There were burnished seas like this stretching as far as the eye could see in the flat plains of Poland as we drove to Warsaw many years ago. No doubt they are still there now....this minute. Fields of sunflowers turning their heavy heads, golden and brown towards the sun. Swaying in vast undulating waves. And there still sweeping across them a hot black ribbon of road, sweeping through mile after beautiful mile of massive, open flatlands. Polska meaning 'the people of the flatlands', always invaded by advancing armies in wars because it's mostly lowland with very little that is mountainous. There were hills where we lived but they weren't very big, just small rises really, but there was the great river Vistula ploughing across the land in rippling majesty or in Winter thick and slick with huge ice-flows. Farmers drove their farm-carts along these roads always standing not sitting, whilst the main vehicles were massive trundling lorries or tiny Polski Fiats often with great tall, fat men folded up inside them in order to drive.
The sun is shining this morning but there is a mist, a proper Autumn morning. Soon leaves will begin to redden and in a week or so the children are back to school and we move on - we move onwards, to Christmas. Carols and baubles, tinsel and glitter, and breathtakingly a whole new Year.
13 comments:
Isn't it just amazing how fast this year has gone... Is it me, or has it gone faster than normal!? :)
Blessings (and so great to see your post!)
Ann
We have an area just to the south of where I am in Minnesota that has fields of sun flowers and I have always loved seeing them turn their faces to the morning sun.
This is a lovely description of the turning of the seasons and a nice photo to compliment them.
I can just see the assortment of vehicles and their drivers. Very vividly drawn. Thank you.
Your lovely words and the stunning sunflower field brought back vivid memories of a three week trip to Poland, 15 years ago. We were on a pilgrimage to find my husband's family after his parents died. They had come to England after the war... and when we visited he found aunts, uncles and cousins he had never met before!
The Time Sculptor
Jane you write so that it brings the image of it all sharply to my mind. I can see the farm carts moving up the road now.
The mornings are nippy here and we know the Summer will soon end. It is time to get the wood in.
I loved your beautiful 'Reverie' post. You write so poetically.
sending hugs from here...
Dear Ann, so glad to hear from you! x
I envy you your field Teresa, thank you so much! x
Wow.. a few coincidences here and with your other kind comments Jane. I'm so glad to meet you. It is good to know that your daughter has gained some recovery from M.E. although I expect she still has to be careful not to get overtired. It really is a horrible disease. How dreadful that it has damaged her lovely hair. I continually keep the hope that I too will be lucky enough to send it packing.
We lived for some time in Poland when my eldest daughter was young and her father was working there. It was during the time of Soldinosc and Lech Walesa, and at one point we were informed that Russian troops were gathering on the borders, pretty scary! I found the Polish people kind and friendly, proud of their heritage and very strong, your husband has brave blood in his veins!
Sweet Janie, how I love this post. Moving onwards. Doesn't that say everything? I, too, am looking forward to autumn's cooler days, and then to the holidays, just as you said. Big hug....
Some of the farmers here grow sunflowers as a crop rotation. Those fields always literally stand out against the fields of cotton (which only grows about thigh high).
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Fields of sunflowers...so good for the soul. Lovely words to accompany them.
So delighted that you made a copy of the photo.
Best,
Catherine
Jane, what a vivid sense of place you paint here with the “fields of sunflowers turning their heavy heads, golden and brown towards the sun…” This glimpse of Poland is simply charming and inviting.
Where does the time go? Indeed the leaves will soon turn crimson and gold, blown about by sharp gusts of wind, and then, Christmas and a New Year on the horizon.
Hello from me - I came into your blog via your comment on 5 Precious Things. I too have experienced CFS/ME, and yes, the misunderstandings surrounding it are rather heartbreaking. I would say I've largely recovered and yet, life will never be the same as it was before I had CFS. I have turned into an "uber sensitive" it seems :)
The word "Polska" is so exotic to me. I reminds me of my stamp-collecting days as an eight or nine year old, that word "Polska" running along the bottom of them, seeming like such a faraway place, to a child in Australia :)
It's beginning to feel like Autumn here as well--but I refuse to give up Summer just yet.
I once stood right in the center of a field just like that one. Just me and the bees. A magical feeling.
The light has changed here as well, a sure sign of autumn. It's still hot, but we know what's around the corner and we smile.
I know I have visited this post before but I was so glad to see it still! Such a lovely post!
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