Sunday 25 October 2009

Short and sweet!

I've decided to try and do lots of little blogs rather than big ones...well unless the muse takes of course and I get carried away... :)

So, it's a blustery autumnal October Sunday.. the leaves are falling in earnest now, and the weather's quickly changing from sunshine and a pleasant warmness to dark clouds and showers, both of which have the wind carrying a bit of a bite now and then... Think we're in for a blustery winter - we haven't had one for a couple of years and boy can it blow a hoolie round here! (Hence the special ridge tiles on our roof - the ones that grab the physical timber construction of the roof - after the 3rd insurance claim in a row...)

The baking monster has grabbed me again this week - I'm thinking of making banana and date loaf and sultana and ginger rock cakes...

It's Halloween next weekend...hope the weather is kind! We've got friends over and are going to sit around the merrily burning contents in the chimenea (a chance to burn lots of the paper based what-would-have-been-recycled products if the bin men weren't still on strike!) I'm going to have a go at some kind of gingery sticky cake for us to have with carajillo's....

I'm conscious I said I'd aim for shorter blogs...think this will take some practice!

Thursday 1 October 2009

Seasons of mist....

I love this time of year...I'm one of those really strange people who isn't that fond of Summer - don't get me wrong, I love the warmth of a summer day, and way the warmth smells...the buzzing of bumblebees flitting from flower to flower, so heavily laden with pollen they can hardly get themselves in the air again, the heavy scent of the roses in full bloom...but each of the other three seasons hold a special place in my heart - my soul even....

Autumn's splendour of colours - the rich earthy smell of the leaves, reds, oranges, coppers, deep browns....bright red and orange berries, and the deep dark brown bark on the branches able to be seen again... Crisp mornings, bright days, morning mists, rainy days, darker evenings ready to cocoon you, giving you permission to close the curtains on the world or start a fire in the chimenea sitting in front of it in the dark with a brandy to keep the autumnal chill at bay...

Winter's starkness...Nature sleeping, conserving its energies for the coming Spring... brisk cold days, steel grey skies, the flashes of the Robin's breast as he forages for his breakfast on the bird table...the beginnings of buds on the trees - not quite ready to grow but promising they haven't forgotten what's next...Snowdrops pushing their heads through the frozen ground reminding us of where we planted them, and what we can expect from their fellow plants when the world starts to wake up again...the excitement of watching day by day as Winter comes to a close the promise of Spring...

And then the amazing, glorious insanity of Spring!!! Nature fulfilling her perpetual promise of birth and renewal - the madness of the trees, their leaves literally bursting out of the branches - corms and bulbs almost growing before our very eyes! Bluebells, daffodils, primroses...nettles, thistles and blackberries literally growing from what looked like dead matter - an amazing feat that never ceases to amaze me! Daisies and dandelions racing to put on their first show of the new season before they're chopped down as weeds in the first grass cut of the year....

And so, the first of my favourite seasons is here - Autumn, and with it...Hallow'een - but that's a post for later in the month :)

Gaea is putting on one of her wonderful shows for us - immerse yourself in the rhythm of life and enjoy!