Chimneys and Rooftops ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ as my back heals, very slowly, all too slowly, for I am an itchin' and a twitchin' to get out and garden on these gentle, mellow early days of Autumn ~~~ I am taking short and regular strolls up and down the road near my cottage.  Always with my constant companion ~ my camera ~ and just yesterday I simply started pointing the lens at all the lovely chimney pots I can see from the bottom of my drive.  I thought you would like to see them, so here they are, a small collection of beautiful old red brick and stone chimney pots.  Some of these are quite old ~~~ and there are lovely patterns of slate and lichen too, gorgeous colours ~~~

This is the roof top of an old local chapel, now a house and art gallery, but just look at the ridge tiles ~~~

Across to the fields and hills behind ~~~

A cheeky gull sits, looking across to the spires on the tower of the cathedral ~~~

An old Welsh farm cottage ~~~

another of the same ~~~

Finally, two photographs of the full Harvest Super Moon taken the night following the previous cloud covered collection here

I have enjoyed taking these chimney pots so much it gives me and idea to take more to show you, for there are many lovely ones in the village that I'm sure you'd love to see, so there is a plan~~~

I already have another diary entry typed and ready to share, but will wait a day or two, so I hope you will stop by again ~~~ in the meantime, remember ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~

~~~waving~~~at the Harvest Moon

Gentle Reader ~~~ Wasn't the full Harvest Moon splendid last evening?  I do hope you saw her, shining down in all her ethereal glory, silvery shimmery ~ gossamer clouds, as a cloak of invisibility, draping her, half hiding her, here in The Shire ~ 

I took some photographs, I always record the full moon ~ that is, when not scuppered by cloud cover, as so often happens here in The Shire ~ even though the composition seldom changes as she rises high in the midnight sky ~ unless, perchance, she loftily glides majestically over the lowly branches of an earth~bound tree or skims a tiled rooftop ~ The Man in The Moon smiles down from above {so why do I call her a 'she'?} 

So, here 'she' is, half hidden by her raiment of clouds, shimmering, slipping silently by with a ghostly, silvery sheen ~~~ a perfect picture for Hallowe'en ~~~ 

Did you see all the subtle changes, as the clouds moved across her face?  Here is one final image, difficult to focus with so much cloud, the lens pulled back, so you can see the halo that surrounded her last night ~~~ there was an eerie, amber glow that does not quite show here, I half expected to see a wild Welsh witch on a besom flit across the spooky scene ~~~  



I do hope you were able to see the Harvest Moon last night ~~~ and remember that ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~

Carrots and Beetroot for Tea ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ Thank you all for your very kind comments made on last week's entry.  I was very touched by them. 

A few months back I started an experiment with carrots.  They are not something I have grown before because when my late father grew them so much of the crop was ruined and wasted due to the omni~present and dreaded Carrot Fly.  If you have ever seen a carrot bed decimated by this horrible pest you will understand why I have never bothered with carrots.  If you have never seen carrot fly damage, then the RHS information page on said pest will show you why I have not bothered. 

I am on a steep learning curve with my garden, and I chat whenever I can to other gardeners, and recall what my Dad said, and looking things up on line too. This tiny, but highly destructive pest, it seems, has shark like senses that can sniff out one particle of eau de carrot from miles away {I jest, of course, but you get the picture} and apparently, once you have had carrot fly infestation in your garden it is very hard to rid yourself of it, for it will return as sure as eggs are eggs, and as such I could not see the point in giving over valuable growing space to a crop that I knew would end up in the compost bin.  

There are ways to rid yourself of this pest, chemicals being one, but that is not acceptable to me as I try to garden without the use of any chemicals.  I know a lot of people who have tried several methods, such as inter~planting the rows of carrots with strong scented marigolds ~ the pungency of the marigolds is supposed to mask the equally pungent scent of carrot tops wafting on the wind and confuse the carrot fly, but I have yet to find someone who says this method works; it certainly didn't work for my Dad.  By listening and reading, I have learned that a good, non~chemical way to deter carrot fly and get a good harvest of delicious, edible carrots is to use barriers. Another method is to grow your carrots after the carrot fly season, but this means aiming for a very late crop as the season does not end until late Summer or early Autumn.   I wanted my carrots earlier, so I decided to try a barrier.

I read of two methods using a barrier, which is either to completely covering the carrots with a horticultural fleece and not remove it until ready to harvest the crop, or seeds are sown in a raised bed that is at least twenty inches high {for the fly cannot, apparently, fly above twenty inches off the ground} I filled a disused, clean rubbish bin with a mixture of garden soil, compost, and Grow Bag contents and sowed the fine, brown seeds on the top.  In a couple of weeks they had germinated, so now all I had to do was wait.  Over the following weeks, the green carrot tops grew and grew, getting taller and filling the bin to overflowing.  I was worried now, with so much fragrant greenery billowing in the wind, that the fly would be attracted in. However, I kept my faith, and just a day ago I harvested my first, perfectly pest~free carrots! 

