hello October

hello October with all your 

blue skies, foggy walks, berries, wood stacks, cobwebbed gorse

sunrises, sunsets, woollen jumpers, 

smoke scented air, fires, 

books, 

pears, apples, pumpkins, soup, fruit cake, damson jam

& leaf swirling goodness!

this week

 

There is an autumn touch to the air. The boys ate their first blackberries this morning and the weather has been so inclement that the stove and candles have been lit in the evening on more than one occasion. But there are still blue skied days and breakfasts in the sunshine and walks in meadows. There is also the prospect of August holidays by the sea and the pile of summer reading for those lazy moments when jobs are done. I'm halfway through The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor but I have to admit to being distracted - there's The Handmaid's Tale, Anna and the Swallow Man and Ginny Moon waiting for me too... thank goodness the days are still long.

gooseberries

 

A scant half pound of gooseberries were picked from the bushes which are tucked into our boundary hedge. A little too much for a fool (as in gooseberry fool, eye roll) but not enough for jam. So to the cookbooks for a pleasant half hour or so until a recipe for gooseberry curd catches my eye. And now, with two little glass jars full of luscious gooseberry goodness cooling in the kitchen, I'm thinking of scones and cream or perhaps vanilla sponge filled with curd and raspberries...

lately...

peanut butter cookies

garden guitar

 pink and lime green

 peek-a-boo bovine

safe dangling

danger dangling

end of May

The simple pleasure of walking in the field, just after cutting but before baling. Just insects, birdsong and the sound of moving through grass. 

And then a couple of days later the grass has been baled and we walk through the field in the evening sun. Dogs and children run free and golden light is all around us.

End of May.

Moon light and morning light

We are slowly stepping into the light and warmth. Yesterday we had lunch outside in the garden. There's a sheltered nook in the front where the wind doesn't quite reach. So there we sat eating a cheese and pesto sandwich and sunning ourselves for a few minutes hoping that this weather would continue. Nothing very big. Nothing very special. Just a sandwich in the sun. The first outdoor lunch at home this year.

woodlandia

After a week of school, work and the usual stress of running to afternoon activities I decided that the woods were what was needed. I made hot chocolate and brownies, threw the wellies in the car and collected the boys from school. We went to our favourite spot where the river makes a gentle meander and there's a fallen tree for picnic-ing on. We gathered branches, leaves and ferns to make boats before unpacking the warm drinks and mugs. We decided to race our boats, whoever got under the bridge first was the winner. Mide crossed the water, hopping over slippery stones while Will crafted his sailing vessel. The river took our offerings and made easy work of my leaves and flimsy sticks. Will fared better - his boat didn't get caught on the rocks and made it to the finish line. We made a woodland sprite for others to find and we went on our way, back through those tall trees who have been here longer than us, past the sloping banks leading down to the water, past the mushrooms and the fallen leaves, up and out and back into our busy lives but so grateful for the woods, the waters and the wild.

holidays

Somehow August has eluded me. We spent the first half of the month in Co. Antrim along the coast, beside the sea where, possibly, every good childhood holiday happens. We happened to be lucky with the weather although when I look back on the photos there are lots of waterproof jackets and darkly looming skies. It was one of the busiest holidays we've had, every day brought a new adventure and we found plenty of things to do. My favourite days out included picnicing on the Strand at Portstewart where the boys swam and then going on to walk at Downhill and Mussenden Temple which is perched on the cliff edge with the most fantastic views on to the beach below. At Cushendall we walked the cliff path to picnic at the church at Layd, another favourite day out, as was visiting HMS Caroline a WW1 light cruiser and now the sole survivor of the Battle of Jutland. There were picnics on the beach, ice-cream every day, forest walks and brunches in the walled garden at Glenarm Castle and a trip to Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. The days flew by and suddenly it was time to come home and return to work and here we are - the final week of summer holidays... The uniforms are ready, the school books are bought and the pencils are sharpened and yet all I long for is the crash of waves on the shore and the tang of seaweed in the air...

summer scenes

Summer days, drifting past like dandelion seeds on the wind... all those laundry flapping, comic reading, garden growing, rhubarb crumbling, lake swimming, jam making days...