It's August - It's Autumn

What do I know? From city life in London, August was high summer. A couple of years in the Polish countryside and I am beginning to have my doubts. Last year the early days of the month had beautiful misty mornings - archetypal autumnal weather, but, I thought, it was a very wet year so this was just an oddity.

By the middle of August this year, leaves on the trees were starting to change colour and shed. Perhaps this was just young trees in an unsheltered position.

From 2010 08

The grassland is going brown, but that is quite normal in a hot dry summer, although this one was wet and hot.


The trees in the background all seem to be green, but when we went down Chestnut Avenue (Aleja Kasztanowa) there is quite significant browning of the trees when looked at from the road. Driving into Warsaw later, this was even more evident in a number of places along the road.

Mind you, house martins have returned, although in limited numbers and with different behaviour patterns. Perhaps they are from further north and stopping here for a rest.