I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew;
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
– J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

autumnbokeh-maple

I have a confession to make: Ever since my parents read me The Hobbit as a bedtime story, I have been a Tolkien nerd. The Lord of the Rings still ranks on top of the list of my favourite books, I eagerly await each of Peter Jackson’s films – and will equally eagerly discuss where the film makers went wrong – and each autumn I think about Lothlórien, the elven realm where the mallorn trees grow. The leaves of the mallorn, just like the leaves of our trees, turn golden in autumn, but where our trees will drop their leaves before winter, the mallorn keeps its golden leaves until spring.

Can you blame me for dreaming of a world where beauty such as this will stay a little longer?

autumnbokeh-hanging

It makes me melancholy, the way there are signs everywhere now of change, transition and beauty’s loss.

autumnbokeh-duo

But it’s hard to be melancholy for long in the face of such sunlight that we’ve been having, and I’ve been taking out my neglected dSLR and wallowed in golden sunlight and creamy, instantly viewable bokeh.

autumnbokeh-flowers

autumnbokeh-branch

How are you enjoying your autumn? Tell us in the comments!

~ All the best from Jenny.