As I wrote in “The Last Firefly”, the season continues to move on. And since both the lavender and fireflies are gone, I’ve said goodbye to that header photo and replaced it with a late summer one.
This summer has been beastly in Italy. Our hottest since 2003. We’re watching the crops dry up and die, animals that don’t normally come down this far into the valley are desperately searching for water, and we’re living like cave people inside our shuttered house every afternoon. I don’t dare venture out until early evening.
In spite of the intense heat this year, late summer brings its own beauty and gifts. Local garden ingredients for making Ratatouille and glazed apples for desert.
My basil looks like a forest this year as it laps up the sunlight and heat.
The fields are rolled, leaving tracks that look like waterfalls…I can’t get enough of this scene in our little valley.
The sunflowers enjoyed the heat a lot more than I did!
And the biggest gift of all: a second blooming of my white roses.
Writing in Umbria 
Gorgeous spread Nina. I love all your photos, particularly the food one. Mind you because I love the colour blue so much, I love your vase with the second blooming roses 🙂
I can feel the heat in the photo of the hay in the paddock… its almost shimmering! I was in Italy last year late Aug to mid Sep and it was incredibly hot – I hate to think of wilting in even higher temps! Hope some rain comes to cool things down soon!
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. I hope it has cooled off by then.
I hope so, too! They say it’ll be cooler early this next week but then going back up again until the first week of September. Look forward to you being back on this side of the pond!
Nina carissima! I can feel how exhausted you are by the heat, just in this post! But it’s wonderful that you find all the beauty and share it so graciously. I would love to be there just a day to see those golden rolling hillsides. Take care and I would LOVE to get my hands on some of your basil I must say! Un abbraccio forte.
Yes, even with the heat and drought, the hills are lovely. Plenty of basil…come back!
Lovely fresh fruit & vegetables.