No Man's Land

Hello Friends!

It's a no man's land between the seasons now; days are mostly void of colour and subtle shades of graphite wash over the fields and the valleys and the hills; the flowers of Summer and the leaves of Autumn have blown away, gone for another year, and only seed heads and skeletons remain, starkly standing against the sky, to remind us of the long gone days of Summer. Autumn days shift, and drift around us in swirling mists and Winter starts to nip at your nose and your toes.

Rain falls, often in great curtains of water, sheets of rain that fall from the cloud laden sky and often all is backlit by a pale shaft of sunlight that reminds us of that which is hidden from view

The gales of late Autumn batter us with increasing regularity and thoughts turn more and more to being indoors.  Hallowe'en decorations are down, but the seasonal pumpkins and leaves still decorate my home and will do until Thanksgiving brings this time of year to its conclusion.  Although I no longer bake a special meal, for it seems a bit odd to carry on a tradition observed from a different chapter of my life, and as a Welshwoman living in Wales I have now returned to celebrating Harvest Thanksgiving in early October, as is the way here.

Of course, a plus of all the cloudy weather means that occasionally we still see some lovely sunsets out to the west of the cottage and all the bare branched trees provide a perfect foil.

Occasionally, we have an unexpected break in the grey, late Autumn weather and we are blessed with that most precious of things, a blue skied, brightly sunny day.  Although cold, I wrapped up warm and did a few hours clearing in the garden.  These are the views to the west and north, respectively, from my future vegetable plot.

Sadly the fortnightly garden waste collection finishes this coming week, so I will have to make a corner in which to place the pernicious weeds if I am to continue clearing the garden without the bin collection.

It's Thanksgiving in America, and although we don't celebrate in Wales, I still think it's time to bring out the turkey patterned plates I found earlier this year.  Even though I am a vegetarian, they are so beautiful it is a shame not to trot them out again.  As the traditional meat for Christmas Dinner in Wales is turkey, I will keep them out through December.  

They are by Johnson Bros and are, I think, called stoneware, and look as if they are hand coloured on a transfer.

Barnyard King is the first, and the second is Wild Turkey

Soon, thoughts will turn to Christmas decorating, and I wonder how these holidays will be marked this year.  Will we be able to gather responsibly with limited numbers of close family, or will we have to stay put and celebrate responsibly and in a very different way, according to the guidelines dictated in our various regions.   However you celebrate, have as wonderful a day as you can manage while keeping everyone safe.

Some birds of a different sort now, a couple of garden birds happily foraging some forgotten apples.

Finally, despite the cooling, sunless days overall, I had quite a surprise to find these in the strawberry pots this morning.  The seasons sure are as out of kilter as the year has been.

Until next time

Stay safe and well

Deborah xoxo