Thursday 13 August 2020

The smell of the warm Summer air

How can it be that we're almost half way through August? Soon Summer will follow Spring into oblivion and, if year after year the swift passing of the seasons tends to take me by surprise, time seems to be speeding by even more relentlessly in this watershed year.

Apart from anything else, the heatwave is playing havoc with my brain, which is doing its very utmost not to melt like the proverbial ice cream left out in the sun.

All my efforts to bottle up at least some of our surplus temperatures and send them off to Walsall have so far come to nothing, so that there was nothing for it but to grin and bear it.



Last week started bright and sunny, with the temperature not climbing higher than a balmy 25°C on Monday.  

Watering the patio plants after work, I thought I 'd show you some of our garden stalwarts, which have been going strong for months. The bee-magnet purple Salvia spikes keep flowering as if there's no tomorrow, as do the various Nasturtiums and the pink-veined Petunias in one of our hanging baskets. The pale yellow, maroon hearted Antirrhinum (bottom right) is in its second flush of flowers after I cut them back after the first. Aren't they delightful?



Sunset was magnificent that night, with the sun a blindingly bright and golden-hued ball slowly sinking below the horizon, and coating the garden, and in particular the Fuchsia magellanica ballerinas, in its golden syrup glow.

Tuesday was another sun-drenched day, with the temperature warming up towards the high twenties. With the heatwave warnings plastered all over the news - a welcome change to you-know-what - we thought we'd better make the most of this day and go for a walk before all hell broke loose.


Our chosen destination was our favourite nature reserve, Blaasveldbroek, a magical all-seasons place I've taken you to several times over the years. We used our car's built-in Satnav for the first time for this trip. She seems to be more accurate than our other one, the quarrelsome Marie-Jeanne, but she's got the most irritating computer voice, so the jury's still out.

Our walk, which we began from the main car park, initially had a false start, as the path we intended to take was closed, with a sign warning to beware of aggressive buzzards. Apparently, a couple was nesting there, who were fiercely defending their territory and had already attacked several joggers.

Instead, we took the path leading straight from the main entrance, which had a big billboard reminding you to put your dog on the lead. The eagle-eyed among you might spot Jos's masked face in the dog-faced opening!



This path soon passes an enchanting little whitewashed chapel, with its open blue and white striped door inviting you inside, where candles always seem to be burning at a statue of Our Lady's feet.

Legend has it that the statue was found in the nearby pond in 1636 and that, even in the harshest of winters, the spot in which she was found never freezes over.

At that point, we removed our masks, which are mandatory whenever we venture out in public, only putting them back on briefly whenever we met other people, who were mostly doing the same. 

As a footnote, things have changed yet again yesterday, with masks now only being required in busy places. Makes sense, doesn't it?



As a direct result of all the mask wearing, I hardly ever seem to wear lipstick anymore, which I think makes me look quite pale and colourless. I miss wearing lipstick! 

We sat for a while at the edge of the pond, with a lovely view of the chapel half hidden away between the trees, listening to the welcome sound of silence and breathing in the intoxicating Summer scents.

The wide-legged trousers I'm wearing are Zara, and a lucky find in a charity shop near Bruges. The groovily patterned pussy-bow blouse is an old retail buy and matches the trousers' colours so perfectly that I often seem to be wearing them together.



There's a visitor centre at the heart of the domain, with a sprinkling of picnic tables, which is where we were headed. 

We were delighted to see a field of sunflowers edged with cornflowers and poppies, planted to provide a fast food restaurant for insects. Obviously, the sunflowers were the showstoppers here and looked particularly striking with the blue sky as a backdrop.



There was only a handful of people around and we found a quiet and shady table under the trees where we hungrily devoured the sandwiches we'd brought.

Behind the picnic tables dotted in this wooded area is an imaginative playground, which includes some oversized musical instruments. Surely these are meant for kids of all ages!



Attempting to make our walk circular, we continued along a path we thought we'd taken many times before. This would eventually skirt some of the domain's ponds and, after a right turn, take us back to the main path.

Well, that was the plan anyway!



After a while, though, Jos said he thought we'd never been that way before, as he didn't recognize the ponds we walked between. I was still adamant we would end up where I thought we would, and told him it only looked different as we usually walked here in the opposite direction.



Turned out Jos was right after all, although neither of us could put a finger on what went wrong.

Eventually, we started recognizing some of the landmarks and found ourselves finally back on track.


We still did a circuit, albeit a longer one than initially intended, and discovered some delightful new paths along the way. We would, in fact, be back there sooner than we thought!



Not the next day, though, which was another one of my office days.

The heatwave was now in full flow, the temperature easily reaching the 30° C mark by the end of the day and continuing to go up on Thursday.

