Autumn

We've now eaten our way through the entire crop from the small pear tree on the allotment. I am never too sure when is the right time to pick pears, they need to be gathered before they ripen on the tree If you leave it too late the texture and taste is no good. Too early and they never ripen. I thought for a while that I had done the latter as the fruits felt hard, but, no, after a while they ripened up and tasted delicious. I've top dressed the tree with a well-rotted bag of horse manure by way of a thank you.

We've had a delivery of wood and it is stacked in the garage ready for the cold months ahead. It feels quite cold today, the stove is lit!

I had a quick visit to the allotment to harvest some beetroot and the last of the tomatoes.I need to get to work and tidy the place up, it is looking shambolic. I'm not alone, there are many plots in need of attention. I think people found the long drought very discouraging. The ground is still dry. Do I plant some broad beens now in case we have a gentle winter or do I just wait until next spring? While I dither I'm waiting for a delivery of tulips to plant up in large pots, Just the thought of them makes me happy. The sun is low in the sky now and small shafts spotlight random objects in the rooms. The oak leaves are falling and I sweep them up each day to add to the compost. I like these quiet days. It is a gentle slide into the winter months.

The Alhambra room

I quite forgot to post photos of the Alhambra room at Rhinefield House. A family group were using the room when we arrived for our Sunday lunch but by the time we had finished our meal the room had been vacated and I could have a look inside. It is very characterful and was commissioned by the then owner after his honeymoon trip to the Alhambra in Spain. My daughter and I agreed that we would book that room in the future if we wanted to celebrate a special occasion.

It seats twelve people. Rather a magical space, don't you think?

Out to lunch.

There are two family birthdays in October and on Saturday we started the weekend well by eating cake! We went round to our daughter's house where The Boy and his birthday Daddy were still in their dressing gowns. It didn't stop them from blowing out the candles and having cream cake for breakfast. Of course we had to help them!

On Sunday we drove to the New Forest to have lunch at Rhinefield House. It is a rather magnificent pile that started life as a Tudor hunting lodge but is now a very popular place for celebratory events such as weddings, one of which was taking place in the beamed hall while we were there.

Here we are walking in ready for the meal, having had only a light breakfast!

After a very tasty traditional lunch we were ready to stroll about the garden.

The Boy dived into the maze and could not be seen. Grandad was sent in to find him. Comic cuts. The Boy appeared but where was Grandad?

The sun shining but the shadows long when we set off for home. We'd had a lovely day out.

Conkers

It is certainly autumnal now, damp, misty weather. The Boy has been rummaging about in the garden collecting conkers. They are very plentiful this year, he came into the kitchen with a heap of them. I don't think that they will ever be strung and played with, they are just lovely objects, especially when newly emerging from their casing. I think his pleasure is merely in finding them.

My brother used to play conkers in the '40's and ;59;s, post war Britain not being awash with too many children's toys. I was the feeble little sister who found it a rather brutal game, the conker could give you a nasty knock on the knuckles!

My illustrations of children always seem to have a '40's and '59's vibe; shorts, fall-down socks and scruffy shoes! And the girls in dresses, it was before the jeans era.

Book group weekend

Last weekend we drove to the area where we had lived for over half a century to attend our book group, FAB, (Food And Books.) We miss our friends of long standing, our histories known, the usual jokes, the easy companionship. We always meet up over a meal, the hosts provide the main part of the menu and the rest of us bring whatever else is required. We always sit down to a delicious spread! The person who has put forward the book gives the introduction to it. It is always interesting when the presenter is an enthusiast of the novel in question but sometimes when I hear the introduction I think I must have read a different book! We stayed overnight with friends whose garden wall is also the sea wall to the Bristol Channel. I am forever gawping out of their windows at the wonderful light and at the passage of boats large nd small traveling up and down the channel. We had a lovely time.

Both Steve and Janet are artists and their environment greatly influences their work. One of Steve's paintings hanging above the fireplace.

Light and shade.

We are enjoying some beautiful sunlit days, autumn is wonderful when it's like this. We walked through the tropical garden to the beach in the morning. Everything is still very green, we haven't had cold enough nights yet to bring out many autumn colours.

The acorns and pine needles have mostly fallen now, but the neighbours large oak tree that overhangs our roof is still in full leaf. All the leaves will drop into our garden in due course, I've got a large compost bay ready for them! Before that happens I can enjoy sitting in a deckchair to make the most of this lovely weather.

The sun is low in the sky now and throws most of our garden into deep shade.

Just a little promise of what is to come.

Daughter popped in with a present of freezias. I can remember when just one sprig of freezias would perfume an entire room. What has happened to the scent of flowers? They seem to have been bred out. (And it isn't because I've got a code in my dose!) Daughter knows me well and chose the colour that I love, they are giving me so much pleasure.

Then I got a surprise bunch of flowers in the post from an old college friend. How happy am I to have the house awash with such lovely things!

A code in de nose

Master Snotty-Nose started back at school this week and very kindly brought me home a germ from the school playground. I can't remember when I last had a cold but this one is a stinker. I wish the boy would learn to blow his nose properly! In the afternoon I went to bed; fresh sheets, three pillows and the comfort of a hot water bottle. Outside I could see rain through the bedroom window and the trees thrashing about in the strong wind. What an indulgence to be in bed. It was lovely!