Autumn

by

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You wouldn’t believe it but we associate autumn with Knut Hamsun’s “Growth of the Soil“. Do you know this ‘monumental work’ about living down to earth which praises the peasant’s life that finds its completion in the harvest? Hamsun got the Nobel Prize for this novel idealising farming in 1920. He couldn’t decide for a long time if his task was being a farmer or a writer. In the end he decided for the writer – fortunately for all the bookworms.

Wisst Ihr was? Den Herbst verbinden wir Buchfeen mit Knut Hamsuns “Der Segen der Erde“. Kennt Ihr diesen Roman, in dem das bodenständige Landleben hoch gelobt wird, das seinen Höhepunkt in der Ernte erfährt? Dieser monumentale, herbstlich-dunkle Roman, für den Hamsun 1920 den Nobelpreis erhielt, stellt für uns Buchfeen das Hohelied und zugleich eine Idealisierung der Landwirtschaft dar. Hamsun wusste nie so recht, ob er sich mehr zum Bauer oder Schriftsteller eignen würde. Seine Ernte brachte er mit dem Schreiben ein – zum Glück für alle Leseratten.

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“Autumn means harvest and maturity, success and opulence“, writes our dear Master in his book about symbols. This widely unloved season symbolises not only the harvest but also the decay of nature and in human life. But after autumn (and winter) follows spring and summer. As for all symbols of the harvest reincarnation is meant here as well. So our dear Master interprets autumn as a common symbol for the second half of the human life, when one can harvest the fruit of one’s work. It’s the time for a rest and enjoying and relaxing. Exactly this wanted inspector Wallander in Mankell’s “An Event in Autumn“- but of course in vain.
By the way did you ever notice that the German Word ‘Herbst’ for autumn and ‘harvest’ have the same root?

“Herbst bedeutet Ernte und Reife, Erfolg und Wohlstand“, schreibt Masterchen in seinem Lexikon “Welt der Symbole“. Diese weitgehend unbeliebte Jahreszeit weist auf die Ernte und sogleich das Vergehen in der Natur und im Menschenleben hin. Aber nach Herbst und Winter kommt wieder ein Frühling und Sommer. Wie bei allen Erntesymbolen wird der ewige Zyklus von Tod und Wiedergeburt angesprochen. So deutet Masterchen den Herbst symbolisch als die zweite Lebenshälfte des Menschen, in der man die Früchte seiner Arbeit ernten kann. Es ist jene Zeit, in der man das genießen sollte, was man in seinem Leben geschaffen hat. Man darf sich endlich Erholung und Ruhe gönnen. Das dachte auch Wallander in Mankells packendem Krimi “Mord im Herbst” – allerdings, wie zu erwarten – falsch gedacht.
Ist Euch übrigens schon aufgefallen, das englische Wort ‘harvest’ und das deutsche Wort ‘Herbst’ haben die gleiche Wurzel.

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We Bookfayries love autumn with all the fresh fruit and plentiful of berries on the hedges around us. Proudly we harvest all the vegetables in our garden, the trees behind our house turn colourful and raining down their leaves. Our beloved Dina runs to our big living room windows to see big flocks of wild geese flying noisily above our house, whereas Robert Burton called the autumn the most melancholic of all seasons in his “The Anatomy of Melancholy“.

Wir lieben den Herbst mit all seinem Obst und den leckeren Beeren, die in Norfolks Hecken nach Sammeln schreien. Stolz holen wir das Gemüse aus unserem Garten. Die Bäume hinterm Haus werden bunt und regnen Blätter. Unsere liebe Dina läuft froh zum Fenster, wenn riesige Schwärme der Wildgänse schreiend übers Haus fliegen. Robert Burton sah jedoch den Herbst in seiner “Anatomie der Melancholie” als die melancholischte Jahreszeit an.

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Autumn, as winter, is a time of cosily reading in the creaky rocking chair in front of the open fire. It is the time of by far the world’s biggest book fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair too. For more than thirty we went there every year until the digitisation made our trip to this huge Vanity Fair obsolete.

Herbst, wie der Winter, ist für uns die Zeit des gemütlichen Lesens im knarrenden Schaukelstuhl vorm Kamin und natürlich auch die der größten Bücherschau der Welt, der Frankfurter Buchmesse, zu der wir über dreißig Jahre lang jährlich fuhren, bis die Digitalisierung der Welt einen Besuch dieses Jahrmarkts der Eitelkeiten erübrigte.

 

Autumn Day

Lord, it is time. Let the great summer go,
Lay your long shadows on the sundials,
And over harvest piles let the winds blow.

Command the last fruits to be ripe;
Grant them some other southern hour,
Urge them to completion, and with power
Drive final sweetness to the heavy grape.

Who’s homeless now, will for long stay alone.
No home will build his weary hands,
He’ll wake, read, write letters long to friends
And will the alleys up and down
Walk restlessly, when falling leaves dance.

Hanne Siebers_Herbstblumen03a

Herbsttag

Herr, es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groß.
Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren,
und auf den Fluren lass die Winde los.

Befiehl den letzten Früchten, voll zu sein;
gib ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage,
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin, und jage
die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.

Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.
Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,
wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben
und wird in den Alleen hin und her
unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.

