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!!!***

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~~~

Dragons, Butterflies, and more cake ideas ~~~

Gentle Reader ~ it has been warm and humidly hot at times in the Garden this week so I have been doing very little other than necessary tasks such as watering and harvesting.  It has been too hot for it to be comfortable outside when working up a sweat ~~~ so I have spent time in my craft room this week ~~~ today is much cooler though so I have been outside preparing an area ready to receive the two butternut squash plants in a week or two ~~~

Meanwhile, the tiny Swiss Chard plantlets already show signs of the beautiful jewel~like colours that will brighten the garden in Autumn and maybe even in to Winter ~ I am looking forward to eating the stems, cooked, and served in a homemade four cheese sauce~oh! yummy ~~~

I do not know, but I think Swiss Chard is of the same family as beetroot because the seeds looked very similar, little gnarly things, and now they are growing they look very like the beets that are in another area ~~~

The tomato harvest, although small is delicious, and every two days there are enough to add to my salad bowl.  They are fresh and taste properly of tomatoes ~ I love how my hands have that tomatoey smell on them when I am picking them from the vines.

Mother Nature provides the best camouflage ~~~ the plot is jumping with grasshoppers, it has been like this for weeks when hundreds of tiny grasshoppers appeared all over the garden.  Now, there are not as many {for there are hungry birds and other predators in the garden} but they are much bigger and they provide the backing music to the buzzy bumble bees busily harvesting pollen ~~~ you don't see the grasshoppers, you hear them, until, that is, they leap from their hiding place because they think you got too close ~~~ then off they leap in a bound and away ~~~

Perfect camouflage, don't you think?  Can you see the Grasshopper?

There it is! If not for that tiny flash of orangey brown, it would be very hard to spot indeed ~~~

The courgettes are harvesting well now and I have them for my supper most evenings.  It is important to pick them regularly or they will stop producing fruit.  Did you know that the courgette plant produces male and female flowers?  This is a male courgette flower ~~~

and this is a female one ~~~

which bears the fruits ~~~

while the male just sits there looking pretty ~ however, for the overall benefit of the plant, and to aid in production of more female, fruit bearing flowers, it is a good idea to remove the male flowers as soon as possible ~~~

The garden is absolutely alive with dragonflies ~ naturally, I am thrilled, for I counted as many as fifteen whizzing around, darting hither and thither and then I gave up trying because there are just too many of them to try to count as they flit about at such a speed ~~~ did you know that one of the folk lore names for them is the Devil's Darning Needle?  I think we can all see why!  It was the answer to one of the questions on a television quiz show earlier in the week {I do love quiz shows!} ~~~

I love this shot and am quite chuffed with it.  Other than re-sizing for posting purposes it is unedited and is exactly how it came out of the sd card, not cropped in any way ~~~

It sat for a while ~ as do we with our tea and cakes ~ so I zoomed out to get this one too ~~~

at a jaunty angle it sits ~~~

It looks very 'knowing' don't you think? ~~~

Butterflies have appeared more slowly this year ~ I wonder if it was the very wet winter? ~~~ the Gatekeeper, here, is one of my favourites and often accompanies me around the berry patch ~~~

The wing looks like brushed suede or velvet ~~~

Such a pretty marked creature ~~~

Busy Buzzy Bees make me happy ~ all sorts of bees but especially big, fuzzy wuzzy Bumble Bees ~~ Bee~utiful! My name is Hebrew for bee ~ and my spirit soars when I wander off into the garden and hear them buzzing as they go busily about their business of gathering pollen and fertilising all the plants, flower, fruit, and vegetables in the garden ~ there I could stay all day listening, eyes closed driftin' and dreamin', or eyes wide open watching them ~ a hive of industry ~ have you ever stopped and listened ~ I mean *really* listened to their music? It is as varied as any symphony you will hear, for each bee sings their own sweet song ~~~

