As I sit in the late autumnal glow amongst the falling leaves and fading flowers, I see a bumble 🐝 hovering closely to the ground.

Like me he has come to experience the last warm days of an Indian summer, seeking to find some pollen that may be left inside a rose or a michaelmas daisy.

I too have come outside to bask in the milky sunshine as it prepares to dip behind the low clouds

Autumn is always a time of melancholic reflection for me as days shorten and dim, and life gets ready to hygge and nestle into a new rhythm.

Today, I’m snuffling and coughing and the enforced rest has given me time to listen and reflect on those we have lost or who have gone ahead of us.

Thoughts of years gone by, when life was so full of action, children, families and friends, and how two of those beautiful friends have passed away this last year.

I remeber their smiles, their essence, their hearts of love and kindness, fun and laughter, mischeviousness and ability to make do and mend, to stretch what they had to give to others.

Two shining stars Caroline and Lynette both gone to glory, both super women in ways that the world may not understand. Quiet listeners, humble servers, caring, loving, sharing and prayerful ladies who helped me, supported me and shared their ideas with me, and helped shaped me in my formative years.

Forever grateful for them, sad they’ve gone, but joyfully rejoicing with them that they have finished their race and sit with Aslan on their thrones in Cair Paravel and are Queens over many.

As the flowers fade, their lights will shine on. 🙏