They aren't very big, but they are reasonably good in shape, and are not forked or split, so I am very happy.  They tasted so good!  I do not remember the last time I ate a carrot that tasted so carroty! It makes me wonder how much water and what nutrients are given to the mass produced, perfect carrots sold in supermarkets and greengrocers around the country, for by comparison they have a perfect shape but are watery and tasteless.  I know which I prefer!

So, I have learned much from this experiment.  Not only that the twenty inch barrier works in deterring the carrot fly, but that carrots can be successfully grown in a deep bin or container.  Next year, I will plant more containers of carrots, and maybe try some parsnips {which I love} as they are susceptible to the carrot fly too.  I will put more soil in the bins though, as this bin was about three quarters full when I began but the soil quickly compacted down to just over half and this meant that the green tops had to reach upwards and stretch for the sunlight and became slightly leggy.  I don't think it has affected the crop too much though and I am looking forward to harvesting the rest over the coming weeks.  

My back is still bad, and I'm desperately sad to report that I have lost an awful lot of potted plants because I have not been able to water them.  I am trying to put on a brave face, as most can be replaced, but some were gifts, like the double geraniums and roses. It is also jolly annoying that the weather is very good and I cannot enjoy it!

Tonight, for supper, there are carrots and beetroot from the garden, oven roasted with some butternut squash, and apples fresh from the tree ~ yum!  Aren't the beets pretty?  I had forgotten that I'd planted some that had variegated rings!  I put the three vegetables, tossed in olive oil, in a high oven for about 25 minutes, until nearly cooked, and then tossed in chunks of apple for the last five minutes.  It makes a simple supper, and is delicious with crusty bread and cheese.

Meanwhile, here are some more photographs taken in the last month, as Autumn slowly moves in ~ for I am finally working out how to operate the new Windows 8.1 on this laptop!

The apples are rosy red and juicy sweet ~~~ best eaten warm from the tree in the morning sun ~~~

Meanwhile, along the edge of the drive, poppies are going to seed with gorgeously brown and gold coloured seed heads ~~~

Some late~to~the~party raspberries {these are not my Autumn fruiting ones, which are making no sign of fruiting this year}

I love the patterns created by the different tones as the fruits ripen and I think of zentangle patterns to fill in ~~~

The first fall of leaves on the drive ~~~ crisply crunchy and begging to be stomped through ~~~

Haws, reddening and ripening to feed the birds as they fatten up for the leaner winter months ahead ~~~

Finally, I am at last able to load videos once again ~ although I am sorry that it is via link to Youtube ~ something that I could not do on my old laptop and so have not shared any for over a year ~~~ this one was taken during the week, a windier day, but I thought I'd share the sound of the winds through the leaves ~~~
{sorry for the shakiness, but my hand is not very steady}

Wind in the Sycamores

Gosh, would you look at all those golden brown helicopters, just waiting to fly away and seed ~ growing into saplings in my garden to be weeded out in their hundreds! This, Gentle Reader, is why ~

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~

Lazy Sunday Morning ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ oh! it is a glorious Autumn morning in the Shire ~~~ the sun is shining, warming and brightening everything it touches with a golden glow; the sky is blue and giant cotton puffs billow in the breeze.  This is the kind of morning that makes my heart sing, waking up to, and greet with a smile, breathing deeply of the air and the view as the curtains are drawn back from across the window panes.

I have yet to put a photograph on this new laptop ~ which is proving somewhat of a headache for a techno~phobe such as myself.  Why, just this last week I discovered {in addition to all the mystery of Cloud storage ~ which still defies me} the laptop does not come with any kind of word processing programme.  This, to me, is a necessary part of technology, for in the progression from typewriter to word processor, on again to computers that connected by way of cables and jacks to printers with daisy wheels, and now by wi~fi connectivity to inkjets and laser printing devices, it goes beyond my limited and reluctant acceptance of advancing technology why the new laptop has no form of recording words other than to use in emails or blogs.  It troubles me deeply that, even if it is electronically, I am denied the pleasure of typing!  As I suffer with arthritis, typing is much easier for me than holding a pen, and I am, frankly, aghast at this lack of word~smithing technology! {have I just made up some words?}

