Sunday 24 November 2013

Keeping warm at night

New Quilt made by Jo.  Nikon D7000
1st November 2013

Jo has been making a quilt for our bed over the last few weeks; today she finished it.

The pattern is rather stunning and I am looking forward to keeping nice and warm tonight :)

Halloween Horror

Liz carving a pumpkin.  Nikon D7000
31st October 2013

It is that day when witches and ghouls come out to play, and children prowl the streets pestering the innocent for sweets.

It is also the day that pumpkins dread.

This pumpkin was particularly unlucky as Liz decided to act out the shower scene from Psycho on it.

The pumpkin lost....

Leeks

Leeks.  Nikon D7000
30th October 2013

They are not from our garden unfortunately, but are quite impressive in size.

With the addition of a few potatoes and a little stock, a rather scrummy soup will be formed from these beauties by Jo later today.

:)  Winter is coming.

Spiky fur

Needles off the fir tree.  Nikon D7000
29th October 2013

The gales of the last few days blew a large quantity of fir needles around the garden.  Alex did try to have a bounce on the trampoline today, but soon found spikes in his feet.

Xena's fir is much softer and nicer to stroke.

Falling Fast

'Gale Falls'.  Nikon D7000
28th October 2013

After the storm last night, there were no trees down in the garden, but many of the trees had a distinct lack of leaves and fruit.

The apples normally fall slowly over quite a period, but last night most were dumped without ceremony by the gale-force winds.

Looks like it might be crumble again tonight :)

Starting to Turn

Fig leaf going yellow.  Nikon D7000
27th October 2013

Although we have not had any frost yet, the few chilly nights we have had recently have been enough to cause the fig tree to start to change colour.

The sun was out and shining through the yellowing leaves, creating quite a sight.

Once the leaves drop, at least we will be able to see out of the window and down the garden again!

Last Daisy

Last Daisy.  Nikon D7000
26th October 2013

Some of the leaves are falling in the garden now, yet this last daisy seems to be struggling on.

It looks quite lonely on its own now; I did try telling it that it was not long until Summer is back again, but I do not think it believed me.

Fresh Chickens

The two new chickens posing.  Nikon D7000
25th October 2013

The two new chickens we added to the flock back in the summer are getting much more friendly and also laying eggs.

Jalfrezi (left) and Vindaloo (right) seem to be quite content now at scratching around and finding tasty morsels to convert into eggs.

Hopefully they will keep laying until the others start up again in the new year.

The favourite ones

Some biscuits go faster than others.  Nikon D7000
24th October 2013

When opening a new box of crackers, some of the selection may not even make it as far as being graced by a slice of cheese.

This box was no exception with the little round ones proving to be decidedly delicious :)

Fresh Walnuts

Fresh walnut, cracked and peeled.  Nikon D80
23rd October 2013

The walnuts in the park are ready now.  Fresh walnuts are always fun as not only do you crack the shell, but it is worth peeling the kernel inside.

My sense of taste still has not returned since my bout of Flu at the end of last month, so I have not worried about the bitter taste of the walnut skin.

It does stain rather though.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn Berries.   Fuji F10
22nd October 2013

As Autumn creeps ever Southward, the leaves are beginning to turn and the berries are becoming more visible.

The Hawthorn at the bottom of the field seems to have a profuse amount of fruit this year for the birds to feast on.

I did try making Hawthorn jelly the other year, but I think I will give it a miss this Autumn (it was quite grim).

Getting your ducks all in a row

Bath time ducks.  Fuji F10
21st October 2013

There were ducks all over the bath today so I could not resist aligning them for a picture.

I picked the best 5; whoever painted the eyes on some of the ducks was either drunk, or longed to work as a makeup artist on a horror film.

Lace Work

Hostas after the slugs have dined.  Nikon D7000
20th October 2013

The slugs seemed to be avoiding the Hostas by the pond for most of the summer, which seemed a little strange.

They have returned to their usual form now and dined with glee on the succulent leaves.

The lacey structures they have left though do have a beauty in their own right; but not as satisfying as looking at a skewer with a collection of slugs on it :)

7 years bad luck?

Lizzy's phone screen in repair.  Nikon D80
19th October 2013

Liz has a deep connection with her phone; it seems to be grafted to her person for most of the day.

It had a small accident however a few days ago and came into contact with the floor at high speed.

I know breaking a mirror is meant to be bad luck, but I have now had the misfortune of having to replace the glass so that she can text and Facebook her compatriots once more.

Replacing a screen is an easy job when you are watching the video on You-Tube; quite a different matter when it is your own fingers in amongst a mass of broken glass, glue and expensive electronics.  I did make her help though.

Whats long and hairy ...

Hairy Caterpillar.  Nikon D80
18th October 2013

This little chap was having fun inching its way across a Russet today.  It seems to be quite late in the year for caterpillars to be out and about, but he seemed content.

I did avoid touching it though as I remember a brush with a similar critter when I was a kid left my hand quite sore and itchy.

Moss

Moss.  Nikon D80
17th October 2013

With having a busy year at work, there are many small corners of the garden that are 'doing their own thing'.

The cupstands I made many years ago (15 or 16 ish years) are starting to look a touch tired now.  They seem to be playing host to a rather splendid crop of moss.

It will take a while before there is enough for a Christmas wreath though.

Considering Custard

Fallen Apple.  Nikon D7000
16th October 2013

The apples on the trees are starting to fall now; it is that time of year again when I can feel good about my apple crumble and custard for supper as it is using the bounty from the garden.

The apple here is of a variety called 'Katy' and this year, seems to have faired well with only minimal effects of sunburn causing black spots all over the apple skin.

It must have been the lack of overnight rain this summer.

Blowing a Raspberry

Cakes with added Raspberry.  Nikon D7000
15th October 2013

Jo has been baking today.  Although at first sight the Raspberry element looks more like a bullet hole, apparently the cakes are rather delicious.

I am told they are even better when the hole in the Raspberry is filled with lemon curd.

The speed with which they disappeared certainly vouches for their scrummyness!

Quiet Conversation

Figures on the Welsh dresser.  Nikon D7000
14th October 2013

There are many items around the house that just seem to 'melt' into the background and often get gently forgotten about.   Today I thought that two of the small items in our house deserved attention.

The two little figures stand quietly on the dresser in the kitchen, chatting away.  Their conversation has been going quite some time now but they still seem content.   They have a long history to chat about as we are not their first owners.

Rose Hips

Rose Hips.  Nikon D7000
13th October 2013

The Autumn colours are starting to appear slowly. The roses in the garden are faded now, but the one plant has a sucker that sprang from the root.  It has produced fantastic coloured rose hips which are really quite glorious.

I am glad that the sucker was not relegated to the compost bin and it has now definately earned its place in the garden.

Colours: Blue

Lego Man ice-cube mould.  Nikon D80
12th October 2013

I could not resist returning to a theme of colours today; Alex has an ice-cube mould that produces lego man shaped ice cubes.

It makes a change to be able to bite the head off a lego man without breaking your teeth.


Windy Day

Fig in full Blow.  Nikon D7000
11th October 2013

The last few days have been very windy indeed.   The fig tree at the bottom of the garden was fighting hard to hold onto its leaves; it is still a bit early for the Autumn drop.

The figs are all done now; otherwise we may have a wind issue too :)