 

Today we are enjoying autumn at its best: a real Indian Summer (or Native American Summer). This term (probably) goes back to the Indians who were very busy hunting in the last warm autumn days. It was their time so to speak. Van Wyck Brooks used this expression in the title of his anecdotal prose about American writers in “New England: Indian Summer” (1940) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize.

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Der schöne Sommer ging von hinnen. Der Herbst, der reiche, zog ins Land. Nun weben all die guten Spinnen so manches feine Festgewandt

Wilhelm Busch

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Heute zeigt sich der Herbst von seiner schönsten “Altweibersommer” genannten Seite. “Woher kommt denn dieser lustige Name?“, fragten wir uns. Er stammt von den Deckennetzspinnen (Linyphiidae), fanden wir in Masters klugen Büchern, die im Herbst durch die Lüfte segeln und allerorten Spinnfäden hinterlassen, die an graue Haare alter Frauen erinnern. Allerdings wurde mit “weiben” (Ahd.) auch das Knüpfen der Spinnennetze bezeichnet.

We admit, this rich harvest on Dina’s pictures is unfortunately not from our garden but from Felbrigg Hall with one of the most beautiful walled gardens we know. The National Trust writes “the decorative and productive walled garden is a gardener’s delight and inspiration, providing beautiful flowers for the hall, with the allotments in the walled garden providing fruit and vegetables for the community.”

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Wir geben es zu, diese reiche Ernte stammt leider nicht aus unserem Garten, sondern aus Felbrigg Hall mit einem der schönsten ummauerten Gärten, die wir kennen, den der National Trust so beschreibt: “der dekorative und produktive ummauerte Garten erfreut und inspiriert den Gärtner, erzeugt anmutige Schnittblumen für das Haus und mit seinem Nutzgärten Früchte und Gemüse für die Allgemeinheit.“

We wish you a cosy autumn
Einen gemütlichen Herbst Euch allen

Siri and Selma, the happy Bookfayries

P.S.:
The poem “Herbsttag” is by Rainer Maria Rilke, written in Paris 21.9.1902. The printed English translation by Guntram Deichsel. You may listen to another translation here (first German, then English).

 

© text and illustrations by Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea 2015

 

182 thoughts

    • Liebe Mathilda,
      wir hatten ein supergutes Jahr für Obst und Gemüse, so gut wie selten. Alles gedieh prächtigst 🙂
      Danke und ganz liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley xxx

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  2. Herbsttag von Rainer Maria Rilke wurde nie schöner in Szene gesetzt, liebe Buchfeen. Ich bekomme Gänsehaut!
    Herbert und ich vermissen euch hier in Frankfurt zu Buchmessezeiten. Aber unter uns; die Buchmesse ist auch nicht mehr wie früher. Viel Rumml und Klamauk.
    Felbrigg Hall würde ich auch gerne wieder besuchen. Wer weiß? 🙂
    LG aus Frankfurt,
    U+H

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    Reply

    • Liebe Ursel,
      DANKESCHÖN, das ist ein tolles Lob, das uns fröhlich macht – noch fröhlicher, denn es scheint wieder so toll die Sonne, es ist aber herbstlich kühl geworden.
      Ja, die Buchmesse … Sie leidet unter einem Rückgang des Interesses und versucht nun mit Spektakel und damit, sich politisch zu profilieren, wieder besser dazustehen. Aber viele Autoren wie auch unser Masterchen brauchen einfach im digitalen Zeitalter die Buchmesse nicht mehr.
      Liebe Grüße euch beiden von Cley
      The Fab Four

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  6. My dear friends,
    I must admit, I shouted out loud “OMG, they have got an AGA!!” and felt very envious. 🙂 Now I have read the post and can sit back and relax again.
    Well actually, I can’t because I have to prepare a lecture for tomorrow …
    Enjoy your harvest, the garden and each other!
    Take care, my friends.
    Kram, Annalena

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    • Our dear friend xxx
      no, unfortunately we don`t have an Aga, but our dear Dina would like to have one. Well, Aga is the highest culture of English cooking and most of the bigger houses have one. They are in again but cost a fortune, like a middle class car. We are not really keen cooks and therefore our modern stove is enough for us.
      Kram and lots of love to beautiful Stockholm xxx
      The Fab Four if Cley

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    • Dear Jacqui,
      that must be strange having most of the time warm weather. Don’t you miss a real winter and seasons like autumn, when it gets colder? We cannot imagine living in a more or less warm climate all the time. We would miss cold weather and snow very much. Many, many years ago we lived with our Master for one year in Greece. We couldn’t stand all this sunshine and all the time warm weather. We started to dream of snow and ice and our dear Master got even in a dark mood sometimes. Afterwards we went on our first expedition to NE Greenland, wow, that was GREAT.
      So we could send you a taste of autumn. We need a sweater now. Today in the morning we had 7 degrees C only. We like these clear, cold mornings when the dewdrops are glittering in the the low sun and the fog is rising from the fields and the sea.
      Lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      After Greece we lived in the States too, but on the other side in Vermont and Maine. Now we are living at the North Norfolk coast for about 35 years but we are born in Norway and in Germany and in Fairyland of course.