Fortunately, I have my old disks from way back when and they, with much ado, are recognised and loaded on to the hard drive, so I will, hopefully, from today, be able to type documents {isn't that what we used to call letters?} and with a tiny bit of luck and a prayer as I wade through the mire of passwords and other mind boggling traps, next time there will be fresh photographs.  I'm crossing everything and hoping videos will be back on the menu too!  Rather than leave this post void of images, I think I will recycle some of the older photographs from the beginning of this blog.

So, today, it is the anniversary of my Grandmother's birth in 1896. She passed in 1977, but is still much loved and greatly missed.  She is one of the people who I always wish those who have come into my life since she passed could have met.  It is to her, I believe, I owe much of my love of gardening, walking, and appreciation of the natural world.  The poem in the sidebar {please do read the whole poem, for many know the following stanza well ~~~

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

but few know the rest of the poem.  It was her favourite, and I often recite little bits of it when I am gardening.  I often wonder what the neighbours think, if they can hear!  Crazy, word muttering, gardening woman in a large, floppy hat!  Maybe they think I'm a witch! 

Nanna was as a mother to me when I was a small child, and until her health deteriorated very rapidly when I was aged around ten years, we spent many a Sunday afternoon traipsing along the country lanes and byways of the Shire.  A devout Christian, the order of each Sunday commenced with church services for her, Sunday School for me, then home for Sunday roast dinner with Mum and Dad.  Between church and sitting down to Sunday dinner she would rustle up one of her delicious apple pies, served with hot custard sauce.  She made the best pastry ever, and for many years worked as the pastry chef for one of the local restaurants.  My Mum has inherited her ability, but mine is more for baking cakes than making pastries.  I digress ~~~ it was after those Sunday dinners we would take off into the wilds ~~~ and I would be taught the names of every flowering plant and grass encountered on the way.  During the week, when I wasn't in school, we would be gardening in our own garden, and indoors tending her many house plants and cacti. In those days we also kept hens {something I long to do again today}

She was just nineteen years of age when World War One broke out, and this picture is of her, sitting, with her younger brother Jim {who lied about his age so that he could go and fight for King and Country} right before he left for the trenches in France.  

She was a fine looking woman, but, oh! my! doesn't she look so young here?  

During both World Wars she did what she could as a volunteer.  In WWII she joined the Women's Voluntary Service {WVS} and played an active part in preparedness exercises within the local community.  Thankfully, she was never called to do more than prepare and support, for, mercifully, our little corner of Britain was, for the most part, spared the horrors of that war.  My mother recalls, with some horror, her fear at seeing her own mother taking part in the fire drills, shimmying over the high and sloping rooftops of the cathedral, which would have been a major target for bombers.  It would have burned for days giving the Luftwaffe a bright, guiding light in the night sky.  Additionally, she joined the St John's Ambulance and British Red Cross to become fully prepared, as a volunteer, should the need arise.

She took over the newspaper delivery round of the man who was called to the Front, and rain or shine, in all weathers, she went out making sure the houses of the community received their daily papers.  She learned to cook on a budget of rationed food, and I still have some of her handwritten recipes {see, if the photography was working I could have shared them} and continued to make hedgerow wines, such as blackberry, as well as making use of every scrap of vegetable peelings into a variety of palatable drinks. She did 'make do and mend' long before it was fashionable. Nothing went to waste until every last ounce of use was squeezed out, and then some!

Also, during WWII, she, with a group of friends, organised a weekly Friday night dance in the local community hall for the squadrons of Royal Air Force {RAF} personnel stationed locally. She became an active member of the local branch of the {Women's} Royal British Legion and remained so until her death.

After the war, she became housekeeper at the local Deanery.  She lived with her husband {the Cathedral Verger and Caretaker} and my mother, first in the caretaker's house by the cemetery, and later in a cottage close to the Deanery {which came with the job of housekeeper}.  During her time in the Deanery, Their Royal Highnesses Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh visited. My Grandmother prepared, cooked, and baked the refreshments, and due to short staffing also waited upon the royal party.  The Duke was particularly taken with her skills as a pastry cook, and delighted in her Cheese Straws, asking if he could have more!  She was an active member of the local branch of the Mothers' Union for many years, and was an integral part of a team women who work so hard behind the scenes to present sumptuous teas and buffets to visiting chapter, and other church and community groups on high days and holidays, such as Easter and Whitsun.