For those of you who read my previous entry, where I baked cake, here is a little update for you.  I have now made the cake three more times and really like putting the fruit in the bottom of the pan and pouring the batter over the fruit, like an upside~down cake.  I also added a generous teaspoon of powdered ginger to the flour and made the lemon syrup as shown on the recipe page to make a yummy lemon and ginger cake.   The parish vicar was here this afternoon and he is a big fan of my Rose Geranium plant.  He was very disappointed to see it wasn't in his favourite spot by the front door {where he bruises the leaves to release the heady fragrance} I had to tell him it is currently in the process of being cut back and re~potted.  I suddenly remembered seeing a recipe where the leaves of the rose, or lemon, scented geraniums are used to line cake pans before pouring in the batter and baking so that they impart the most heavenly fragrance to the baked cake.  So, no prize for guessing what I'm baking tomorrow!  I shall let you know how it turns out.  

The soft fruit picking is nearly at an end now, so maybe I will have more time to browse the Spring Bulb catalogues as very soon the time will be upon us for planting all the bulbs that make the garden so pretty in Spring ~~~ in the meantime, remember ~~~

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

Raspberry Jam

Gentle Reader ~~~ raspberries galore means one of my most favourite jams is being made ~ the first batch of the season ~ in my kitchen this morning.

Usually, I pick small quantities of berries each morning and freeze them in small batches to make jam in the winter months ~~ this is a lovely thing to do during the dark, cold days of winter, when the winds are howling around the corners of my cottage, and the sun struggles to lift it's head out of bed, for it fills the cottage with the fragrant scents of summer berries and warmth, and gives something extra delicious to spread on toast or to fill a Victoria sponge.

I came to preserving several years ago when five courgette plants gave an incredible yield of fruits and that is when I found out how many people do not actually like courgettes {knock me down with a feather! I love courgettes!} and I could not give them away for love nor money.  I reckon that people who don't like courgettes have not had them properly cooked ~ they have had them as a watery mess either boiled {as I have seen some folks do, and I would not like them either} or in a badly made ratatouille {of which I ate my share in the 1980's} Now, don't get me wrong, I love ratatouille, but I like it a certain way and not full of overcooked, mushy vegetables.  More on that another time.  So, what to do with a glut of courgettes ~ even someone with my love of this fruit can only eat so many and it did not take long for my salad box to be overflowing.

Then, as serendipity would have it, I stumbled across a National Trust book that had a recipe for "Polesden Lacey's Courgette Chutney"  I'd never thought of preserving them, to be honest I thought there was a mystery beyond my ken for preserving.  The recipe looked easy enough, so I acquired a copy and off to my kitchen I went ~~ within a few hours I had made my first ever batch of chutney, my first ever attempt at making anything preserved at all.  I was over my mental block!  I put up jar upon jar upon jar that Autumn and suddenly I had no room in my kitchen store cupboards for anything else so I started, with a little trepidation, to give jars away.  I was anxious because I was giving this courgette chutney to people who did not like courgettes, and it was my first batch so it was up for judgement too!  To my immense relief everyone loved it!  Since then, it has become a big hit in my home made Christmas hampers that I give to friends and relatives too.  The rest as they say, is history.

These days, I make chutneys, pickles, jams, jellies, and all sorts of preserves.  My most favourite things to make are, naturally, preserving with things I grow myself.  I've invested in a proper preserving pan, I got mine from Lakeland Ltd, and they have a good range of preserving equipment.  Of course, other sources for supplies are available!

My recipe for jam is simple, and it is roughly the same whatever fruit I am using.  For every one pound of fruit use one pound of sugar.  How simple is that?

Here is my recipe for Raspberry Jam ~~

3lb of freshly picked, slightly under~ripe raspberries

3lb of sugar {I use preserving sugar which has added pectin to aid the setting}

You will need a preserving pan or large heavy bottomed saucepan, baking tray, sugar thermometer, ladle, wide mouth metal funnel {optional} sterilised jam jars and lids, wax paper lids {optional}, and labels.

•  Pick the fruit over to remove any hulls and debris.  Place in a preserving pan and warm very gently to release the juices and cook the fruit ~ about 20 minutes.  

