Autumn in the Garden

    And as if by magic the autumn appeared in the garden.

    New life growing on old lives.

 

    Greens and browns and rich earthy tones grounding and comforting.

Autumn Berries

The pyracantha berries are looking so vivid right now with their orange glow.  They look like baby tomatoes in the photo above!  I love the change to autumn from summer. 

The mornings are misty and the evenings are cooler now but it has still remained warm in the day here in the South East of England.  I was on a food safety course yesterday and we had to have fans on in the building as we were almost melting with the extreme heat!  I had to throw away my packed lunch as there wasn't a fridge to store it in and I wasn't going to risk eating it after the talk about how food poisoning is contracted!  Luckily my colleague gave me her banana to sustain me until home time.

For the past 6 weeks I have drastically changed my eating habits and incidentally lost quite a lot of weight.  I am eating good, nutritious food and eating 3 times a day with no snacking.  As part of my on-going healthier me journey, I am going to attend a fitness class next week for the first time in years!  I will let you know how I progress!

Thank you for the well wishes about my son going to University.  He seems to have settled in well and met lots of people.  As long as he is happy then I am content too! 

Well, October is almost peeking over my shoulder now.  There is much to be done in the garden before the onset on winter - planting bulbs, tidying up, mowing the lawn........then I should be able to settle down to some hobbies inside and experimenting with new recipes, hand sewing, painting, drawing and plenty of reading too!

Autumn and Old Friends

A card inspired by the season and old friends.

Autumn's September

Flower heads wane

In a fading sun

A chill in the air

New season begun

Dew on the grass

A time to wind down

Less countryside walks

More time spent in town

September's tradition is

Fresh, crisp and cool

Autumn - the season

I love most of all

Simone Whipp 2015

Windfalls

Autumn arrived overnight.  The grass was dewy in the garden this morning and there was a distinct chill in the air.  I am glad for the changing season and all the possibilities it brings with it.

The big old apple tree in the garden may have seen its final year but has greeted me with a glut of apples this morning.  They are falling off the tree in quick succession so it seems as each day the carpet of apples gets thicker and thicker.  I can see lots of apple baking and cooking coming up with pies, crumbles, cakes and sauces.

Thank you to those of you who have visited my new jewellery making blog called Linden Grove Treasure Trove.  You can find it by clicking on the name in the side bar or click on the link below.

Linden Grove Treasure Trove

Crestfallen

I am going to take a bit of a blogging break.  As much as I love to blog, I can't think of anything new to say.  The garden is in a dreadful state with much tidying up to do before the onset of winter.  The house needs a jolly good clean and de-clutter and I need to take a good look at myself and decide which direction I am heading for. 

If I was able to, I would like to take myself off to a retreat in beautiful surroundings.  I would be with like minded souls and we would cook lovely things to eat, we would paint and create and share stories and words of wisdom.  We would make lotions and potions and sing and dance long after nightfall.  Unfortunately life is not a fantasy but a stark reality. Dreams will stay as unfulfilled dreams as crestfallen, I must face up to the responsibilities of  real life.

Hopefully I will not be away for too long.  The lure of the blog is too great.  I intend to return invigorated with a new zest for life.

Cob Nut Cookies

Cob Nut Cookies

4oz butter or margarine

4oz caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp milk

a few drops of vanilla extract

2oz cob nuts, chopped and toasted (if you wish)

6oz plain flour

1tsp baking powder

a few grains of salt

Pre-heat oven to 190 Celsius /375 F/ mark 5

Method

Grease a baking sheet.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla extract.  Stir in the nuts.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and add to the mixture.  Mix well.

Divide mixture into 12 pieces.  Roll into balls and press down lightly onto baking sheet.  I made mine in two batches of 6.  

Bake for about 12 minutes until still pale in the middle but golden around the edges.  Cool on a wire rack.

 *Thank you for all the lovely comments about the craft fair.  The particular venue I was at doesn't have any more vacant stalls this year.  I feel that now I have 'wanting to do a craft fair' out of my system, I may want to move onto another project (fickle that I am!)    My watercolour paints are calling.

Seasonal Sadness

As the sun goes down on the first day of September I am in a reflective mood.  I am not alone, but I guess I am in the minority of people who dislike summer time.  For me the summer is full of promise but fails to deliver.  There is always a big build up to summer; hopes of holiday's, Barbeque's, days at the beach, picnics etc.  For me none of this materialises and it is just like any other time of year apart from being hot and sticky with sleepless nights and an ongoing lethargy. 

