Fall in to Autumn~the Last of the Harvest ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ the days of Autumn are now well and truly upon us and we are preparing for the first storm in just a few short hours.  The forecast is for severe gale force winds, torrential rain, and later in the week thunderstorms may add their presence to the mix.  I have scurried around the garden as best as I can to quickly bring under cover all those things that will not stand up to wildly windy weather; bins and things that could blow over and away are now safely stowed in the garage.  The hatches are as battened as I can make them, but I am never fully ready for the bad weather.  

I know you know that Autumn is my favourite season of all, and I love it best for the cosy warm feeling I get decorating, sipping mugs of hot cocoa, the lengthening shadows, bonfires, bringing in the harvest, walks in the countryside, stomping through crisply crunchy leaves, and so much more ~ I don't mind the gales and rain either, although they do curtail our outdoor activities ~ what you do not know is that I do miss, deeply, in my little corner of the world, the rich colours of trees turning to gold before shedding their summer coats ~ for the winds rolling in across the Atlantic wreck their havoc before the trees have turned, and leaves, dry and burned from weeks of drought and salt laden breezes, tumble from the trees, dried brown long before the yellows, oranges, and reds take their turn ~~~ so I live this vicariously through the images of others on places such as my Pinterest boards of Autumn landscapes, pumpkins, and other Blissful Autumn themed images ~~~

Here is a lonely leaf, falling free from the tree ~~~

As each day passes into the next, I check the vegetable garden thinking each day will be the last before Spring when there will be a gift to bring inside ~~~ well, those days go on and on ~~~ each day I found something more to harvest ~ for everything is a bonus at this time of year ~~~

I was delighted to find a small pick of tomatoes, a small treat of raspberries, a fair few courgettes and a plentyful bowlful of cooking apples ~~~

The courgettes are bigger than I like, why, one is a 'dreaded marrow courgette' that escapes detection until the very last, and although not as delicious as the tender, younger, smaller fruits it will not waste for it can be stuffed with lentils and a served in a home made tomato sauce ~~~

Then again, a few days later ~ there were more ~~~

Courgettes, the very last of the carrots, and some delightfully red eating apples ~~~

The courgettes gave so generously ~ right up until yesterday! So, I have been busy putting up yet more stores for the winter ~~~ isn't it wonderful?

Then, just yesterday, when I thought all was safely gathered in, and with the warnings of imminent severe gales {why, I can hear the winds beginning to gather momentum outside my cottage as I type ~ believe me, they have not been missed} I picked the last few very small courgettes that will not ripen now, and cleared the stems and leaves of the plants to put in the compost bin, I found these ~ a big fistful of tiny baby beets that had escaped earlier detection as they hid and sheltered underneath the big leaves of the courgettes ~ so there was a delightful bonus on the last day of the Autumn harvest! ~~~

While out and about on the byways and back roads of the Shire there are blackberries on brambles, berrilicious goodness ~~~

Pies, cordials, jams and jellies, blackberry wine ~~~
Just look at all those colours ~~~

Hawthorn berries, fiddly to eat and with a big stone and little flesh, although delicious, I leave for the birds and mice ~~~

Aren't they beautiful, how they just hang so invitingly ~~~

The stream is running dry, but after this weekend the water level will rise substantially and all the trout will be happy again ~~~

I think I found a Faerie House ~~~ 

I waited, but no one was home ~ or came to call ~~~

As ever, sunsets are a special and spectacular gift and this one was no different except that I put a filter on {and now forget which one, so cannot tell you}

Here is a link to the church yard that my Great Grandfather used to have to cut by hand ~ this is only a small part, and my mother tells me he did it all with a scythe ~~~ can you imagine that?

It was a gently grey and dampening day, you can hear the rainfall pitter pattering on the leaves and the birdsong that is omni~present in The Shire ~~~ so calming and restorative ~~~ before the walk back up that hill!

A little advance news to end on ~ I am thinking to plant onion sets this month and see if I can crop an early harvest next Spring ~ something I have never done before ~ but more on this later ~~~ in the meantime, Gentle Reader, remember that ~~~

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

***DO NOT EAT ANYTHING YOU FIND IN THE COUNTRYSIDE UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN WHAT YOU ARE PICKING!!!***