• While this is happening, warm the sugar on a shallow tray in a low oven {this helps speed up the cooking time and ~hopefully~ stops the fruit breaking down so the jam has pieces of fruit in it}

• Add the warmed sugar to the cooked fruit and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a rapid boil and boil until 'setting point' is reached.  I use a jam thermometer with the setting marked.

• While the jam is reaching setting point, wash your jars and lids in warm, soapy water, rinse well and dry, and place on a baking tray in a low oven to sterilise the jars and lids.

• When the jam is ready, allow to cool slightly before carefully ladling into the sterilised jars.  A wide mouth metal funnel is very useful for this.  Place a waxed paper disk {if using} on top of the hot jam to help create an airtight seal.  Place the lid on and lightly screw down, tightening fully when the jars of jam are cool enough to handle.

Oh, and it is a good idea to have a few spare plates on hand to catch all the drippy bits!  You can eat these later, on fresh, crusty bread ~ cook's perks!

• Label with the date and store in a cool, dry place.  Jam can be eaten immediately, but is better after about a month to mature, and keeps for a year, or longer {it never lasts that long in this cottage}

As this batch is not for gifting, I used ordinary, recycled jam jars, but if giving as gifts use pretty or unusual jars, if you have them, and make hand~written labels and cloth covers for the lids and tie using pretty ribbon, raffia, or twine.

Remember ~~~ 

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

Silken Threads and Crystals

Gentle Reader~~~as the true start of Summer approaches, the days are noticeably warmer and gentle breezes blow, with short, sharp and unexpected showers of thundery rain~~each morning the garden greets me in a glistening garment of silken threads sprinkled with sparkling crystals.  Sometime during the night, spiders spun their magic weaving across the bushes and trees and finest strands of silk float out across the garden.  The dew, like fairies tears, glistens and glimmers~~but wait a while and all disappears as the rising sun warms the grateful earth and all is as if they were never there, now trapped in the memory of my mind, like a ghost of a whisper at dawn~~~

I have only one allium left in the garden now, so it stands, a solitary sentinel of the ranks that once looked so proud and upright amidst the frothy acid green Alchemilla Mollis.  I do so like to photograph it in macro, filling the frame with it's spiky silvery~purpleness as each new day brings more of it's crown of stars to fulfilment.  I just love the green and purple combination~~~

The courgettes {zucchini} are growing from strength to strength each day now and there are ten small plants today ~~~

 

Golden rosebuds burst open, gently kissed by the morning dew ~~~

 

And strange creatures invade the garden too!  This is a Hummingbird Hawk moth Caterpillar ~~~ a scary looking creature and quite the ugly bug, but weirdly beautiful in it's uniqueness too, helping warn off hungry birds ready for a juicy snack ~~~

 

A warty toad ~~~ but I am worried that I haven't seen that many in the garden at all this year ~~~

 

The current bane of my gardening life!  The beautiful, yet so destructive, Mullein Moth Caterpillar~~~such pretty markings, but will demolish my Verbascum {Mullein} overnight!  They are voracious giants too, reaching about four inches long with appetites to match ~~~

 

Oedemera nobilis, also known as the False Oil Beetle, Thick-Legged Flower Beetle on a wild white Morning Glory~~~

 

A well camouflaged moth hides on the stone wall of the cottage~~hoping to remain unseen~~~

 

 

While a big Great Tit watches, waiting to swoop for a feed!

Here are some small and very pretty flowers.  I must find out what they are, for they are very sweet and delicate.  The seed freely in amongst the stones and borders in yellow, pale and deep blue, with miniature sword~like leaves~~~

 

This is quaking grass~~~a prolific self~sower that is now everywhere in my garden!  The original was given to me by my Aunty Non who passed away a few years ago~~~but her gardening legacy grows on in the gardens of many across the village and The Shire~~~

 

Finally, a well earned reward~~~some lovely chocolates, handmade in Wales by Sarah Bunton chocolates ~~~ I especially like the Green Tea in the dainty chocolate teacup!  How novel is that?

On that delicious morsel, I shall leave you for tonight, safe in the knowledge that ~~~ 

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