Autumn Colour

Autumn is marching on apace, and the surrounding landscape is quickly turning an array of russet and gold as the trees prepare for the winter months. It is the season at it's best and Mother Nature certainly knows how to put on a wonderful display.  Last weekend saw a sudden drop in temperature here, but following an early morning frost, the days were mainly bright and clear, if a bit breezy.

Naturally, the woods were calling to us, so we put on our wellies and made our way through the open fields towards the sheltered canopy of the trees.

Besides the wind rustling up above, it was so quiet in there, any sounds muffled by the damp carpet of leaves and moss on the woodland floor. Every now and again we stopped to look at some weird looking fungi, a particularly attractive leaf - me, or stick - Lily. And we were also on the lookout for some Hazelnuts, which we did manage to find and will plant soon. In previous year's we have gathered conkers and acorns on our autumn walks, which have since grown well in the garden. We might even have our own little forest before long.

The following day we headed into the Lakes, to Brothers Water. The strong wind saw clouds race across the sky, with leaves showering down upon us like confetti. We were relieved to be wrapped up well against the cold, and after a short walk along the length of the shore, soon returned to the shelter of the van for a picnic lunch, but not before we had passed two very brave ladies who had just returned from a swim in the lake! At this point my hands were beginning to feel very cold, as I had removed my gloves, which had been left smelling less than sweet after a meeting with a very persistent and friendly  farm dog.
Thankfully, our return home took us right by the National Trust cafe at Aira Force, where instead of taking any more photographs, I happily warmed my hands around a mug of delicious hot chocolate.
J. X

A Busy Weekend

Although autumn officially arrived last week, these last few days it has become much more apparent. When I step outdoors, it now looks, feels and smells like autumn. That cold, damp earthy smell that only occurs at this time of year, occasionally tinged with the faint aroma of wood smoke from a burning fire. The air feels much fresher now, and just this morning I was scraping frost from the car windscreen. The walk to school is paved with fallen leaves and acorns.

This last weekend we have been busy. Good busy. And it has been such a heartening change from spending our time catching up with chores which have been missed during the working week.

On Friday, with the promise of a calm, clear evening, we made a last minute decision to go to Blackpool to see the Illuminations. It's been a few years since our last visit and it's been on my list of things to do for a while now. We parked at Bispham, and after a delicious meal of fish and chips (and a glass of wine for me!), the sun had already set, the Illuminations had been switched on, and we made our way through the colourful lights and tableau displays towards the Tower and Central Pier. As luck would have it, we arrived just in time to see the World Firework Championships, so we made ourselves comfortable and watched as the sky was lit up with a spectacular display set to music.

Expecting to be a little weary from the previous evening, we hadn't made any plans for Saturday, but the temptation of a walk in the fresh air was too much, so a picnic was packed and we set off once more, towards a nature reserve on the coast. It was very breezy down by the shore, the wind whipped at our hair,  and along with the constant roar of the waves, at times it was difficult to hear each other speak. We enjoyed some obligatory pebble throwing and climbing of  sand dunes and Lily managed to return home with a significant amount of sand in her pockets and boots. I should probably realise not to expect anything less by now. 

In contrast to all that sea air, on Sunday we made our way to Grasmere. A restorative finish to our weekend, it is always such a lovely place to visit and never fails  to provide the most beautiful backdrop for a walk . A gentle stroll by the lake followed by a warming lunch in our favourite cafe, with some seasonal hot apple and cinnamon to drink. The autumn colour in the landscape becoming much more obvious now, and the pathways through the woods are carpeted with leaves. We collected a few conkers from the side of the lane to add to our growing collection.

J. X

Settling in to Autumn

In sharp contrast to the heavy rain and blustery winds of last week, autumn has officially arrived, bringing with it some sunshine, blue skies and crisp, cold weather. The darkness of early morning has given way to a beautiful but very chilly day, and Lily was most excited to announce 'Mummy, I've found my breath!' as we walked through the village to school.

