Late summer Zeeland

That funny time of year in Europe. When the heat hangs on, but the sun takes longer to surface in the mornings, and the moon is still a feature of the sky when you first step outside. The last week of my admittedly very long summer holiday. It was hard to leave family in England, but the dogs were along for the final ride. A week in Bruinisse, a chance to enjoy our soon-to-be-home, before I started my first real job.

To the marina. Peaceful, just the gentle clanging of sails and masts in the breeze. The sky, a milky blue flecked with chubby clouds, a blissful white. We sit in the shade, the dogs lie next to us and sniff the air, the scents of the water. Kids muck about in a small dinghy, folk wearing nautical stripes sit at the outdoor cafes. The perfect place to be on a late summers day.

Another day, another large body of water. The sky still that pale, pure blue, the clouds still picture-book perfect puffs of white. This area was badly affected by the infamous floods here, and its not hard to see why; we truly are surrounded by water. We stroll around, the dogs’ ears flap in the wind, cream colored cows graze the dykes.

The landscape is a flat expanse of greens and blues, interrupted every now and then by a field of technicolored flowers. In the distance, windmills barely turning, a rare windless day. Its pretty in an understated way; it feels as if the sky, earth and water were painted over with a blueish wash, so all the colors are muted, more subtle. Or it could just be my sunglasses.

The last day of my summer, the wind is back. We drive to the lake, its perfectly clear water lapping a cement-grey beach. The wind whips my hair into my eyes, the sun’s glare reflected and dazzling. We stand on a bank that juts way out into the lake and curves around like a boomerang, and get an awesome view of half of Zeeland.

Our garden is sheltered and sunny most of the day. We pick plums by the bucketload and sit outside, lunch on the large table, dinner. Chatting and laughing, the sun low, casting amber light through the branches of the trees. Until little bats glide over our heads and the first stars appear. Enjoying the last days like this, of a long, warm and blissful summer.

Sorry for the lateness of this post but things have been pretty manic 🙂 Enjoy the weekend and any late summer sunshine xx