I would love to have her back, to share the gardening days growing and tending for plants and flowers in our garden ~~~ she would love the new garden, I am sure, at the new cottage.  I do regret that I did not write down the knowledge she imparted to me.  It wasn't the sort of thing I thought to do as a child, and she was gone before I realised the value of doing so.  Some I remember, much is lost.  For this, I am deeply sad, but keep her near in my heart and memory for the wonderful person she was, and every so often I remember some snippet of wisdom she gave me.  

Gentle Reader ~~~ little has happened in the Garden this week, and the reason for a lazy Sunday is that, once again, I have pulled my back and must rest, taking things easy to allow myself time to heal.  I have managed to keep on picking courgettes ~ which have gone into end of season overdrive ~ the tomatoes, I hope, will start to ripen again {for they have slowed down drastically in the recent bad weather} and I picked my last cutting of salad leave and my first picking of Swiss Chard {very small, but the more you cut, the more new stems are encouraged}.

For now, I will leave you with some images from recent years ~~~ there isn't a flower that my Grandmother didn't love, and many of them are shown here ~~~ let's begin with a beautiful clematis in her favourite colour of purple ~~~ 

These are Rose Bay Willow Herbs, known to me as 'The Lovelies' which was Nanna's favourite nickname for them after seeing bank after bank of them on a train journey one day ~~~

All is safely gathered in ~~~ I love to watch the harvest in progress across the land ~~~

Ferns of any kind were loved by Nanna too ~~~

She would have loved this place, a hidden secret in the walled cloisters of the cathedral ~~~

Few things say Autumn more loudly and clearly than the fruits that are ripe for the picking, such as these giant rosehips ~~~

Another of Nanna's favourites ~~~ the happy, friendly, always gently nodding pansies ~~~

I know she would have loved the clashing hot colours of these lilies and roses as much as I do ~~~

I am not a particular fan of annuals, such as these petunias, but I know Nanna sowed seeds of annuals continually for that splash of colour in a border ~~~

Purple Monkshood {Aconitum} ~~~ her favourite colour and mine!

One of my favourite, shady spots to sit, but I do not think I ever saw Nanna sit down in the garden, other than at three o'clock for a break and a cup of tea, for she was always doing something ~~~

I know she would have adored this dwarf clematis as much as I do ~~~

I know you all are very familiar with my Frances E Lester rambling rose, which brings me much pleasure, and which I bought in Nanna's memory.  She adored roses, especially ramblers, and her first name was Frances ~~~

She always left plants to seed and sow themselves wherever they willed ~~~ and so do I ~~~ with another of her favourites ~ the sweet, shy violet ~~~

Again, like me, she loved many so~called weeds ~~~ such as this beautiful Morning Glory, growing rampant and often cursed in the Garden, but also bringing such beauty with the pristine, white blooms in late Summer and early Autumn ~~~

There I shall leave you, Gentle Reader ~~~ until next time, remember ~~~ 

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~

Autumn Begins to Fall ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ It gladdens my heart and soul to feel the very air so full of Autumnal change as the ground prepares to rest awhile.  Leaves on trees and shrubs are still green, but there are noticeable changes, some so small that many of us are too busy to notice them as we go about our daily lives, but I look out for, and notice, every subtle change from day to day, as the garden changes her mood and mantle, and that most glorious season of them all descends. 

With profound apologies, in advance, this entry is words only and no photography.  There is a new laptop {much needed} in the cottage and I have yet to work out how to load my photographs on to it.  My old laptop was purchased in 2007, so there are many changes with which to grapple, and many are beyond my ken!  I am plodding on regardless, as one must do with advancing technology, but until now I thought that clouds were ethereal entities that float by on a gentle breeze; or scud wildly across the sky in a storm; or create the amazing and magical {and that I long to see in person} beauties such as Lenticular clouds that swaddle high mountain tops; or provide amusing entertainment when we guess the shape; but ~~~ this week "Cloud" takes on a whole new definition!  It is a function I am not all together convinced I am comfortable with, or will use.  At the moment, I am ignoring it as I explore the new machine.  At least I am online, and for that I am grateful, despite the frustration of new technology and programmes to get used to.

Speaking of new definitions of words, I am currently reading Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and my interest was piqued at the use of one particular word I came across yesterday ~ how the meanings of words can change ~~~ for those of you who know the book, or for those of you who wish to find it,  it is very near the start of chapter 23, and addresses the imminent graduation ceremony ~ where the graduating students are "nobility . . . travellers with exotic destinations on their minds . . . remarkably forgetful . . . came to school without their books, or tablets, or even pencils".  My eye was drawn immediately to the word "tablet" and I thought of the meaning given to it by Maya Angelou, ~a pad of paper for taking notes~, and the meaning we would give to it today ~a hand held device for connecting to the internet~ how our lives have changed!  A word in a book written in the late 1960's, published in the 1970's, about a world decades earlier and here we are a few decades on and, while the original meaning is still quite valid, how many reading that passage today would relate to the correct meaning?  How many reading that, without a second thought, would think that the children of Maya Angelou's graduating class owned a tablet device?  Both tablets are for the same basic need ~communication~ but they are as chalk and cheese in function.  I'd love to know what you think ~ and I know it is just me playing around with words and their meanings ~~~ sometimes I think I need a different kind of tablet to calm me down a bit!  

