Between summer and autumn
Here in the foothills of the Apennines in central Italy, the seasons are teetering along a tightrope stretched between summer and autumn. Blue skies and bare arms in the sun during the day alternate with chill shivery nights. The rhythmic chirping of the crickets has given way to the roar of the rutting red deer stags on the mountain slopes the other side of the valley. Then silence. The sun is low on the horizon, the shadows grow longer. We all know it’s over, and rightly so. But autumn is reluctant to take over. It hides away in the rare morning mists, peeks through a shimmering curtain of vibrant rose hips, briefly flaunts a gaudy display of sycamore leaves, then steps back without protest as a sprinkling of tired butterflies flit raggedly among a handful of unseasonal second flowerings.
Some ten days or so ago, it almost seemed as though autumn had finally found its courage. Two days of uninterrupted mist and rain and the leaves on the woodland floor no longer crunched underfoot.
Drop by drop, the last of the ivy-leaved cyclamen flowers succumbed and a few, a very few, fungi finally emerged, some so small they were almost invisible, sprouting in crevices in the bark, amongst the revigorated moss and lichen.
Others were easier to spot and some even brought their own “tears”.
Pushing delicately through the long grass in a clearing without wanting to make a fuss, the umbrella inkcaps were so fragile, they seemed to wither and shrink faster than I could photograph them.
The lichen and moss on the old tree stumps took on a vibrant green.
Miniature jungles populated by the tiniest of woodland creatures.
And how to resist playing with the reflections and fallen leaves gathered in the water-filled hollows of old oak trunks, populated by strange beetle larvae, half concealed under a profusion of silver bubbles and impossible to photograph.
Adapted from an article first published in The 617 Club.
For my Italian-speaking friends (or anyone wanting to translate into another language), I recommend DeepL translator available clicking here or also as a browser extension for Google Chrome.
Per i miei amici di lingua italiana (o chiunque voglia tradurre in un’altra lingua), consiglio DeepL translator disponibile cliccando qui o anche come estensione per il browser Google Chrome.