Time for one last picnic.

Box Hill Picnic Excursion

Two or three more of the chosen only were to be admitted to join them, and it was to be done in a quiet, unpretending, elegant way, infinitely superior to the bustle and preparation, the regular eating and drinking and picnic parade of the Eltons and the Sucklings.

It was now the middle of June and the weather fine; and Mrs. Elton was growing impatient to name the day and settle with Mr. Weston as to pigeon-pies and cold lamb, when a carriage-horse threw everything into sad uncertainty. It might be weeks, it might be only a few days before the horse were unseeable, but no preparations could be ventured on and it was melancholy stagnation. Mrs. Elton’s resources were inadequate to such an attack.

from Emma by Jane Austen 1816

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Saturday is the first day of Autumn and Autumn is my favourite time of the year but today I am thinking about picnics. A late summer picnic can be fraught with wasps, which torment us and cause us to almost lose heart, yet still we yearn to eat outside. Basking in the late summer sun so mellow and warm is the perfect way to look back at the summer and remember all the good days we’ve had. It’s a time to think about the new friends we have made and the new places we have visited. It’s a time to enjoy for one last time the cucumber sandwiches and Victoria sponge cakes which taste so nice with a hot cup of tea.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my friends, new and old, who follow my Blog. I appreciate your visits and your comments and look forward to celebrating the new season with you.

So as the summer ends and we start to hear the wind picking up and warning us of the changes to come, I’ll leave you with this lovely picture to remind us to be thankful for the people and things we have in our lives today.

photo: anon