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  12. Glorious autumn! I love the work of you Bookfairies. And Rainer M. Rilke! Rilke was a poet concerned with the power of images in his writing, and spiritual potential in life. When he refers to leaves, he isn’t describing them in a purely physical or visual sense, he treats them with an existential understanding. There is more to autumn than the turning of leaves on earth— “as if orchards were dying high in space.” Rilke’s meditation on seasonal change is a reflection on what lies beyond us, or perhaps deep within us — the falling feeling of loneliness and the gravity of life itself. Thanks for a wonderful post, Fab Four.
    Sarah

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    • Dear Sarah,
      thank you so much for your great commentary abour Rilke.
      We suppose this makes Rilke so special, he goes beyond. His lyrical metaphors use to have this spiritual dimension and his work is full of metaphors. Do you know his novel “The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge”? It’s a fireworks of metaphors, which makes this novel hard to read. It’s highly poetical novel.
      You seem to know Rilke quite well. We are not Rilke specialists. We came across him when our dear Master worked about Lou Andreas Salomé who went with Rilke to visit Tolstoy (who liked Lou but noch Rilke) and who gave his name “Maria”.
      Thanks again and all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

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  14. Beautiful representations of autumn – all those wonderful vegetables have made me rather hungry! Felbrigg walled garden is one of the best I have ever visited. And they must have the largest variety of squash! Enjoy those migrating geese, I always run out to see them when I hear them flying over, such a wonderful sight and enjoy the dancing falling leaves, I can see Selma and Siri in their gold and copper dresses twirling and leaping amongst them 😀
    Happy autumn days ❤
    Jude xx

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    Reply

    • Hey Jude,
      you are right, Siri and Selma are right now dancing flying twirling in their favourite gold and copper dresses with those big leaves falling from our fig tree. We have a beautiful Indian Summer here: relatively warm, sunny and not much wind, ideal for our beloved fayries to spend all the time outside from morning to night. Special greetings and golden fairy dust from them to you.
      The only challenge for us every day, we have to intermediate who gets the golden and who the copper dress.
      Dina and I say “thank you! Have a happy rest of the week”
      Kb

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Klausbernd and Company,
    A large nutritional harvest that certainly will not go to waste and a lovely, educational story to accompany it. This post continues the excellence you always deliver! Herbst and harvest, I always learn here while I’m enjoying my visit. Thank you!
    GP Cox

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear GP Cox,
      your blog and our blog have an educational side in common. As we commented once on your blog: after every visit we know more and it’s the best course in history about WWII we know.
      Thank you for your very kind words we are very happy about 🙂
      By the way we have a beautiful Indian Summer right now.
      With sunny greetings
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klausbernd,
      Thank you for the kind words. Our temperatures have finally dropped some, so the air conditioning is OFF and fresh air is blowing through!!
      Good to hear from as always,
      GP Cox

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  17. Delectable images! I hate to be cold but I can see the sunlight trapped within this bounty. Thank you for reminding me- I need to write some letters! And there’s always a stack of books. 🙂 Happy Autumn to you all, and thanks for your company!

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    Reply

    • Dear Jo,
      you are very welcome.
      Well, autumn is the time to write and read as winter is. But we have such a lovely Indian Summer right now that we cannot sit inside. We are out nealy every day working in the garden or hiking and strolling.
      We wish you a sunny, lovely autumn as well
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Autumn is not ‘unloved’ at least by me. (And Ollie.) We enjoy the late Indian summer, the marvellous colours, and even the intrusive low winter sun that appears about now,and blinds us on our late afternoon walks. The time of decay is also the time of rest and rebirth. Quiet winter, ready for the joys of spring. May it arrive soon, after a season that decides to be kind to us.
    Wonderfully rich and colourful images Dina, married to inspiring and perfect prose, KB. You have done it again. But I always knew that you would…
    Our best ever wishes and love from Beetley. Pete and Ollie. XX

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Pete,
      thank you very much. So we can found the Autumn Lovers’ Club (ALC) 😉
      As autumn is colours we have a question. The other day we found an article about people dyeing with woad in the old way at Beetley. Do you know them? We are considering to visit their “Woad Barn” in the next time. Have you ever been there? That’s in Rawhall Lane in Beetley.
      From your kind commentary we see that you enjoy this lovely Indian Summer too.
      With lots of love to you and Ollie xx
      The Fab Four of Cley

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    • Thanks, dear Pete,
      we might visit them and then we will tell you. Actually we have never been in the Beetley area and very rarely in Dereham, so it will be a nice trip.
      Wishing you and Ollie a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley xx

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    • Thank you very much, dear Pete,
      we will mail you before we come and it would be great been shown around by you and Ollie.
      Have a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley

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    • Great, so we met your taste 🙂
      We love all the fruits and vegetables too and eat so much that we will get plump soon 😉
      Thanks and cheers
      hartelijk bedankt
      The Fab Four of Cley

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    • Wow, dear Brenda, we are getting hungry reading your commentary 🙂 And you got it right, espacially our dear Master and our beloved Siri love hot cocoa with whipped cream on top and pumpkin soup with ginger we love as well. We hardly ever had fresh corn but we will try it out. We saw it on our shopping trip today.
      We wish you a cozy autumn as well, happy being outside in the sun and happy writing
      The Fab Four of Cley

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    • Fresh corn on the cob, shucked and de-silked, then steamed for 5 minutes. A swipe of salted butter and perfection. Juicy, warm candy-vegetable. We would buy the corn from a farm stand every fall, and I’m salivating just thinking about it. XOXO

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  27. Beautiful—and poignant. We love fall too! Thank you for this gorgeous and interesting post. Yes and yes to Klausbernd’s interpretation of the season’s symbols! Now, back to stirring our soup cauldron… Jean & Alex (wearing sweaters) 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Jean and Alex in your sweaters,
      we have beautiful Indian summer days, so that we could go out without sweaters today – but we need them in the evening.
      We had the ideal year for gardening, it is not always this plentyful.
      Enjoy your soup
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  29. Wonderful photos portraying Autumn’s bounty. At first I thought they were from your own garden.

