Autumn Countdown: 2 Weeks to Go – Early Whispers of Autumn

2 weeks until September… 2 weeks! The world around us has changed so much since the beginning of this series 10 weeks ago. From the gentle beginnings of harvest and the lushness of the peak of Summer, to fields full of hay bales, the first yellow oak leaves on the ground and bramble bushes heavy with fruit… the English countryside has matured and you can feel that Summer is waning.

📅 Sunday, August 17th, 2025
Today marks 2 weeks until Autumn!

Of course, the waning doesn’t happen instantly. Quite the opposite. In August, when the days grow shorter and the mornings and evenings cooler, nature "knows" that the season is slowly ending and speeds up the ripening of fruits and vegetables, so our gardens look richer and more abundant than ever. In the woods, the trees are still lush with deep green leaves, but there is a lot happening on the forest floor. Beechnuts carpet the foot of the beech trees, wild mushrooms begin to appear and ferns start changing colours, bringing the beloved shades of gold and copper to the countryside.

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All photos above and below were taken this week in the Quantock Hills, near Triscombe Stone.

Only yesterday, we took a walk along the old track high on the Quantock Hills, lined with oak and beech trees. This track has been walked since ancient times, used by farmers taking their stock to the market in the nearby town and by armies passing through. It’s one of my favourite places in Somerset for walks - along with the beautiful views and rich history, I always feel Autumn arrives here early. I think it’s the location - the track and the trees beside it are more exposed to high winds and cold rains than the places nestled safely at the foot of the hills, sheltered from the weather. That’s why it always feels like Spring comes late here and Autumn arrives early.

Another change I noticed is the evenings drawing in. It was raining, Andrei was working late, Rosa already tucked up in bed, so I made myself a cup of raspberry tea, wrapped up in a blanket and sat by the open door to write… The photo below was taken exactly at 20:34

…and the next one at 21:01… not even half an hour later it was almost completely dark. It wasn’t that long ago when the sun wasn’t setting until 22:00

Lastly, my garden is being extra abundant! We have so many tomatoes and courgettes - I’ll show you in the next Adriana’s Diary entry next week. We also have lots of blackberries, so I made Jacob (my older son) happy with a crumble. The taste of apples, blackberries and cinnamon - mmmm, Autumn heaven. I used this recipe for crumble: BBC Good Food Apple Crumble

The hedgerows full of blackberries reminded me of our Wild Bramble candle - it brings that same Autumn sweetness indoors

A gentle task for today:
Notice the changes all around you. Pay attention to sunrise and sunset times, the first fallen leaves in the forest and the ripening of fruits and vegetables in the gardens. I’d love to know if you’ve noticed any early signs of the seasons shifting where you live. Let me know - very roughly, of course - your location, as it’s always interesting to see how things are in different parts of the UK and world!

The last weeks have been quite intense with Summer holidays, children off school, moving house and the shop being extra busy… I’m looking forward to the calm, quiet energy September brings and only yesterday I was telling Andrei how much I cannot wait for September walks in the woods. I promise I will be taking you along!

Thank you for being here another week.
Adriana x