At such temperatures, by late morning the heat trapped within the walls of our tiny 4,5 x 10,5 meter garden becomes quite stifling, so that, until the sun goes down, it is a no-go area for non-lizards like us.


After Jos had done the food shopping, we quickly slapped a couple of sandwiches together and hopped into our car for a picnic in the shady municipal park of Boom.

Here, we did some more of the courtesy mask wearing and went in search of a rather elusive shady bench.


I quite pity the ducks who live here, as most of the ditch leading up to the main ponds was dry, with the water in the latter a murky green. Most of them seemed to prefer dozing on the edge anyway.



I was wearing my all-time favourite maxi skirt, all glorious curtain couture, and picked up at Think Twice in June 2019. There's not much of a colour match with the cotton top, a UK charity shop find last year, but it looked and felt right the minute I put the two together.

The omnipresent stretchy belt was making another appearance, as did the blue bag, which is just big enough for essentials, now of course including face mask and hand sanitizer.



I picked up the orange in the skirt by wearing an orange beaded necklace and pinning a cameo brooch on a burnt orange background to my top.

The multi-coloured bracelet was a last minute addition, while my heatwave outfit was completed by my scarf-wrapped sunhat and sunglasses.

After our circuit of the park, we drove home, where we crashed in our darkened sitting room. At one point, I even fell asleep on the couch, which is quite an unheard of occurrence.

As is watering the plants at 9.30 after the sun has gone. It's quite dark by the time I've finished, so the days are definitely getting shorter. Which neatly takes me back to the beginning of this post!

Until next time, do stay safe, sane and positive, my dears!



34 comments:

  1. I too miss wearing lipstick! I feel undressed without it.
    Love your maxi skirt, vibrant and fun.
    You do have some lovely country walks near you, interesting too. Fingers crossed the heatwave is soon to be over!

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    1. So do I, but no use putting it on when going one, as I usually have to wear a mask at some point. The heatwave is over now, but it has yet to cool down inside the house! xxx

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  2. I'm sure your heat sending vibes worked, Walsall had heat and sunshine! thank you!!
    Lovely to see Blaasveldbroek again, I'm glad your new satnav was a help rather than a hindrance (you know ours is as confusing as yours!) it sounds like you need her bossy assistance on your travels around the polls!
    How funny that we're both in Zara! The trousers look fab.
    Great news about the masks, that'll make things a lot less stressful for you, I hope.
    The orange maxi skirt is fabulous.
    I'm not liking these darker mornings and evenings. yesterday's storm was so severe that it was pitch black at 7pm!
    Stay safe & fabulous , you two! xxx

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    1. She'll have to prove her worth when we're off to the west country, but are taking Marie-Jeanne as well in case we really don't get on with her :-) Days are getting noticeably darker, and with the hour's difference, it must be getting dark quite early over there! xxx

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  3. I didn’t think about but I miss wearing lip gloss.

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    1. We'll definitely save money on lippy then :-) xxx

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  4. I admire your determination to get outdoors. I have the luxury of running indoors in the AC and I rarely venture outside in the summer heat if it can be avoided. I do feel like a hamster in a wheel though.

    Your curtain skirt is fab. The colours are so 70s! A good maxi skirt can lift your mood any day.

    Ducks and birds generally will skip past clean water to go splash in a stagnant pool or muddy puddle. I've never understood it:)

    Stay cool and safe.

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    1. I can imagine the hamster wheel feeling! We don't have AC, so it gets quite warm inside the house after a couple of days. Still not venturing outside too much when it's +30° Celsius! xxx

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  5. I love the parks in Belgium they are like the parks in Tokyo there is so many hidden gems and so many things to do.
    That maxi skirt is everything. You always pull everything you wear. It has been 42 degrees over here. Keep well and keep safe my friend

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    1. Thank you Allie! We do have a couple of splendid parks and nature reserves, but nothing compared to the UK. We had about 42°C last Summer, which was a first for Belgium. Not my kind of weather :-) xxx

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  6. So lovely photos of your garden blooming in colors! It looks really lush!
    And so lovely to see you enjoying a walk through the park in your Fabulous Outfit, and bare-faced!. I'm missing my lipstick too!. Totally in love with your shirt and trousers ensemble, both have fab prints and match so delightfully!, no wonder you wear them together frequently!. And you pink sneakers and blue bag make a perfect accessorizing!
    Lovely skirt too, no wonder it's your favourite!, and so fabulous clash of prints, you're brilliant!. Love how the orange accessories enhance all the orangeness of your skirt!, so cool!. You Rock!
    Love to see that your masks are becoming another accessory, you wear them with lots of attitude and style (which makes me feel in a better mood inmediately!).
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I always seem to wear the trousers and top together, they look like they were made for each other, don't they? It's not much fun having to wear a mask, but we can at least do it in style! xxx

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  7. Yes the days are def shorter, I do hate that so much. We had rain yesterday eve and the owl were washing themselves, I have a small video of that on IG. It was so beautiful to see, the hole family, there are 5, was washing in the rain. I forgot to not put lipstick on!! Gosh.... Your maxi skirt is gorgeous!

