Sunday 19 September 2010

In the store cupboard

At the end of the marathon session!

Autumn feelings

I got up at 7am and went down to the allotment. The smell of autumn was everywhere - that sense of damp with just a hint of early decay. Every thing looked great despite the fact that I have not been there for two weeks.
Here is my harvest (and yes, I did have to use the dog's car bowl to collect the raspberries and strawberries):















I am now filling the kitchen with autumn smells. The chutney marathon has commenced!






Here it is at the start.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Passing time..

I can not believe how long it is since I last made a posting here. It seems that summer is almost over. I'm sitting here at just after 8pm and it is almost dark outside. I have to confess to being a lover of the autumn and the winter (and spring too) - there is nothing better for me than being wrapped up in woolies, sitting in front of the fire or the log burner after a good walk. High summer is too hot for me, I flag easily and too much heat can actually make me feel quite unwell.
The latter half of this summer has suited me once the heat wave passed. We had a great holiday in Dorset. Whilst it was wet here in Suffolk we enjoyed fine weather to explore Dorset and Somerset.







Here are my boys outside our cottage.



















Sunset over the field behind the cottage.












Nigel has a little lie down at an iron age hill fort.








My plan was to get back from holiday and set to the allotment with vigour. However, fifteen minutes after driving for five hours to get home, this silly woman decided to move our bed....felt something rip in my back and spent the rest of the final week off work going between bed, the bath and the living room floor - totally unable to sit down. Nigel though came to my rescue - whilst taking every opportunity to remind me of the self inflicted nature of my injuries - he took himself off to the allotment, dug over my beds and planted my 60 or so leeks. Husband points flowed.

My back is now 90% recovered and we have just spent a fabulous weekend at the wedding of our good friends Berni and Penny. Thanks Girls! It was great.

We left them on Sunday morning and went down to Brighton for a couple of days to catch up with Callie and Alfie.








Alfie's little slug impression.



















Alfie popping out!






I finally got off to the allotment last night. I harvested some overgrown courgettes ready for the Glutney making this weekend, and my borlotti beans had dried on the canes, so I now have a fantastic harvest of the beautiful beans. The raspberries I planted the day that Alfie was born are covered in fruit, so I will picking those at the weekend if the birds have not eaten them all.

It feels good to be back - in a physical and emotional sense. Proximity to the soil is definately good for my soul.