Thank goodness for the onset of autumn.  Autumn doesn't show off.  Autumn is mellow and beautiful.  The sun is soft and not glaringly obtuse bleaching everything in sight like the summer sun does.  So, farewell to the summer season and hello to my familiar friend the autumn.  You are most welcome.

A Return to Fabric Flower Brooches

I have started to make some fabric flower brooches for the craft fair.  The first time I made these I used brightly coloured floral fabrics.  I think the more sedate neutral tones will be more fitting for the autumn.  I have no idea of how many to make or even if people will want to buy them!  If you have a favourite , which one is it?

Pimping up Pine Cones

It is a great time for picking up fallen pine cones in the UK.  I picked up a few handfuls at Capel Manor last week that had fallen from a giant Scots pine tree.

Unadorned the pine cones were lovely but I wanted to add a little extra to them .  I melted down some old candles that were too short to use and some wax that was left in the bottom of tea lights.  I did this in a heatproof bowl over some simmering water until just melted.  I then removed any wicks from the melted wax.  I had prepared a tray to use and had a packet of glitter to hand.  I carefully dipped the cones, pointy end down into the wax, placed them upright on the tray and sprinkled with glitter.  I did this for each cone and then left them until the wax had hardened.

I now have some very pretty bowl fillers (ssshh - for C*******s).  I guess you can hang them in garlands or as hanging decorations but you would have to keep them away from heat in case the wax started melting.

Don't forget to collect pine cones as soon as possible - everything is so early this year!  If you plan ahead you will have the materials you need for your festive projects!

Another Wreath

Today is uncomfortably hot so I have made a wreath in cool tones with a silvery mica sheen.  Perhaps not traditional autumn tones, but it reminds me of a moonlit night!

Today is forecast to be the hottest day of the year.  I don't 'do' heat.  I am going to sit indoors and craft away until the sun goes down and then I am going to craft some more!

Mood Lifters

When the sky is grey and the clouds descend, the pyracantha berries give a welcome burst of colour.  The more I focus on the vibrant orange I almost feel as though I am soaking up its colour and vitality.  The colour really lifted my mood and helped me feel energised once again.

This has made me focus on what other things lift my mood as the nights are ready to draw in...

• Scented candles and tart burners with fresh uplifting or spicy scents (only good quality ones with true to life fragrance though!).

• The softest of blankets (need to buy one).

• Plenty of crafting projects awaiting.

• A full fridge and snack drawer (need to add to this).

• Listening to the rain lash down on the window panes as we are all safe indoors.

• Walking in the wind, letting my hair flow in the breeze and watching the leaves chase each other in circles.

• I would also like to share a coffee and cake with a friend but there is no-one so I will have to imagine that.

I would be interested to know what things lift your mood at this time of year.

All Change

Nature dictates when it is time for a change.  In the garden vibrant flowers have been replaced with woodland fruits.  Boughs of  the apple tree are burdened with rotting fruit that I failed to pick.  The air is dank and sickly sweet and windfalls cover the ground.

Soon I will put the lawn mower away and leave the earth to rest until the following spring, but for now there is much clearing up to be done in the garden.  It is time to sweep away the remnants of summer and to celebrate what is to come.

Samhain

Samhain is the Autumn Cross Quarter Festival.  It marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter.  'It is the right time to connect to our root energy and for internalising the creative life force.' (Glennie Kindred)

With the onset of Winter, it is time to adjust to the changing season. The nights are longer, birds have migrated, animals go into hibernation and there is a chill in the air.  It is a time of death and then the time of rebirth at the Winter Solstice, when the light returns and the day's gradually lengthen again.

I love this time of year.  A time for enjoying nourishing homemade soups and baked goods,  getting out and about and being at one with nature, having good books to curl up with, indulging in creative pursuits, sitting by candlelight and giving oneself permission to rest and regenerate.

A mystical energy pervades the air.  Life holds so many possibilities.  This is the time to wrap myself in an imaginary cocoon and emerge like a butterfly the following Spring.

Beauty

All things that are beautiful - think on these things.................

Sweet Surprise

The weather was too good to stay inside the house so I decided to go for a short walk and visit the local public gardens.  I read from the notice board that the gardens were put in place in the 1930's and stood on the grounds of what once was a Tudor Lodge.  The gardens were quite formal and although some salvaged materials from the house were scattered about the garden, most of it looked concrete to me. 

The rose gardens were rather unremarkable and a murky pond was overcrowded with water lily pads that were cup shaped and above the water line, rather than lying flat on the water.

The formal, and somewhat unkempt gardens did little to inspire me until I made a discovery on the ground beneath my feet.  I saw alpine (or wild) strawberries for the first time ever.  Such a sweet surprise!  They make the most wonderful ground cover and I can see them making an appearance in my garden one day.

