you.

Claudia - thank you, as ever! And thank you for always popping by to say hallo. I do appreciate it.

Shady Del Knight said...

Aha! I read the fine print, Thisisme, and realize that the fall leaves part of your post is a dreaded rerun! (LOL) Don't worry, my friend, I've been rerunning material for quite some time now. In fact my new post is a reworked version of one that I published three years ago. I merely gussied it up a bit by adding a fresh coat of paint and a few more videos. I hope you enjoy it.

The second part of your post brings to mind a seminar that I attended. I learned the philosophy of Zig Ziglar, champion salesman turned author and motivational speaker. He told of his years as a door-to-door salesman and raised eyebrows when he asserted that he actually looked forward to getting the door slammed in his face. He didn't consider it rejection. He framed that "no" response as something that brought him one step closer to a "yes" - a customer who would welcome him and buy what he's selling. It's a great lesson for us all. Have a wonderful day, dear friend!

flowers on my table said...

You need one of those blowy things the Council have. I never quite understand it though, they just seem to move the leaves from one place to another. I hope you are following Monty Don's advice and making 'leaf mulch'?
Love your encouraging words and your lovely old apple tree. Hope all is well with you and yours? Have a lovely week, love Linda x

Anonymous said...

Dear Diane

I agree the leaves can be very slippery to walk on. Am glad I have a very small garden and no trees. Hope you're having a goo day. I am spending mine in bed watching tv, but the meds seems to be doing their job.
What a nice big apple tree you've got there :)
Warm wishes my friend ! Hugs x

Manzanita said...

I hear ya. Watching the leaves turn vivid colors is a thrill but racking leaves is literally a pain in the "back." I always plant too many trees, too, and then I'm sorry.

Shelly said...

We don't have many trees here, and so it's glorious looking at your pics. I can't even imagine having that many in a back yard! But, I don't envy you having to rake them!

Southhamsdarling said...

Shady - hallo my dear friend. That's the first time that I've ever done a re-post, but it is so appropriate as the leaves start to fall and not many people saw the first one anyway! Well, that's my excuse! That Zig Ziglar must have been quite a strong character, to not get disheartened by the doors being closed on him. Must be lovely to be able to be like that. I think I would probably just slink away into a corner somewhere!!!

flowers on my table - Hi Linda. We do have one of those blower things, but I find it very heavy to use and, as you say, sometimes it just blows them in all directions! LOL! Oh yes, we've always made leaf mulch in the 14 years that we've been living here. Warmest wishes to you x

Eva - Hi my friend. Yes, we have lots of large apple trees right down at the other end of the garden. I'm glad to see that you're relaxing and taking it easy at the moment, and I do hope that you will soon be feeling back to normal. Hugs.

Manzanita - yes, those fallen leaves are a pain in the back - literally!! Hee Hee! Hope you're keeping well over there my friend.

Shelly - I do curse these trees at this time of the year, I must admit, which is such a shame, because they're lovely in the spring, and again when they have their beautiful autumn colours on. AND, it's all good exercise!

Knitty said...

I agree about the leaves being bothersome. Most of our maple leaves have black spot which makes them look rather gross on the ground. Black spot is a fungus, but not harmful. It is caused by wetter than usual spring weather. Not sure why it doesn't surface until autumn, must have something to do with the change the tree undergoes as it prepares to drop its leaves for winter.

Southhamsdarling said...

Knitty - I see you have the leaves to deal with as well. I must admit that I'm not so neurotic about keeping the grass clear of them as I used to be! Must be getting wise in my old age, and trying not to stress about things quite so much :)

Darlene said...

I feel your pain when it comes to raking leaves! We have tons of leaves that need raked, and truthfully, I should be outside raking right now. SIGH! The weather is somewhat decent, and colder weather is on the way. I keep thinking if I put it off, I won't have to worry about raking, but knowing Hubby, he will make sure the leaves are raked even if it is snowing! blah!

Great quotes!

Chatty Crone said...

My husband and you - feel the same thing about leaves - so pretty on the trees - but so ugly on the ground! I like the poem Don't Quit. So much wisdom.

sandie

Olive said...

It is excellent exercise. We bought a blower and I never use it, like the rake better.

orchid0324 said...

Hi! Dearest Diane.
Even thought my house's humble small garden doesn't reqire that much work, these outside work tires me as well. Our small 2 pine trees need trimming twice a year ideally. When my hubby was young and slender, he was enjoying it a bit. But he gave in my advice to quit because of his handicap with his legs. Haha, quite a relief for me.
Thank you so much for the encouraging quotes, loved reading a lot♡♡♡
Much Love and hugs, Miyako*

Southhamsdarling said...

Darlene - nice to see you here today! Glad you liked the quotes. It's a never ending job with the leaves just at the moment, isn't it?! :( Hope all is well with you.

Chatty - Yes, that's poem Don't Quit is really inspirational, I think. Your hubby has my sympathy about the leaves! :(

Olive - you're right. Must look on the positive side. It IS good exercise, using lots of muscles! :)

Orchid - hallo dear Miyako. Hoping you are well today and sending you hugs. It can be quite hard work in the garden, can't it? I liked that comment, "when you hubby was young and slender...". That made me smile this morning! x

Empty Nester said...

I know what you mean about trees. It's conflicting, isn't it? LOL

So uplifting--the Don't Quit. I will be sharing that with Hubs!

Suzanne said...

A great inspirational poem. And you're right about the leaves. We get a lot out back with the Mulberry and pecan trees. Brought some in on my shoes just this morning. I didn't realize it was so damp outside. We are enjoying 55° weather here this weekend, nice! Enjoyed your post...had trouble the other day downloading it, but got there today.

Southhamsdarling said...

Susan - hi. Sorry you had trouble downloading the post, but it was so kind of you to have another go! The weather is very mild at the moment, and it's lovely! That poem is lovely, isn't it?