Autumn rolling in

Spotted in a Saltaire backyard. A cheery image to mark what really does feel like 'the first day of the rest of my life' and a photo that provides me with a metaphor for this new 'autumnal' phase of retirement from paid work. So much will not change - and in times of transition I've realised that is important to note. I'm still going to be living with the same backdrop - same house, same community, same (wonderful) friends. Same me! (And, haha, mostly in the past when I've craved change it's been me that I've needed to change, whether I saw that at the time or not... easier said, of course, than done!) The pegs remind me there will still be chores to do too. Yet at the heart there is something new, surprising, different.... Something that at the outset looks sunny, cheerful, fun, bright, a bloom like many similar and yet intrinsically unique to this backyard. Nurtured and cared for, I hope as it eventually fades and its petals inevitably drop, it will ripen to a seed head and provide a rich source of fruit and sustenance for the winter that, sure as anything, will one day arrive - though I hope not too soon.