    An Event in Autumn must be one of the few Henning Mankel novels I haven’t read. He was a favourite author of mine back in the days I read voraciously. Alas now I can’t read small print it will forever remain on the unread list.

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    Reply

    • Dear Viki
      we thought we have to mention Mankell as he died just a couple of days ago when we published our autumn-blog. “An Event in Autumn” is the tenth volume of the Wallander series and was published 2004. At least in German you can listen to it, it’s published as an audio-book too.
      We don’t grow that much and so many different vegetables in our garden. We don’t have the time doing it.
      All the best and thank you
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ok, so it sounds like ‘An Event in Autumn’ IS definitely the only book of Mankells’ I haven’t read. I didn’t know Mankell had just died. The only novel I didn’t like so much was the one, can’t think of the name, where Kurt Wallander’s daughter is the central character (I think). My memory is atrocious these days. I donated all my Mankell books to the local public library last year when I downsized.

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    • We liked most “The Man From Beijing” because we learned a lot about Chinese politics reading it. Mankell was a specialist for Chinese politics and especially for the Chinese influence in Africa.
      Mankell had cancer and he died October 5th this year.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

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  30. Das sind ja wieder superduper Farb-Bilder. Die leuchten nicht nur bis ins Herz hinein, sondern lösen auch den dicksten Herbstnebel auf – ganz bestüüüüümmt! Liebe Grüße – Samtmut mit Herbsthut.

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    Reply

    • Na, liebe Samtmut mit Herbsthut, wir hoffen, die Bilder machen auch Hunger. Hörst du das Gemüse nicht danach schreien, gegessen zu werden.
      The Fab Four in sonnig güldenen Herbstkleidchen – außer Masterchen, der sein Grün-Rotes trägt.
      Danke und mach’s gut!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Nein, ich hatte es nicht gehört. Natürlich werde ich mich bessern und das Gemüse nicht so lange warten lassen, bis es lauter schreit als mein Magen knurrt. 😉 Kürbisbrot steht eh schon längst auf meinem Küchenplan. Kürbiskernige Grüße – Samtmut

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    • We are happy that you like our autumn-blog and Rilke. Did you read the comment of Sarah Sasson above? We think she explains the magic of Rilke’s metaphors.
      We send Love and Joy as well over great waters to you
      The Fab Four of Cley

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  32. Der Herbst kennt viele Lieder dachte ich noch vor zwei Tagen, sein Leuchten auf Bilder gebannt ist immer eine Freude, danke Hanne, und danke Klausbernd. Herzliche Grüsse vom noch bunten Berg mit zunehmenden Mond
    Ulli

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    Reply

    • Hi, liebe Ulli vom Berg,
      wir haben gerade einen märchenhaften Altweibersommer; es ist noch richtig warm und jeden Tag herrscht feinster Sonnenschein. Einen Bilderbuchherbst 🙂
      Schön, dass dir unsere Herbstgedanken und Herbstbilder gefallen.
      Liebe Grüße vom Meer zum Berg
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  33. My Uncle Remi worked for Hamsun’s publisher, Gyldendal in Oslo, all of his life, beginning as an office boy in the 1930s. In the 1960s he sent my father a series of Knut Hamsun’s books Gyldendal translated into English. A young teenager possessing a big appetite for literature, I lapped them up with gusto, starting a lifetime love for Hamsun’s work. It was from reading Hamsun I learned to appreciate great writers such as Steinbeck and Dostoyevsky. In common with many other anarchic young writers with chips on their shoulders ‘Hunger’ became one of my favourite novels of all time; it still is. Unfortunately, my father gave the books away without thinking to ask me if I wanted them.

    Hamsun’s deep feelings of alienation towards mainstream society (one of the things my father did bestow on me) is something I can identify with today, along with his love of nature.

    The artist, Tore Hamsun (Knut Hamsun’s son), gifted my uncle one of his works, which hung on my aunt’s wall until she passed away relatively recently.

    The photos are beautiful, as well as delicious-looking.