So, two familiar words, two old friends, "cloud" and "tablet" arrive in the twenty~first century ~~~

Shall we return to the Garden?  Pull on your 'wellibobs' and a shower proof jacket, for there is a gentle rain falling {although much worse is forecast for the coming week ~ let us not go there yet}.  Very little ~~~other than general tidying up and clearing away pots of plants past their best~~~ is happening as the garden winds slowly down into the imminent days of 'official' Autumn just around the corner.  According to different sources, Autumn begins, officially,on different days ~ the Met Office says September 1st, Almanacs and other sources say on the Autumn Equinox on September 23 this year.  The link will take you to a list of equinox and solstice dates and times up until 2020.  I say it begins on that first day when, upon waking, the air feels different ~ the searing heat of Summer is abating and the cooler air of Autumn, with a subtle scent, unique and solely belonging to Autumn, has arrived.  For me, that day usually happens, blissfully, in early August and I just run with it ~~~ 

Courgettes and tomatoes are continuing to yield, and this very morning I came in with my arms filled with six large courgettes ~ not quite the 'dreaded marrow mutants' but well on their way to becoming those monsters that somehow escape detection so, it could well be that, courgette chutney is made in the next day or two.  I do hope so, for I love that during the Winter months, especially in a cheese or nut roast sandwich, or with dishes that contain strongly flavoured cheeses, such as Cheddar or Stilton.  Mmmmmmm ~ hungry now! Although the harvesting continues, the ripening process seems to have slowed down quite rapidly, so I am hoping for the warmer days of an Indian Summer to happen in September or I shall be seeking out a recipe for green tomato chutney too ~~~

Rosy red apples hang on the boughs and are nearly ready for picking ~~~ few things surpass the eating of a freshly picked apple, sweet and juicy, still warm from the Autumn sun that kissed it into ripeness ~~~

Days lie ahead, full of mugs brimming with steaming hot chocolate; lunches and suppers of warming, filling soups and stews that stick to your ribs; sweaters, scarves and hats; my much loved fingerless mittens in gorgeous Fair Isle patterns; leaves of turning colours; stomping through crunchy fallen leaves; searching for conkers; foraging for berries ~~~ oh! how I love blissful Autumn, and just like this, a favourite quote from "Anne of Green Gables" ~~~

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs" 'I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."

Now for a small announcement, for the followers of my Facebook page that is linked to this blog.  With regret, I am closing that page. I have been on an extended Facebook sabbatical for many weeks now and I am finding it increasingly difficult to return, and find time in my days to fit in everything that I must do; therefore, as my Facebook page also no longer meets my writing needs, I will not be posting there in future. I wish to thank those of you who have stayed with me on the Facebook journey, and I know that I will lose followers on Facebook because of this decision, but I truly hope that some of you who follow me there will sign up here instead ~~~ 

Gentle Reader, as I close for today, I am sipping the most delicious Autumn flavoured tea  from my new Emma Bridgewater Woodland Trust mug as I type ~~~ one of life's simple pleasures ~ tea from a special cup or mug ~ remembering that, despite a welcome break today ~~~ 

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~

Goodbye Bertha ~ Hello Super Moon ~

Gentle Reader ~~~ Bertha blew and played a tune of the wind as it blows, and the trees danced like dervishes, whirling and twirling on the wildly wuthering wind of the west ~~~ later, as the storm passed by, the sky in its wake lightened and brightened and, as the sun set on the weary grey day, the sky lit up, a blaze of contrasting colour as the sun said Goodnight {and goodbye} to Bertha ~~~

A short while on and the August Full Moon, a Super Moon and the second Super Moon of three in a row this year {a rare phenomenon indeed} peeked above the houses and climbed steadily into the sky ~ up and up and up she rose into the deeply darkening night sky ~ high above the rooftops and the chimneys of the drowsing cottages and nodding trees in The Shire, sailing into the sea of night above the tree~lined shores below, bestowing upon us the silver light of a full moon night ~~~ 

On again, on again, on until morning she sails through the ocean of night, on again 'til the last star still shining is tucked up in bed and the sun peeks over the edge of the world, arising again, shining again, showering golden light again over The Shire ~~~

~~~ and the relentless, endless chase begins again ~~~