Slipping into Autumn ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ a very quick dip in and out today ~~~ and a warm welcome to all the new followers who have joined in the last two weeks! I hope you enjoy my ramblings, and help yourself to tea and cake ~of course, all cake is calorie free here~

Here in The Shire Summer simply has not happened, and is more like a damp squib. Until a fortnight or so ago it was more Spring~like, and even then not as warm as Spring should be. The truth is, I am still having the heating on very first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening ~~~ yes, it is that chilly!  Sturdy breezes and stiff winds have blown almost every day, so there has been no respite from my hair flying about my face each time I step outside my cottage door. One major benefit, though, is the winds dry lines full of laundry in record time! Hurrah!

Vintage Table Linens Blowing Dry on an Early Spring Day at the Cottage

Here is a video of the sounds of the relentless winds blowing around the shrubs trees in a neighbouring garden to the Cottage ~~~

{isn't that buddleia magnificent?}

So, for the past fortnight or so, as the sun now sinks noticeably lower in the sky, the evenings already draw in, and the lights are switched on an hour earlier now than a month ago, my thoughts turn to Autumn. Each morning, as I step outside, the air is cooler, the light is softer, and there is that certain feeling to the air that words cannot describe, but my heart knows that Autumn is a knocking at the door, gently reminding Summer that her days are nearly over for another year {but Summer went on holiday, didn't she? So, Autumn, come on in!}

The bees are buzzing lazily about the garden, flitting from bloom to bloom, gathering the pollen for the hive ~~~ and I find I cannot wait a moment longer to begin unpacking my Autumn boxes ~~~ so away to Spider Village I go {the attic} and bring down the first one, the one that contains the Autumn mugs.  I will hold off for another month before I decorate, for I know it is too much for some ~ and the mugs are a subtle introduction that make me happy, and few will realise that I'm slipping into Autumn mode today {~~~shhh! it is our little secret}

Here they are, I now have four Emma Bridgewater mugs of Autumn theme, so it was bye bye to Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny, and Rose and Bee, my Summer mugs, and welcome Autumn patterns ~~~

~~~ Pumpkins, Foliage, Sunflowers ~~~
and a limited edition {centre front} sold to raise funds for The Woodland Trust

While I was washing them, I thought I'd take a photo of some of the marks that are put on the base to identify them as by Emma Bridgewater.  Look how many different ones there are ~~~ apparently, she designs different ones for each collection, and changed them every year! My goodness ~ there must be hundreds of different ones to know ~~~

Potter's Marks over the years

Do you decorate for Autumn? Do you have any special things you use, recipes, ornaments, traditions?  It is a time for many things I love ~ pumpkins, hot chocolate, reading, bonfires on the beach {wrap up warm, Thermos of hot soup} but here is a bonfire on the beach in August on Martha's Vineyard, for this is the August image for my Susan Branch 2015 wall calendar.

Summer on Martha's Vineyard  ©Susan Branch 

Soon there will be a new book too, by Susan Branch, "The Fairy Tale Girl" available for pre~order here.  I hope to have my copy in time for Christmas.

Well, Dear Friends, I did say this was a quick dip in and out today, and I have already overstayed my time! Until the next time ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah

Getting the Tea and Cake in Order ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ The weather in The Shire, in fact across much of the British Isles, today is appalling, so it is a day for taking my mind off the winds that howl around the cottage in their most unseasonal manner, accompanied by heavy rains of the same ilk ~~~ To the kitchen I go for a spot of comfort and distraction by baking cakes for the freezer.  Before I go, shall I reflect for a moment upon that most British traditional supplementary repast ~~~ Tea and Cake?

A gardener, or a crafter, or anyone who simply appreciates Elevenses as that most sacred of mid~morning rituals of refreshment, must get their priorities in order ~~~ ensuring a proper and constant supply of tea and cake.

To this end, last week, it was with shock and horror I realised that my tea chest was starting to resemble the cupboard of Old Mother Hubbard ~~~ looking rather bare ~~~

~~~ so I hastily put in an order to Twinings for more supplies, which thankfully arrived quickly ~~~

and now all is well, the tea chest is full to overflowing once more, with plenty of boxes in store {but I am sure they will not last that long, are you?} There are plenty of my favourites, Gingerbread Green Tea, Apple and Cinnamon Black Tea, as well as a new flavour, Cherry Bakewell ~~~ I'll let you know!

There, doesn't this look better?

In celebration of approaching Autumn, I treated myself to a new 'Autumn' mug {I buy one every year} in the Emma Bridgewater Summer Sale ~~~ the Sunflower half pint; Oh! My! while I was shopping, a Rose and Bee teacup somehow slipped into my cart as well ~~~ but I think it is just the perfect shape for hot chocolate in the cooler months ahead, don't you?

To the Most Important Matter of Cake ~~~ some considerable time ago, I came across a Delia Smith recipe that I wished to try, but could not find one of the key ingredients, Coconut Milk Powder. I then espied it on a well known online retail shop {I refuse to speak the name out loud} at an exorbitant price for a rather absurdly large quantity of a kilogram, when all I needed was three tablespoons! Well, that was no good so the wait was on.  I put on my Patience Hat.  Then, one day, as if by magic, the ingredient drifted on to my computer screen while I was looking for something else ~~~ a reasonable quantity at an acceptable price, so I snapped it up!  Cake baking ~~~ here we come!