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    1. I wish I could have seen that family of owls washing themselves for real! How lovely! I often only wear lipstick for outfit photos now :-) xxx

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  8. its always a joy to go with you to the nature reserve! shady path´s under trees and the all the water..... very relaxing.
    we have it hot too, but in this moment it started raining! i big huge SIGH is going thru the nature around BWH..........
    love all the patterns going on in your outfits! istant good mood!
    xxxx & hugsies!

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    1. Thank you Beate, and you're welcome! Yes, you can definitely hear nature's sigh when it's raining, can't you? xxx

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  9. I am wearing lipstick every day 😉
    You habe wonderful destinations to go for a walk. Love to see your pink sneakers again.
    I am thankful for the break of heatwave. We had 37 degrees and I had to work.
    I eish you a wonderful weekend, with a very huge hug Tina

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    1. Lucky you! But what about when you have to wear a mask :-) Those pink sneakers are the most comfortable ever, even from their very first wear! xxx

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  10. I am still wearing lipstick, but it smears around when I wear a mask, so I've mostly switched to lip stains and long-lasting wear kinds. They work quite well, although I always have to wash the marks off the insides of my masks.

    Your flowers are so beautiful, Ann! I kept looking at that sign, and couldn't figure out what was going on with that dog! Ha!

    Your trousers are wonderful and remind me that I have similar silk ones that I need to wear again soon! I love your curtains! skirt too - it's a stellar pattern.

    Sorry you got a little lost in your walk! However, it's the journey, not the destination, right?

    Temps here are around 24 during the day, dipping down to about 11-12 overnight, with cool breezes. I don't know if we've had any really hot days yet.

    Have a great weekend, my dear!

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    1. I'll have to find a way to wear lipstick, perhaps I'll check out the Lipcote Mim is mentioning in her comment! Haha, even Jos didn't realize it was his face! I don't really mind getting lost on a walk. It's not as if we're miles away from civilization, so what could happen, really! xxx

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  11. I love wearing lipstick too. We can still wear it at home, unmasked, thank goodness!

    I loved seeing the photos of your walk. Especially the sunflower field- how gorgeous. And so are you with your pattern-filled outfits. X

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    1. Home is about the only place where I'm still wearing lipstick! xxx

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  12. I’m playing blog post catch up Ann. It’s been a busy week. Thank you for your lovely birthday wishes.
    Do you know I think we all feel the same about how quickly the time has flown by during all this mayhem.
    But I’m glad to see that you are getting out in the open air and into nature. That’s so good for the mind. And you always look amazing, with or without lippy.
    Our love to you both and have a good weekend xxx

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    1. Aww thank you Lynn! You're so right about getting out into nature being balm for the soul! xxx

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  13. Great photos of the walk. The printed pants and blouse outfit is fabulous. I'm not used to see you wearing pants, this pair is so pretty with its floral pattern. Lovely photos from the walk. Love the sunflowers! The musical installment looks interesting. The second outfit is very pretty as well. I love the orange and blue in the print of the maxi. It matches lovely with the blue bag and the printed blouse.The stretchy belt is wonderful, those things are very practical.
    Lipstick is the only make up product that I actually enjoy wearing so I miss it as well.

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    1. Thank you Ivana! I used to wear trousers all the time, would you believe? I ditched most of them when I got into vintage dresses, but lately I seem to be gravitating towards them now and then! xxx

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  14. P.S. The flowers in your garden are stunning!

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  15. I do the the yellow flower collage, especially sunflowers, I have a real soft spot for them, they're such optimistic flowers.
    I usually put lipstick on just before realising I need put a mask on, and I do it every time!
    The nature reserve looks to be a tonic in the heat. Its pouring down here today, so it's nice looking at those sunny photos.
    Hope you're having a good weekend.xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! Those sunflowers were a lovely and completely unexpected surprise! I often grab for lipstick and then realize I have to wear a mask! xxx

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  16. I'm back to work and have almost no time to worry. That's a positive thing! All the best to you. Regula

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    1. Not having the time to worry is pure luxury! xxx

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  17. You definitely look less familiar without lipstick. Can you pop some Lipcote over it so it won't rub off? (Do you get Lipcote in Belgium?)

    I don't think we needed any more heat in the UK. I was glad when it started to rain again...

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    1. I don't think we have Lipcote here, but I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip, Mim! xxx

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