A Year in the life.....

There are many writers whose style I enjoy, and look for. Susan Hill is a popular and admirable author, but not one I generally read. The first Christmas after our marriage, Best Beloved gave me 'The Magic Apple Tree'.  I absolutely fell in love with it. It is very much a calendar of the country year, much in the tradition of Flora Thompson or Frances Kilvert.
This is a book which I come back to, and read regularly. It never fails to cheer me, when I am in low spirits. It is full of the gentle delights of small, homely things. So, although I don't read many of her other books, Susan Hill is one of my favourite writers.

Balance

 

Today is the Autumn Equinox. Balanced halfway between the end of Summer, and the beginning of Winter. Light and dark ( day and night ) of equal measure.
It has been an extraordinary year. An unusually wet winter, followed by an unusually dry Spring and Summer. We had two days of almost torrential rain, and then plunged into an Indian Summer. ( I am writing only of the local experience - other areas have been very different.)

I have heard that many people, having experienced bumper fruit crops last year, have fared less well this year. We have been lucky. Our apples have produced similar crops to last year. The pear tree, having been caught by a late frost, produced no ripe fruit last year.  This year, we had more than we can eat. Such a joy to be able to preserve some, and share some with family and friends. The plums did well, too, but went from ripe to mouldy  almost overnight, if not watched. The damsons are still being picked. The mulberry tree has produced a pleasing crop, too. We have to keep checking, and then picking when we see some ripe fruit .... the Blackbirds have discovered them, and will gorge themselves and take everything if they can.

 

In our hedgerows, the fruiting trees are looking good... Spindle Tree, ( above ) will split the calyx on the seeds soon, and the seeds will shine a bright orange though the pink shell.

 

In this picture, the fruit of the Dogwood look like blackberries, but the sprays of fruit are half the size of my hand.

 

These Sloes ( fruit of the Blackthorn ) will be ready for use after the first hard frost. The frost is necessary to produce what little sugar is available in the flesh. ( precious little! )

The dog roses and eglantynes have been wonderful, so the hedges are covered in these hips, really splashing the dulled green of late summer foliage with some life.

 

My first foray into growing Dahlias has been a great delight. I have had flowers from all the plants I started. Not many from some, and lots from others.

I can only remember the name of one. The amazing bloom above is from a dahlia called Nick Sr. It is the size of my hand with fingers spread out, like a star.

 

                
And this last one is actually much darker than the picture shows. A really rich, intense colour.

Lughnasadh

Yesterday was Lughnasadh, the first day of Autumn.

 

 It signals the move from the growing season, to the Harvest season. So saying, today was spent in the garden. Best Beloved, Nicky and I lifted all the potatoes and dug over the bed. We also took down the fruit cage we had erected over the strawberry bed. B.B. then tended the glasshouse veg, while Nicky and I weeded the strawberry bed, lifted and potted four dozen strawberry runners, and trimmed all the plants of their extraneous greenery. Four wheelbarrows full of material was then taken and added to the compost bins. A good day's work.

Later, we went and picked peas, at the invitation of a farmer friend. The field had been picked by a commercial gang, but at the end of the day a good many were still unpicked. With several bags of them put into the freezer, there were still plenty of peas left in the bowl for supper. 

Joys of Summer - no 2

                                           Home-made Strawberry Ice-Cream.

Bees

Best Beloved and Nicky worked hard at establishing the vegetable garden this spring. While they were digging over the bed intended for the squashes, Nick dug up a Bumble-bee nest. ( Most Bumble-bees nest underground, often in an old mouse nest. That is how they become prey so easily, to predators like Badgers.) Luckily, she did not damage it, although the bees were not overjoyed.  Best Beloved then rushed around to find something to put the nest into.

 

 He came across a bird nesting box, awaiting repair in the woodshed. Perfect! Having donned his beekeeping suit ( how lucky that we still have it!), BB carefully lifted the nest into the box. A slate was weighted down on the roof, and all parties retired, to await developments.

It was not long before it transpired that the bees had not missed a beat. They were flying within an hour, and bringing pollen into the nest soon after.

 

                                          And there is always a guard on the door.

(Please excuse the low quality of photos.....lying full stretch on one's front is not an ideal position to work from).

More hoard

Some more of the treasures, discovered whilst unpacking the hoard.

  My brother was planning on getting married, during the period that Best Beloved and I were house hunting. My mother, Nicky and I had decided to make my brother a patchwork quilt, using remnants from our many sewing projects. The remnants came from skirts, bridesmaid dresses, baby clothes, and the like. We also took pieces from worn-out favourite shirts and nighties. Even a pillowcase. Many hours were spent measuring, cutting, and painstakingly hand sewing the hearts onto plain squares. There were roughly two hundred, in twenty different fabric designs.

 We sold our house quickly, and once we decided to buy this house, things moved swiftly. The remainder of the household had to be packed up in short order, and ended up being stored indefinitely.

 The box of fabrics and squares were in extremely good condition, when I unearthed them. I had forgotten just how pretty the fabrics were. Still are.
After such a long hiatus, Nicky and I decided, that instead of making a large quilt for someone who has now been married almost seventeen years, we would divide the pieces between us, and make a quilt each.

 

Although the project is likely to proceed at a reasonable pace, I wouldn't suggest anyone hold their breath until we finish!

Notes:
The fabrics are all 100% cotton. The hearts are a light dress-weight. ( Some of them are Liberty Tana Lawn, and the others are matched to that.) The colours are predominantly Rose pink, and a mid Willow green. Tones of these two, and a little mid-blue to add depth.
The squares are sheet weight plain ivory. The backing will be the same.

Whose laundry?.......

Working my way through the ironing, a couple of days ago, I came across a miniscule pair of cotton trousers. Ladies red cotton trousers, but tiny, too small even for a Cindy doll!

I do not have children, and do not often have children visiting. Certainly there have not been any this year. I cannot think where the item may have come from. They must have been through my laundry, as they have the same smell as the rest of it.

This is not the first time it has happened, though. About eighteen months ago, a smart white shirt of similar dimensions appeared in the same way. I ironed it, and put it to air in the same way as the trousers. (above) When I went to put the aired clothing away, no shirt! And, yes, the trousers appear to have gone the same way they arrived.

Maybe one of our Woodland Fairies needed her holiday clothes cleaning. I daresay they are experts at laundering cobwebs and rose petals, but possibly not confident of cotton.