Into autumn.......

I took this photo at 8.00 am today. This tree is at the end of our garden by the summerhouse and is called a Liquid Amber. When the young man came a few years ago to prune our hedges, shrubs and trees before the winter he was so taken with it he bought one of his own.  
He comes once a year to tidy them all up. 
      This morning was spent in Grand Central and the Bullring in Birmingham, shopping for birthday presents for various people. Our son's being the first one on Saturday this week, followed by a close friend on Sunday.   
     Our grandson, Sammy will be 7 years old the following week.  
His two siblings being 5 and 2 respectively. Libby and Toby.
Always a boisterous time when we visit. They live in Bristol.  
     I find shopping mesmerising but Monday's are a lot quieter after the weekend. 
    It was a very chilly start and the sky a clear cold azure blue. The sun warmed  as the day went on and down near the local station someone was mowing the grass of the communal gardens belonging to the small block of flats. 
     I have read somewhere lately that the smell of mown grass was something which came high up in a poll of things that people like. 
      I wondered why that was? 
For me it is a reminder of childhood when the fields at the top of our street were mown in the late summer. 
The smell of the freshly mown bowling green in the park.   
Grandad mowing his lawn,and keeping the blades of his push mower in pristine condition. His small garden shed smelt of engine oil and grease. He was in fact an engineer and liked to keep all his tools in good order.
    He kept the machines at the local factory at the bottom of the hill in the valley in excellent working order. Occasionally he would be called out if they went wrong. 
     And now my son is an engineer. An Environmental Control Approvals engineer. 
I digress! I love the smell of our lawn when it is cut. Redolent of spring and summer. 
I sat in the warm summerhouse when I got home after lunch and enjoyed the sense of summer not quite being over.........as I watched a squirrel eat an apple sitting on the branch of the tree which is close by. 
     I love it there it is so peaceful.