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    Reply

    • Dear Bryan,
      we read everything from Hamsun again about three years ago when we blogged about his writing. He is quite often too depressive for our taste, like f.e.in “Hunger”, but very intense. We agree that he is great in writing against alienation of modern life. Of course, he was very conservative in his ideas (not to mention his admiration of Hitler, but one doesn’t find fascist ideas in his work). The positive side of it: His love for nature can felt in all his novels.
      Anyway he was a great writer but for our taste too much looking backwards than forewards. One has to see that he was a contemporary of Brecht, Joyce, Proust, and partly Musil.
      We didn’t know about his son.
      Thanks a lot for your interesting commentary.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

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  34. Fall is very much my favorite season. I too look for the geese to fly in there ordered V’s across the skies of a shrinking day. We have discussed before the subtle, elegant power of change in nature. At no time is it more evident than against the colorful veil of Autumn. Wonderful post Fab Four.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Thorsaurus,
      thank you.
      It’s funny the geese are practising their V right now. They cannot do it without practising but getting better every day. It’s great to watch. And the low sun we love when it produces this special light, soft and blinding at the same time.
      Love from
      The Fab Four of Cley

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  35. Mensch Leute, wie toll –
    gedacht und gemacht. Eine richtige Freude für einen Fan der Übergangszeiten. Auf meinen Tischen sieht es auch ein bisschen so aus. Aus dem Rea-Blumencenter gerettete Piri- und eine andere Paprikapflanze im Verein mit weissen Astern aus meinem Garten strahlen seit Tagen gegen das Grau des Himmels draussen. In der Küche glänzen Kürbis , Peperoni und Äpfel. Ich liebe die Fülle in und an meinen Körben. Zum Flechten von weiteren Körben liegen einige gute Zweige bereits in der Wiese um ihre Elastizität zu erhalten – Novemberwerk. Und abends dann diesmal Hamsun. Den hatte ich noch nicht. Danke dafür dass es Euch gibt und für all die Inspiration. Kram Ruth

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Ruth,
      du schilderst ja auch eine gemütliche Herbstatmosphäre. Wir versinken gerade in leckersten Birnen und Äpfel. Wir haben so viele wie auch alle unsere Nachbarn, dass wir sie teilweise kompostieren. Korbflechten, das hört sich ja spannend an. Hier gibt es auch Weiden, aber wir kennen keine Flechterin in dieser Gegend. Ja und dann der Hamsun, dem gegenüber wir gespaltene Gefühle haben. Ganz schön depressiv bisweilen und konservativ, aber er schreibt einen feinen Stil.
      Dann genießen mal weiter diesen Herbst, der hier ein sonniger Bilderbuchherbst ist
      Kram
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Lieber Ernst, guten Abend,
      das war uns klar, dass dir als Gärtner aus Liebe dieser Beitrag gefällt.
      Wir senden dir ganz liebe Grüße vom sonnigen Meer. Wir haben hier einen Bilderbuchherbst dieses Jahr.
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  37. So beautiful these images are … looks so fresh and colourful.

    Being in tropics, the seasonal changes in plants, fruits and flowers is minimal in our place.

    Most of the Vegetables and fruits, here, are quite new to me and I would like to try them out one day 🙂

    Thanks a lot for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Sreejith,
      here in the temperate climate zone we have a great change of fruit and vegetables. The main harvest started a couple of weeks ago but still is going on. But in every month there is something to harvest but not as plenty as in autumn. We just drown in apples, pears, and plums and all the hedges are full of tasty berries.
      But after November this is all gone and it’s time for cabbages then.
      Here our nature lives in rhythms and the four seasons are significantly different.
      Thanks and all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • I think that provides excellent opportunities for fine tuning our photography skills as well 🙂

      Here in Kerala, after the monsoon,the whole landscape now looks like, been covered by a green carpet.

      After a few months, it will change shades and by March-April it will turn golden …

      Thanks a lot for your time and hope to know more about your land before I venture there 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Sreejith,
      so you have a clear change of seasons as well. That makes life interesting, doesn’t it!
      The rough autumn weather means gales in our area. We can have quite heavy wind for days. But it doesn’t matter that much as we are used to it.
      All the best to Kerala
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks a lot for giving an insight to the rhythm of nature in your native, Dear Kb 🙂

      Geography was one of my favourite subjects during school days and I still love it 🙂

      Like

  38. FABULOUS, dear friends! You brighten up my grey morning! 🙂 The only thing missing is now Dina’s pumpkin-soup with lots of ginger and secret ingriedents, mmmmmmhhh! 🙂
    In The Far North, October is often more like winter, the autumn much too short. Makes me appreciate the golden time of year in Weimar even more.
    For those of you who can understand the literary language of nynorsk, by Arne Garborg:
    “HAUST”

    No rullar Have svært mot Land
    med Skùm um skavlande Ryggir
    og bryt seg sprengt mod Øydestrand,
    der berre Vindtroll byggjer.
    Og Stormen skrik i ville Gru,
    der yvi Djup han jagar
    med Fòk og Ròk um Rev og Flu
    i desse haust-myrke Dagar.

    Eg høyrer den villande Skræmesong
    av Møy som Brìmhesten rider;
    ho kvad og galdra so mang ein Gong
    mot Naud og Nedgangs Tidir.
    Det gjeng som Sorg, det gjeng som Spott,
    det gjeng um Vaa og Vande;
    det er den varslande Vildrelaatt
    som skræmer Liv av Lande.

    Wishing you all the best,
    Per Magnus

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, our dear friend 🙂 xxx
      for the poem and your mentioning of Dina’s pumpkin soup. We will have it the day after tomorrow it’s already decided 😉
      Yes, we know you have now more winter than we have during the whole “winter” at the Norfolk coast. It’s a pitty we don’t have a real winter here. But this year we are going to Switzerland in December and hoping to have lots and lots of snow.
      Lots of love from all of us
      Klem
      The Fab Four of Cley xxx

      Like

  40. Great images of a bountiful harvest. I was a little disappointed to learn that the pumpkins were not your own – but at least you were honest about it. I think autumn on the north Norfolk coast is the most beautiful time of year with all those waders and geese flying about. Greeting from Laurence and Jackie in still-leafy Norwich.