It has been two weeks since the beginning of the autumn term and Lily has slotted back into the regular school routine once again, which is such a relief, although, I wish I could say the same for myself. I've been finding this whole transition period a little unsettling. I am aware I'm juggling a few extra balls this year but it's taking more getting used to than I originally anticipated. I think I just need to have faith in myself, be a bit more patient, and hopefully everything will eventually fall into place. With a bit of luck, I will be left wondering what I was so stressed about in the first place.

We are still getting out in the garden at every opportunity. Lily is using it mainly as some kind of a mud kitchen with her bucket and spade! In between clearing away small piles of mud, I've trimmed back the hedges that I wanted to get done before the winter months, and have been harvesting the tomatoes and beans on an almost daily basis. Thankfully they all managed to withstand the heavy winds. Remember the failed strawberry plants? Well, one out of the nine of them looked OK, so rather than bin it, I moved it into a large empty pot, and it has thrived and filled the pot with runners. I will have to wait and see if it provides us with any fruit next year.

Indoors, I've been busy turning the tomatoes into delicious meals and soups, I can hardly keep up with them since they started ripening. The sofa throws are being used as the evenings turn cooler, and we are gradually adjusting to the shorter days. I've picked up my crochet again, as I really want to try and get Lily's blanket finished before winter. It feels lovely when I'm working on it, nestled in the comfort and warmth of the wool.

Recipe for tomato soup:

50g butter
2 chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 litre of vegetable stock
1 kg tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
Fresh basil

Melt butter and gently fry the onions and garlic until soft.
Add the flour and mix well, taking care not to let it burn, then gradually add the stock, stirring all the time.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and basil and allow to simmer for around 30 minutes.
Blitz with a hand blender then sieve to remove any pips and pulp.

J. X

Changing Seasons

I am relieved to say that, despite my concerns, the first week of autumn term has gone really well. In fact, Lily's first day back was apparently 'amazing!' but with a bit more sitting still and listening expected this year, we'll see how long that lasts :) Even so, it was sweet to see all the children lined up again wearing their shiny new shoes, and I'm sure they're all at least a foot taller than when they finished for the summer. We are, at least, finding our feet now and within the next week or so I'm sure we'll have more of a daily routine established, which will mean I might, hopefully, find the time to get out for a run, as well as opportunity for us to go swimming once a week.

The weather has really changed recently, leaving us in no doubt autumn is fast approaching. At the beginning of the week we were drinking the last of our Elderflower cordial (I thought it had all been used up, but discovered some small bottles hiding at the back of the vegetable drawer) and by the end we were eating apple crumble and custard. The central heating has been on most mornings and my summer footwear has been replaced by my socks and boots again. It's turning windy, the air is damp and leaves are beginning to fall from the trees.

Now that the weather is turning cooler, I've started using my slow cooker again. It's so simple to throw everything in the pot and leave it to cook  gently while we're out for the day. If it's a stew I just need to thicken it, add some dumplings, then serve up with some vegetables in the evening for a hearty, delicious meal. It saves me so much time when I return home, so as well as the usual soups, stews and chilli's, I'm going to hunt out some more recipes I can use it for. Any suggestions are very welcome.

As I was walking through the village one morning last week, I noticed some 'help yourself' apples in a bucket on a wall, which I used to make the apple crumble. I always think it's so kind of people to share in this way, even if they would otherwise go to waste. We don't often eat puddings in this house, but apple crumble always goes down well at this time of year, especially served with custard. I always like to add a sprinkle of cinnamon to mine to give it a real Autumnal flavour.

I'm still using up  the produce from our garden. The onions are mainly being used in sandwich fillings, the beans and beetroot alongside main meals, and the tomatoes are still ripening gradually, some of which were used in last night's tomato, pesto and mozzarella slice and I think the next batch will be made into soup.

At the weekend we went for a short bike ride. From Brockhole we took a trip across Windermere on the Bike Boat, then followed the shoreline around towards Wray castle, where we stopped for a short break at the café there before returning.  It was such a fun day out. We went as part of a Let's Ride event and met up with a really friendly group of around twenty people, most of whom were small family groups. I really hope we can join in with another event in the future.

J. X