Food and Fall

Now that Autumn has slowly crept upon us, I find myself baking a lot more in the kitchen once again.  I am stocking up on sweet wholesome treats to sustain us on a chilly evenings or after brisk daytime walks out and about in nature.  I look forward to the coming weeks.  I am in my element in the crisp cool air.

In preparation for this wonderful turning point in the year I have ordered some seasonal Kringle Candles.
I have gone for one called Maple Sugar.  This is how they describe it:

'The maple sap rises as New England winter retreats, and rustic sugarhouses boil the water liquid into a sweet ambrosia of distinctive regional character.  This fragrance is like being there.'

I have used maple syrup in the flapjacks above.* I want to tweak the recipe a little before sharing it with you as I want you to get the best possible result.  It is based on the flapjack recipe in River Cottage Baking.

As well as the Maple Sugar candle I have also ordered one called Cozy Cabin.  

'Smoke, cedar wood, maple, a hint of pine and cool ozonic notes.'

I am really looking forward to setting the scene of a 'cozy cabin'!    I will let you know in due course what I think of my new candles or if I will go back to my Yankee candles again.  Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox.  I am ready to embrace it.

* Ok, it was unfair to keep you hanging on waiting for the recipe so I am sharing my recipe with you as it is.  I will post a 'tweaked' version another time when I have had a chance to experiment a bit more.

Flapjacks

Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter (or you can use margarine)

1 tbsp maple syrup (or golden syrup or honey)

150g demerara sugar

250g medium porridge oats

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp desiccated coconut (I have just thought that chocolate chips might be nice too!)

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas 4.   Grease and line a shallow pan with greaseproof paper.  Put the butter (cut into pieces), sugar and syrup into a large pan and heat through, stirring all the time, until the butter has melted.  Remove from the heat.

Mix in all the other ingredients and turn the mixture into the pan pressing down well.  I baked mine for 23 minutes and the result was soft and chewy flapjacks.  If you want crispier flapjacks then the advice is to bake for a little longer.

When baked, leave for 5 minutes and then mark into squares in the pan.  When they are cool, cut into pieces and remove onto a wire rack.  They may be a little sticky underneath!


If you have a go at making these, let me know what you think or of any improvements you can add to the recipe.   I would love to think of us all baking alongside each other sharing hints and tips as we go!

Mid Life Madness

I have been slowly descending into a mid-life madness.  Surely it has reached its peak by now?  It seems the sole purpose of my existence is to keep up this blog.  There is little else in my life right now.  I am running out of things to sustain your interest and my interest.  I sometimes post things which I know are a bad idea (like this post) possibly to invoke a response or a reaction, like the poem that I posted a few days ago.  During a conversation about blogging I told my son that I had put a poem on my blog that was quite depressing which had received little comment and he said  'People don't want to read things like that.  They want to be cheered up, not brought down.'  I know what he says is true but I am not feeling particularly cheery right now. 

I spent ages in the garden this morning looking for colour or something of interest to post.  There was nothing - and then the angels above caught my eye.  I liked the image of the fallen angels among the spent and decaying leaves.  They summed up how I was feeling.

When this suffocating dark cloak has been lifted I will blog again.  I don't want to drag you down into the mire with me.

Talking Sticks

I recently found some branches that had fallen from an oak tree.  I purchased a wood rasp, acquired some sandpaper and got my beeswax furniture polish out of the cupboard.  After several hours of stripping the bark from the oak, sanding, polishing and embellishing with embroidery thread, I had two - not bad for a first attempt - talking sticks.  I had never heard of talking sticks until I read about them in Glennie Kindred's book of Sacred Celebrations.  She explains how to make a talking stick in the chapter on preparations for the Autumn Equinox.  The purpose of a talking stick is to facilitate discussion by passing it around a group of people.  Whoever holds the stick is the only one who can speak and must not be interrupted.  When he/she has finished speaking, it is passed on to the next person who wishes to speak.

Spooky!

It has been a strange day.  I had a very restless night where I kept imagining the bedroom furniture in different positions.  I got up this morning and changed around my bedroom furniture that has remained in place for over 14 years.  I  cleared up 14 years of dust from under my bed and saw enough cobwebs to merit
Hallow e'en.

An eerie day, overcast and gloomy.  A day of the unexpected, and a shock when I discovered this pumpkin coloured nasturtium in the back garden.  A most vibrant bloom that cheered my soul.  It must have self seeded from last year and decided to show its flowery face today. 

Happy Hallow e'en and Samhain for those that celebrate it.  I will light a candle and give thanks for the past year.