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    • Dear Laurence,
      to get such a harvest is too much work for us.
      If you want to see all those waders and these flocks of geese why not coming around again? For example next week or the week after. Dina will be here from Thursday onwards as well.
      Greetings from the sunny sea to you and Jackie
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Dear Klausbernd, that is a wonderful suggestion – it would be good to see you both… and the geese. I was planning on going walking in Wales next week but probably will not now because the weather looks like it will be too wet. I’ll be in touch shortly.
      All the best from Norwich.

      Like

  44. “autumn as a common symbol for the second half of the human life, when one can harvest the fruit of one’s work. It’s the time for a rest and enjoying and relaxing. ”
    My husband and I am in this season and I find this discription very lovely. I am newly retired and have yet to find my rhythm but this word picture gives soul rest and allows me perspective to rest and allow Life to reveal His purposes one day at a time

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    Reply

    • Our dear Master is in this season as well – we other three are much younger, well Bookfayries don’t have an age.
      We are happy that we could give you some ideas about the priviledge of being retired. We envy our Master and he loves his retirement. He does not work less than before, but only what he likes.
      Enjoy your freedom
      Lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Was ich ja blöd von mir finde, ich weiß gar nicht, welche von diesen “Früchten” man essen kann. Sind diese großen “Kürbisse” alle essbar..manche sind nur zur Deko oder?
      Kürbissuppe weckt Tote auf, sie ist so kräftigend!
      Wir wünschen euch gutes Gelingen für euer Süppchen und gutes Genießen!!
      Diese Farben, diese Formen, ein Augenschmaus…
      Schade, dass man schon den Kleinen die Menüauswahl oft nicht selbst überlässt, würde mich interessieren, zu was sie greifen würden, wenn man es ihnen frei stellte…
      Ich schreibe gerade einen Hit über die Blume des Lebens und muss jetzt weiter machen…..noch gar nicht gefrühstückt…
      Liebste Grüße von Pia

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    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      man kann alle diese Früchte essen, auch die großen Kürbisse, aber die kleinen sind leichter zu verarbeiten und schmecken besser, finden wir.
      Den Versuch, dass man kleine Kinder frei nach Nahrungsmitteln greifen lässt, hat man schon öfters gemacht. Es kam immer dabei heraus, dass nicht das Nahrungsmittel als solches wichtig ist, sondern dessen Farbe. Je näher die den Primärfarben kommt, je beliebter ist sie.
      Liebe Grüße aus Cley, wo gerade die Sonne über dem Meer nach dunstigem Morgen durchkommt.
      Freudiges Komponieren und sofortiges Verschwinden deiner Migräne
      The Fab Four of Cley

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    • Guten Morgen, ok. interessant…
      Mit meinen kleinen Kindern war ich früher oft auf Volksfesten, beim Kinderfasching, Weihnachtsmarkt usw….überall nur Pommes…
      Eine kleine weiße Dreieckstüte, darin ziemlich heiße Pommes, oben drauf entweder Mayo oder Ketch-Up(oder beides), die kleine bunte Gabel mit den 3 Zacken (oder5?)
      Mich wunderte es, dass niemand etwas “Gesundes” essen wollte scheinbar, es gab überall nur Pommes und natürlich Bratwurst.
      Ich freute mich über diese Stände mit Kokosnussteilen oder auch mal über ein Fischbrötchen.
      Wenn ich den kleinen Tänzerinnen erkläre, dass in ihren kleinen niedlichen Bäuchlein (mit vorne dem Bellybutton, den man einziehen muss um die Wirbelsäule zu schützen) winzige kleine Eierchen liegen, sie quasi das neue Leben in sich tragen, schauen sie mich zweifelnd mit großen Augen an als hätte ich nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank….manchen wird es unheimlich, manche fühlen sich plötzlich unheimlich großartig, es ist einfach wundervoll zu beobachten….
      Samen im Herbst ausstreuen und Mulchen, wer macht das?
      Habe Kürbisse gekauft und werde jetzt kochen, beim Kochen singen…(damit der Ohrwurm weg geht: Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat 2..)
      Könnte ich auch singen: Wer hat die Kokosnuss geklaut?
      Das Rilke- Gedicht ist auch der Hammer!
      Schönen Sonntag euch!

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    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      Mulchen und Samen ausstreuen ist wieder sehr in. Wenn du in ein Gartencentre gehst, findest du übeall große Säcke von Mulch, zumindest hier in England.
      Sehr schön finden wir Goethes Angewohnheit, immer Samen seiner Lieblingsblumen auf seinen Lieblingsspaziergängen in der Tasche zu haben und ihn dort einfach auszustreuen, so dass seine Lieblingsblumen ihn fürderhin beim Spazieren erfreuen.
      Liebe Grüße und eine fröhliche Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Das war schon ein ganz cleveres Kerlchen dieser Goethe, super Idee! Ohrwurm is eh klar: Wann wird man je versteh´n , wann wird man jeeeee versteh´n….
      Bei Tagesschau.de geht es auch um die Wurst, bei uns heißt sie Worscht, Hot Dog, Frankfurter, Nürnberger…

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    • Great, dear Anneli!
      What is more beautiful reality or the picture of it? Quite a philosophical question, isn’t it?
      The picture of reality is always following an idea, it’s idealistic, reality is nature in this case, maybe beyond beauty, it just is.
      You are so right mentioning it (indirectly) 0everything is arranged here and the perspectives and colours well chosen, the idealistic picture of nature. And like you we don’t know if we prefer art against reality 😉 “It depends on the subject!” Siri and Selma are shouting from the kitchen.
      Thanks for inspiring us to these thoughts we have to think about a little longer.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  47. wunderschöne Herbstbilder ! so macht diese Jahreszeit viel Freude !
    Hier unten herrscht inzwischen der Nebel vor, der Rhein ist halt auch sehr nahe 🙂
    …..aber der nächste Frühling kommt bestimmt !

