Monday, September 1, 2008

Do you know what this means?

These are the lovely seed pods of my magnolia tree
and it means that summer is drawing to a close. Late
summer has always reminded me of a woman ready to
give birth, beautiful, heavy and ripe. Autumn is just
around the corner and September has just stepped
through the door!
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"Lord, it is time. The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine." - Rainer Maria Rilke

18 comments:

  1. I love magnolia trees! Beautiful blossoms with sweet aroma. A beautiful poem Willow. Rilke's poetry is like a prayer! I could say it over and over again.

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  2. The photo is exquisite, and the poem one of my Rilke favorites! I have it hanging here, framed, written in beautiful calligraphy on parchment paper.

    I was in an old spa resort town, two hours from Vienna, over the weekend. The most beautiful days, what with that distinct glassy late summer sheen, painting everything with a luster only this time of the year can bring forth. I must say I love it.

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  3. Always love Rilke...and the photo is wonderful, if not bittersweet. I feel this time of year all too well, as in a week I'll be heading out on the road for the fall...my summer is definitely winding down!

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  4. I need to check my Magnolia tree as I've never noticed these pods! Yes, Autumn, Come! We are MORE than ready! tee-hee! Beautiful poem...and so fitting! Have a Happy Labor Day! :)

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  5. Beautiful image, beautiful word.

    I commented to my husband this morning that I think September 1 is one of my most favorite days of the year... All of nature seems to sigh with relief (including me!) as cooler winds, winds of change, begin to blow.

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  6. Yippee!! Fall is near and this heat is on the way out:-)

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  7. Not so yippee over in England Rebecca! We haven't had much of a summer to speak of and even as I write this it's raining and cold. Boo!

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  8. Summer here was seemingly weeks long - we had a spring that extended to late May, early June and it has been fall-like for a week or so. Which means a very long winter is close to coming.

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  9. Nice capture, I have never seen Magnolia trees giving birth before .. I love your end of summer comparison

    :-Daryl

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  10. Thank you. I had never looked.

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  11. I'm looking forward to feeling the cooling winds of autumn. It is still full on summer here.

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  12. Nice picture and poem. Ah Fall, my favorite time of the year. I look forward to all the great pallete of fall colors and textures coming up. Have a nice week. BTW - I hope DeeDee is doing Ok?

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  13. I have a Dutch Magnolia shrub I am delicately nursing in a tub, in the hope it will eventually take to Okieland. They are the most fabulous trees.

    Happy Labor Day

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  14. I hate to see summer end but there is nothing better than a sunny fall day. The leaves, the harvest, it's the best time of the year.

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  15. Yes, autumn is definitely on its way! We live in Alberta, Canada, and you can feel it in your bones when fall arrives! We went for a walk today knowing that all the beautiful flowers would soon be gone. I do love the fall, though.

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  16. Autumn has always been my favourite time of year and this particular autumn holds such promise. Changing leaves, fat pumpkins, harvest moons, and shared memories. So much to look forward to... and beyond...

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  17. Good one, Willow. Yes, it's exactly what it means!

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)