Things I’m Loving… this last week of daylight saving

The clocks have turned back. This morning when the girls awoke at 7am I wearily acknowledged the fact it was actually 6am. Tonight darkness will fall at 6.30pm. The long summer nights will, for a while, be but a memory. We shall rug up, play board games, watch sunsets and admire starlit skies before bed-time. The garden will turn to a boggy mess and squelching in our gumboots will become a new past-time.

But! This last week of sunshine evenings has been a blessing. There’s been an almost party spirit in the community as everyone makes the most of the sunshine and the last of the light evenings. I am convinced I’ve seen more people out jogging, walking and cycling along the south coast than any other week in summer.

I reckon even Alice senses the change that is coming. She’s been rolling in the sand at the beach as though making a parting gesture.

She’s reached for her wetsuit, ran to the waves (yes, our little 13 month old is now running!) and smelt the last of the summer roses.

Sophie ceremoniously scattered rose petals on a sun dial in the herb garden of the Botanical Garden in Wellington.

Charlotte ran bare foot on the beach.

I’ve made the most of these last jandal wearing days (though confess to donning my UGG boots a couple of early mornings this week).

I spent Saturday afternoon chilling at Houghton Bay watching the surfers with Alice, whilst Sophie cheered Dan on at his first soccer game of the ‘season’, and Charlotte spent the afternoon at a friend’s party.

Even a Friday trip to the dentist was buoyed by sunshine. We came away with a thumbs up and time to spare feeding the ducks in the Botanical Garden. Charlotte partied on with a disco at her dance school, whilst Alice, Sophie and I soaked in the tub.

But changes are coming, that’s for sure. The morning dew has already made its mark a few days this week; when a towel in the car was put to good use to dry down the slide and the swings at the playground. Bare feet have been covered with socks and boots. Heaters have been turned on and new p-jays bought for our growing girls. We are so grateful for our warm, cosy home. The chill in the air, morning and night, calls us to cuddle up for stories, board games and meals by candle light.

The time before school shan’t be spent running barefoot in the garden, but dancing in the lounge instead. They’ll be fewer days for chalk art on the driveway, but plenty of time for sketching and painting, sprawled out on the dining table. The shrill call of the Tui in the Norfolk Pine won’t be heard so strongly, nor the chirp of the cicadas, but the tinkle of the piano keys and the strum of the guitar will strive to play in harmony through the darker months.