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    • Oh, du Arme! Da haben wir es am Meer besser. Schönsten Altweibersommer mit ganz viel Sonne von morgens bis abends haben wir schon seit einiger Zeit. Aber dafür haben im Vergleich zu Deutschland wenig Laubbäume mit bunten Blättern. Das schönste sind hier die Weine an den Häusern, finden wir. Siri und Selma blasen morgen früh Sonnenschein hinüber zu dir. Zumindest wollen sie es versuchen.
      Wir haben schöne Herbste für gewöhnlich, aber dafür langweilige Winter, leider selten Schnee und richtig kalt wird’s auch nicht.
      Liebe Grüße vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dankeschön ! Das glaube ich gerne, dass es bei euch am Meer wunderschön ist.
      Wohne ja bei der Petite Camargue im Elsass und ab Freitag habe ich eine Woche Urlaub. Da fahren wir mit dem Wohnmobil in die “richtige” Camargue bei Saintes Marie de la Mer nach Südfrankreich. Dort gibt es noch 20 Grad Wärme 🙂

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    • Es ist eine Koinzidenz, die Camarque und die North Norfolk coast wurden gleichzeitig zum Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Europa erklärt.
      Habe einen schönen Urlaub dort 🙂
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • THANK YOU 🙂
      dear Louis
      our master is in the Autumn of his life as well, he loves it. For him, if we understand him right, it means freedom.
      Love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four
      Actually we think quite a lot of the bloggers here are of that age, otherwise you can hardly spend that much time for blogging.

      Like

  51. Wonderful share of Autumn splendour, with it’s rich colours and harvests.. 🙂 My favourite time of year when we reap in what we have sown in our gardens..
    Also loved the poetry.. Wishing you a continued wonderful Harvest time.
    Blessings Sue

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Sue
      thank you very much 🙂
      Have a great autumn and harvest as well.
      Rilke is always good, isn’t he? At our dear Master’s family they used to read Rilke’s poems (and parts of his novel) at home, always one before the dinner and when they were through we started at the beginning again. Strange in a way, but so he knows most of Rilke’s poems by heart.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • These readings are a German tradition. As our dear Master was lucky coming from an agnostic family they used to read short pieces of literature. We kind of inherited this tradition. Now we take it in turns to choose what we are reading. Sometimes it’s not that easy to find something fitting, for the season, the day, the meal, or the date.
      We wish you a great rest of the week and even a greater weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  53. Well Dna, I always enjoy your posts but this one is simply delicious in so many ways! The photography is really wonderful – the vegetables look good enough to eat right off the page! And of course all the interesting acts that go with it make it that much more special. Nicely done – and Happy Autumn to you!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Tina,
      thanks a lot! 🙂
      We wish you a Happy Autumn as well.
      We have a great Indian summer right now, very sunny and nearly no wind. There are still some folks swimming in the sea – heroines & heroes 😉
      Lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Dear Elizabeth,
      we like this slowing down as well and looking forward to the snow.
      That will take a while until we have snow here, but we will go at the end of next month to Switzerland 🙂 there we will surely have some nice snow.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  55. Lovely Herbst-based post. Do you miss Frankfurt I wonder? Mrs RH used to go occasionally and some of her colleagues go every year. Now our daughter-in-law has just been for her second Fair. She seems to have had a lot of fun! RH

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    • Dear RH
      after more than 40 years (I just counted) it was strange not to go. In a way it’s like a big family meeting. One wouldn’t believe it but the book world is quite small so everybody knows everyone. And I liked the big parties as well and always had lots of fun at Frankfurt from Wednesday to Friday noon (then it is open for everyone and the ‘real book folks’ are flying home). But the Frankfurt Book Fair has changed, well, I would say it gets less and less “booky”, non-books take over. This year they tried to organize a highly political book fair. I don’t know if that worked.
      Besides Frankfurt I used to visit Bologna as well, the Book Fair for the beautiful art and children’s books. But I havent been there for quite a while.
      I wish you a happy autumn
      Klausbernd and the rest of the gang

      Like

  57. Wie immer besondere Bilder. Herbst mag ich nicht, ich liebe lange Tage, Sonne, Wärme, Früchte und Eis, Kleider und barfus sein, lange laue Abende auf der Terrasse, grau und kalt und nass würde ich mir gerne ersparen. Dieses Jahr haben wir aber immer noch Sonne und somit lässt sich diese Zeit auch für mich überleben.

