I love August for the warm days, long evenings, seeing pretty Harebells peeping through the wild meadow grass, and seeing harvest take place. I always find it quite heart-warming to see the crops being harvested, and great to hear the farmers comment on it being a good year. Harvest time totally transforms the landscape, and the Hares become more visible again. Although, once ploughing commences, the Hares start to move on, to new pastures and spend more time in the woodlands over Autumn and Winter. Before the crops are gathered and bailed, it is always fun to watch the Hares explore the piles and lines of cut crop, and I was lucky to spot both Hares and a Deer, race across the field, leaping over the lines, like hurdles in a race course.
August was an exceptionally busy month for me. Half of the month was taken up with preparing for and participating at 'Open Studio', doing my first big exhibition. This was both daunting and exciting. It was long days, as needed to attend each day to supervise - but the days were made eve more enjoyable, as was in a beautiful setting in an old church and in the gardens of a farmhouse. I got to meet lots of people, made a few new contacts, and also sold half a dozen prints ...as well as learnt lots and received advice on how to move forward with doing more exhibitions. I also got to watch a family of Swallows grow and fledge, who were nesting in the porch of the church. However, this also presented a challenge, when they all decided to sneak into the church - and I ended up asking a friend to bring along some mealworms, as we could not get all the Swallows out initially, and the church needed to be locked each night. But was to be a happy ending, as by the end of the exhibition, all Swallows appeared to have gone, and were hopefully all safely on their way to Africa.
August was also a great month for visiting the New Forest, whilst the pink Heather peeks and is a blanket of colour across all the heathland. I made an early trip there one day, to capture a few misty sunrise shots. I do not go to the New Forest as much as I used to, as am now drawn to my local Hare countryside most of the time - but each time I return to the New Forest, I am reminded of its beauty and enchantment. So I must plan another visit very soon.
