Seasonal Living in August: Celebrating the Last Weeks of Summer

August is here, the last month of summer. We've had some glorious weather this summer and a good few rainy days too which has been nice. I feel like we have had a good run of weather this year and while I am not wishing away these last days of summer, I have to admit to looking forward to everything that autumn brings.

I think there is something deeply comforting about planning for the seasons and it is something that I have done in our home for the past 20 years. Each month brings its own beauty and meaning, and I love weaving these moments into our home life. 

Celebrating the small markers of the year not only created lasting memories for my children growing up, but also keeps us all connected to the gentle rhythm of the natural world. Even though our daughters have left home and have homes of their own, I still continue these simple seasonal rituals in my home.


Season-keeping, as I like to call it, brings me so much joy—but it does take a little planning! At the start of each month, I set aside time to gather my thoughts and sketch out simple ways to reflect the season in our daily routines. This helps me turn inspiration into action and ensures that I really notice and savour the gifts of the moment.

I’d love to know how you mark the seasons in your own home—I'm always on the lookout for fresh ideas and inspiration!


In my Home Journal, I keep a section for each month of the year. Tucked behind each tab are notes and plans from previous years, which I revisit at the start of the month alongside my calendar. I draw from a blend of resources—Pinterest boards brimming with ideas, favourite books, saved magazine clippings, and bookmarked blogs—all of which help me dream and plan with intention.

Here’s a glimpse at what August looks like in my seasonal planning this year...

Folklore

  • Gemstone: Agate
  • Flower: Gladiolus
  • Sayings: If the first week of August be warm, the winter will be long and white.
  • Full Moon This Month: Sturgeon Moon

Nature

Homeschooling

  • Clear out the schoolroom for the next academic year
  • Refresh stationary supplies
  • order curriculum and books
  • Sort out the bookshelves - perhaps order a few new seasonal books.
  • Plan field trips for the autumn months
  • Plan autumn nature studies
  • Sort out clothing and make lists for winter clothing needs.
  • Plan a 'back-to-homeschool' surprise. 

Home Blessings

  • Wash and refresh all the blankets and quilts ready for autumn and winter use
  • May as well get those curtains and cushion covers washed too 😉
  • Pick flowers from the garden to enjoy indoors.
  • Clean bird feeders in readiness for cooler months
  • Start making gifts ahead of Christmas
  • Utilise home-grown produce or foods that are in season now and make soups for the freezer to be enjoyed in autumn.
  • Plan your autumn decor and make lists for what you need; what you already have; and what you can gather from nature. Afterall, Autumn is right around the corner!

Food

  • BBQ's
  • Homegrown tomatoes
  • Basil
  • Peas off the vine
  • Baking bread for Lammas day
  • Garden Tea Party for Tasha Tudor Day

Life

  • Afternoon Tea Week (11th - 17th) - Celebrating the great British tradition of afternoon tea! (plan a tea party with friends)
  • August Bank Holiday (25th) - the last Bank Holiday in the run-up to Christmas

Summer Crafts and Activities

In My Book Basket This Month

The purpose of creating a seasonal mood board is to bring some of these lovely ideas to life—whether it’s reserving books from the library for our reading corner, pencilling special outings or celebrations into the calendar, or trying a few seasonal recipes to mark meaningful days.

The key to season-keeping is consistency over perfection. It’s about establishing a gentle rhythm that supports your family life—not overwhelming yourself with grand plans. A few simple, well-chosen ideas go much further than an overambitious list. As the saying goes, baby steps!

Wishing you a joyful and peaceful month of season-keeping...

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Where Badgers Visit and Owls Call: Life in Our Welsh Country Home

It's 5am on the first morning in our new home and I am sitting in the conservatory, my hands cupped around a steaming mug of tea, watching a badger gorge on bird seed from the feeder he has tipped over and raided. 


I move to re-adjust to a more comfortable position, alerting the badger to my presence. He freezes, our eyes lock for a second, and he turns tail and lumbers off across to the far end of the garden before disappearing through the hedgerow into the field beyond. A small mouse darts out of the undergrowth to steal a few sunflower seeds left behind by the badger.


At dusk I watch bats zig-zag across garden hunting for insects and at night, just before I slip into sleep, I hear the mournful call of an owl. the I feel like I may just be living in a Brambly Hedge storybook!


I had forgotten the deep, beautiful silence of the countryside. This morning, that silence was punctuated by birdsong and the sheep having a chat to one another, no doubt discussing their plans for the day.


It's been 10 days since we moved into Hillbank (the house name reminds me of Beatrix Potter's 'Hilltop Farm'), our home in a small village in the Welsh hills. It feels comfortable, like pulling on a favourite well-worn comfortable jumper on a chilly autumn morning. The house embraces us with its warm wooden flooring and deep inglenook fireplace which promises to wrap us in warmth and cosiness throughout autumn and winter.


The garden is wild. It has not had a proper caretaker for many years. The grass has been allowed to romp freely into the flowerbeds, the rushes have taken over the pond to the point that you would not know that it is there, and the moss in the lawn could provide a hundred florists with all they need for their floral arrangements for months. 


It will be a labour of love to restore the garden to what it once was.


Last week I picked up a few supplies at the small farm shop in the village and met some lovely ladies. "You must join the WI when we reconvene in September!"; and, "We have a choire, do you sing?", then, "Oh we are short of a soprano, I do hope you will join us".

I can see that life will be rich and full here. I am very much looking forward to being part of village life.


This home would have been a perfect homeschooling home! It was the first thing my daughter said to me when she popped over for a visit. She's right, it would have been 😊.

But this home is the start of a new chapter for us. It's a home that anchors us as we start new ventures. My husband has semi-retired - that is, he has left the hotel industry and will be starting his own artisan food and coffee shop. I have finally started writing again and am working with a mentor as I journey to get published. 


I don't know what the future holds, do any of us? But I know that for this next season in our lives, we are exactly where we should be. It won't be our 'forever' home as we are just renting 'Hillbank' while we build our businesses, and I still have a hankering to live in the beautiful Lake District. 


But for now, I know that this is the right place for us to roost. It is near to our adult children, both of whom are in their own seasons of building and establishing their lives and who appreciate the support and proximity that this home offers to us all.



It will be our place of recovery after a really difficult and emotional home sale process (please do pray for us that our house sale goes through and does not fall at the final hurdle once again). Our place of gentle adjustment as we move out of suburbia and back into the countryside, losing many of the conveniences that come town living. 


It's a place gentle reconnection as we adjust to what life looks and feels like with both us working in a self-employed capacity. I'm grateful that we will get to be the caretakers of this beautiful home and garden and to write 'Under a Welsh Sky' for a season 💕
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