So, today I can make the Fresh Lime and Coconut Cake ~~~ courtesy of Delia Smith's recipe here.  Off to the kitchen I go ~~~ Emily is ready to help ~~~

~~~ time passes ~~~~

The result is that it made an oddly shallow sponge which did not rise at all. Comparing it to the image in the book, Delia's Cakes, {below} Delia's didn't rise either ~~~ so I think it is how it is meant to be ~~~

Anyway, here it is ~~~

As you can see, I ran out of limes, and frankly it did not appeal to me to have raw lime zest, or wedges of pure, unsweetened limes decorating the cake ~~~ bit too tart, I think, so if I bake this again I will devise something more acceptable to my palette for decoration ~~~ I also made the icing slightly thicker as I did not want it running off the cake as Delias does ~~~

If I make it again, I will be making some serious tweaks to the recipe, not least increasing the eggs, flour, sugar, and butter to give a fatter sponge!

Even though it's a bit too fresh to cut, I could not resist temptation, so I took a small slice to test it ~ someone has to do it!  Frankly, it is disappointingly bland considering there are three fresh limes therein! Maybe it will improve after a day or two, so I'll let you know next time how it tastes.

Until next time,
Sincerely yours,
Deborah

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~~~

Blissful Rain ~~~ Introducing Whilber ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ Are you like me ~~~ totally and completely besotted and obsessed with that most enchanting of all the seasons

~~~ Blissful Autumn ~~~ 

Are you impatient, and cannot wait for the days of heady Summer heat to cool to more bearable warmth, for the leaves to turn colour and fall from the trees, for the days of hot chocolate, mittens and scarves, and long walks in the countryside of the turning year?   

I could not wait a moment longer, and as soon as I was able to turn the page on my Susan Branch 2014 wall calendar, {I have just ordered my 2015 ones} so I have changed the background here on our little corner of The Shire to one of my lovely sunflowers pictures from previous years and the colour scheme is now more Autumnal too ~~~ soon I will put an Autumn themed header in too, but for now there is one of the corner with all the oregano and lavender in ~~~ I hope you like the changes ~~~

The sky, grey and gloomy, heavily humid for days, emptied blissful rain upon the earth, and all is glistening and fresh, the dust of weeks is washed away, the air this morning cooler, clearer, and all together very pleasant indeed, despite the sky still overcast.  The grass, dry, parched, and brown, will soon be growing green again and the Garden is cleansed and refreshed by beautiful, blissful raindrops ~~~ sometimes gentle, sometimes heavy and torrential ~~~ as you will see from the amount of water collected in Whilber {oh, I do not believe you have met Whilber, so, Gentle Reader, may I introduce Whilber?}

Whilber is one of two Welsh names for wheelbarrow ~ the other being berfa ~ so Whilber is what I have called my wheelbarrow. This one is actually Whilber III but we do not upset Whilber by adding the numbers to his name.  He is just "Whilber" ~~~ and I could not be without Whilber's help in the garden, for he carries many heavy loads for me, compost, rocks and stones, even when I have many bits and bobs to move from one spot to another, Whilber is my constant gardening companion and friend ~~~ 

The rain lashed against the windows of the cottage all night long, and this morning there was quite a depth of water in Whilber so I pulled out a measuring stick and there was just over four and a half inches since yesterday morning!  That is a lot of water in two days.  Of course, it isn't an official measurement, but it does go to show that the garden does not need watering today!

I took advantage of the Summer rain to pop some of my houseplants on the patio during the rain ~~~ the gentle raindrops wash away the dust that is impossible to do on such a fullness of growth on cacti, succulents, and ivy, leaving the plants refreshed and clean once more {in the Winter, I pop them in the shower, but the rain is so much better for them than chemically treated tap water} ~~~

Of course, dewdrops are everywhere this morning, and here are just a few more pictures of dewdrops on blooms and flowers ~~~

I love how things reflect in the droplets as they dangle from the plants ~~~ 

The rain will swell and ripen the few remaining raspberries in the berry patch ~~~ but picking is slowing down now and will soon be over ~~~ doesn't this look so tempting?

Small branches of bramble, laden with a promise of blackberries, bounce in the breezes that drift across the garden ~~~

Soon, the nurturing rain that fell will make it's way up the thirsty stems and swell the tiny fruits into plumptious purple jewels of fragrant berriliciousness ~~~

See how they are already in different stages ~~~ some swollen and darkening to ruby red and the colours of wine, others just behind but still green, and some only just starting to form as berries ~~~ all will be picked and turned into my very favourite Apple and Blackberry Crumble, served with lashings of custard ~~~ if the pick is good, then Blackberry Jelly will be made too! 

Oh, wouldn't this last one {above} make a wonderful colour scheme for a room?

Today, I must start the task of deadheading the lilies, to let the goodness that is in the leaves return to the bulbs and not waste the energy of the plant into making seed!  Sadly, the rain has washed away the Stargazers, so I hope the remaining tight buds will open after the rainy spell has passed us by ~~~ my reward for the job of deadheading is this ~~~ 

My September Country Living magazine {UK copy} just arrived through the letterbox and plopped on my doormat ~~~ it is my most favourite magazine, and right along side you see my most favourite mug ~ my Emma Bridgewater "Rose and Bee" mug {which I notice needs to be refilled!}  I just love the sofa on this cover, don't you?  Well, the weather will have to change very quickly if I am to do the deadheading, so I might just reward myself sooner rather than later! I am incorrigible ~~~

Whatever the weather, there is always work for the Gardener, so remember that ~~~ 

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