Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer!

My Dear Friends!

I can scarce believe it is now nearly three months since I posted anything. Truth be told, I simply have not had the energy, nor as we say in Wales, the hwyl.  I know it was not as hot here as in other parts, but even so it was hotter by a country mile more than I could handle.  I know many revelled in it, but for me, well, you can keep the Dog Days of Summer!

Thank you to those of you who chased me up during my sabbatical. 

We all had our own ways of keeping cool, and having read from a trusted source that the best possible thing to drink is simply purer water at room temperature, that is what I did.  Apparently, hot tea and icy cold drinks both cause us to use energy bringing it up or cooling it down to blood temperature.  So, I bought a 3 litre Kilner jar with a tap.  It was filled daily with freshly drawn tap water, sliced lemon, lime and mint, or lightly crushed berries.  It was pleasant to drink and helped me keep track of having sufficient water intake to maintain hydration.  Lemon and Mint makes a very refreshing drink, and even becomes festive if infused in fizzy water and made to look pretty with a few floating flowers.

Reading my previous entry, I looked forward to a bumper crop of rosehips.  This simply has not happened. The endless days of no rain for about two months, and my inability to water the garden resulted in the loss of quite a few plants across the garden, and nothing more than shrivelled husks where the delicious rose hips should have appeared. Had I been reliant on what I grew this year for food, I would have starved. Five tomatoes and two strawberries have an almost Biblical ring to it! There has been no miracle, and no feeding of five thousand!  

I believe the daisy is a Shasta Daisy, a gift from the birds {or the wind}.

The parsley did well, and cuttings of sage and rosemary too, but it was the blackberries that have been the star of the show this year. I can only pick from the front edge of the bramble patch, and given that I have put up 10lbs or so in the freezer and eaten well too, I reckon the unpicked fruits must weigh in at around another 40 or 50lbs.  

I am hoping with Charlene's help to make a few jars of Blackberry Jelly and a few of my very favourite, Jumbleberry Jam.

Late to the party, my strawberry tower {not all strawberries} seems to be suddenly waking up and I only hope that there may be some fruits to savour, despite being so late in coming.  The sudden spurt happened when the high heat began to drop.  If only they had looked this productive a month ago!

With another mini heatwave this weekend, I hold out hope, but then the weather will, apparently, become more seasonal so the berries might not ripen.  We can but wait and see!  There are two shades of pink flowers, there used to be a white one as well, but that seems to have disappeared.  They are very pretty and each is a different variety that fruit in sequence with each other.  There are lots of runners to pot up!

I'm sure I've got lots of news, but this must do for now.  Lots of catching up reading your blogs while I've been absent.

Soon, I shall be writing about Autumn, my most favoured season of all, but right now I shall share with you a piece I wrote on my other social media two days ago.

Today we bid a fond farewell to Summer and welcome that most blissful season of them all, glorious Autumn. The days to come will bring a time of gentle unwinding, a slowing down as we prepare to hibernate, to rest and recuperate, to restore. A time to let go of the old and prepare to receive the new. It is the time for recollection and for celebration. A time to simply be present and aware of the changes that are happening all around us.

It pains me greatly to say this, but I have already seen five or six promotions today for Christmas. Why must we rush through Autumn, this most special gift of a season as the year turns, as if we cannot wait to bring home the Yule log and decorate the tree with baubles and beads? This is the season of harvest, of thanksgiving, preparation and celebration. Don't rush it, slow down and immerse yourself in the beauty of the season, celebrating everything that Autumn brings, each in turn. So many days of celebration between now and late December, enjoy each one with grateful hearts and joy. As the circle of the year turns we are in Lammas, the time for reaping and harvest, of preparation for the months that lie ahead and giving thanks. Mabon, Samhain, Hallowe'en, All Saints and All Souls, Bonfire Night, the Autumn Equinox, Advent, and then Winter Solstice. All the joyful and traditional things we do, as our forebears gone before, such as gathering conkers, foraging for berries in the hedgerows, carving pumpkins and Penny for the Guy, all the delights to come before Christmas and Yule, so let's sit back and enjoy the rich diversity of the season and then take Christmas in it's turn.

Until next time

Debbie xx