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    • Auch hier haben wir einen außergewöhnlich schönen Herbst dieses Jahr. Allerdings regnet es gerade, aber gleich wird wohl die Sonne herauskommen. Wir sind ja große Gemütlichkeitsfans und lieben es, wenn es draußen stürmt und regnet und wir gemütlich kuschelig vor dem offen Feuer in unserem Kaminzimmer sitzen und reden oder lesen. Wir vermissen hier den Winter, aber dieses Jahr fahren wir in die Schweiz, um wieder einen richtigen Winter zu erleben. Ansonsten reisen wir öfters nach Grönland, Spitzbergen und in andere arktischen Gegenden.
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  58. Beautiful pictures of the veges but most of all I love the flower arrangement, magnificent. Well, here’s wishing you all a fabulous autumn.
    Cheers
    Laurie.

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    • Dear Laurie,
      thanks a lot.
      You have spring now down under, haven’t you? We wish you a great spring.
      Have you been at the Frankfurt Book Fair? After more than 40 years I haven’t been, well I didn’t have to sell any foreign rights this year.
      Have a happy week
      Klausbernd
      and the rest of the Fabs

      Liked by 1 person

    • Yes Klausbernd spring has well and truly sprung. It heralds in the storm season, they get a little nasty too. We missed one yesterday by about 2 kilometres, it cut a swathe through the trees snapping a few off halfway up the trunks. It brought a little rain though. No, I haven’t been to Germany at all. Enjoy your falling leaves Fab Four.
      Cheers
      Laurie.

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  61. Wir schaetzen den vielfarbigen und koestlichen Segen, den uns unsere Erde beschert , nachdem wir uns mit unseren Haenden fleissig migeholfen haben, von Jahr zu Jahr mehr und ich finde auch , dass die fallenden Blaetter mich auf eine Zeit der Ruhe einstimmen. Ich danke euch fuer die wunderschoene Herbststimmung.🍁🍄🍂🍇🎃

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    • Guten Tag, liebe Martina,
      ja, diese Vorbereitung auf die gänzlich ruhige Zeit des Winters lieben wir auch. Da machen wir es uns immer SEHR gemütlich und kuschelig zu Hause.
      Wir wünschen dir noch einen wunderschönen Herbst
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  63. That is an ode to the beauty and richness of the autumn! Wonderful photo harvest! Here in Florida we can “sing along” as we love this time of the year, finally cooler and drier air and clear blue skies without the “sun haze” 🙂

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    Reply

    • Dear Tiny
      We wish you an enjoyable autumn as well. Today the sun 🌞 is shining and it’s really warm. We will hike at the sea.
      All the best to you from the little village next the big sea 🌊
      The Fab Four of Cley 👭💃🚶

      Like

  67. Autumn – my favourite season, has always been about beginnings. While the joy and beauty of spring brings fresh energy, the deep rich colours of fall invite me to a new adventure. Perhaps it was because I loved going back to school to experience and learn something new. I especially liked your words, which resonated deep within my thoughts these past few days:
    “common symbol for the second half of the human life, when one can harvest the fruit of one’s work. It’s the time for a rest and enjoying and relaxing. ” May we all embrace the days that have been given… Hugs and love to the Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Clanmother,
      we think it’s important to enjoy the autumn of our lifes. One forgets this easily in times of a youth cult. Our dear Master experiences being a pensioneer and we could see how he got more and more happy and even creative. Now he is free to play around with all he has learned so far but he doesn’t need to look how to sell it. What a relieve!
      We send you lots of love and golden fairy dust from Cley next the sea to Vancouver
      The Fab Four of Cley
      P.S.: Did we ever told you that Vancouver was born in Norfolk, not that far from here? But probably you knew already.

      Liked by 1 person

    • I did not know that Vancouver was born in Norfolk! Exciting to know that we are linked in more ways than we know!!!! Thank you for the fairy dust! Sunshine has come to Vancouver…

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    • Dear Rebecca,
      Cptn. George Vancouver was born on the 22.6.1757 in Kings Lynn/Norfolk. His ancestors have been Dutch and came to Norfolk for irrigation works there. There is a statue of Vancouver in the harbour of Kings Lynn and we have the Vancouver Quarter – a shopping area – in Kings Lynn. Well, to our knowledge Vancouver was the only famous son of Kings Lynn.
      Wishing you a happy day
      HUGS
      the Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  68. Absolutely wonderful shots of these – colourful and looking like I could eat them on the spot. I can feel the smell of fresh earth and even feel their smoothness. Maybe I should read that work by Hamsun? In fact I haven’t – yet.
    Hope your autumn is less rainy and windy than ours.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Leya,
      well, Hamsun is still readable but at parts legthy and very romantic. As he wrote 20 novels in 70 years his style varies. We like “Sult” (Hunger) and “Markens Gröde” most. Thomas Mann, Arthur Koestler and H.G. Wells have been ‘Hamsun-Fans’.
      Lots of love xx
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Sophie,
      we are happy that you like our post and our veggies – actually they are not grown by us.
      Wishing you a great day.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Thank you! I hope not to have let your expectations down! Yours faithfully. I am not a falconer it was a once off occasion! But I love “Birds of pray.” _/\_ live long and prosper. Have a successful week.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you very much for your commentary 🙂 🙂
      We love autumn as well and our dear Master’s birthday is in autumn. Autumn is a time of colour for us when the leaves of the trees turn yellow and red.
      Wishing you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

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