Spring

Spring is here, thrust upon us suddenly.  Lighter evenings and the first buds have broken through the winter cocoon.  Woodland walks are now more than wading, ankle deep in thick, leafy mud but a hunt for the first greens.

I can smell the ramsons before I even make my way down the steps of my home.  I have plans and new recipes for this seasonal treat. Ravioli, tarts, herb butters and risotto's alongside the usual green soups, salads and pestos.

The nettles too, are growing vigorously.  I have missed eating my creamy nettle soup since the last frozen batch was consumed in autumn.

It already feels so brisk, life springing up where only a few days ago it felt so lifeless.  I barely feel able to keep up with the foraging yet its only just begun!

Off I go, basket in hand and a kitchen and well stocked cupboards waiting for my return.

making christmas pressents - son's blanket

For the last few weeks Ive been sat, feet up, quietly knitting long into the evenings making a blanket for the boy in time for xmas.  Here is the end result, stitched up and finished. Its now wrapped up ready for the 25th.

This is the first time I've knitted patterns and designs into a piece and even though I made mistakes with my measuring and counting its turned out ok

Detail of the stripes.

the entire blanket measures 4x4ft

detail of the "deathflake" I cant remember where I found this pattern Ive had it filled away for so long.

The blanket is double sided and the edges neatened with crochet.

Folded waiting to be wrapped.

A new route

I always run the trails through the woods finding it infinitely more satisfying than pounding the pavement with the local running group. I get a really good workout, even if I only walk the route and for the last two runs Ive mostly walked this woodland trail. I can often hear its residents going about their business. Yesterday a woodpecker high up in the trees. Squirrels foraging amongst the leaf litter and all manner of small birds. On very rare occasions I spot deer and buzzards when running through the meadow.

 

I love it. The steps that tire me out and leave my legs aching, the track that runs alongside the derelict fort I often dream of exploring. The hidden remnants of WW2 defenses poking out from beneath the mass of glossy harts tongue and feathery fronds of lady-fern. Yet for the next few months I need a new route. One that is a little drier and wont lead to me wading ankle deep  through mud. One that will still let me enjoy the trees, the solitude and the challenging terrain that wears me out so well. One that will make me want to come out and run.  I think I may have found it.  Just a short walk away, across a brook, through trees towering over a narrow track and through an unassuming gate.

 

sunshine, showers and gardening

Taking time out to tend to the garden is one of those pleasures I just cant get enough of. Even with winter fast approaching there are no end of jobs to do on my plot. Im not quite sure how big it is. My neighbour suggests its somewhere around a 1/3 of an acre in total - including my front grassy lawn and the plot the house stands on. some days it doesn't feel big enough, others too big.

At least a 1/3 of my garden is still over grown with brambles. Another 1/3 knee high grass and the rest is slowly being turned in to an assortment of raised beds for vegetables and herbs. Its a slow process with the heavy clay soil requiring a lot of work to dig out the weeds, mostly ivy and brambles.

Pots were scrubbed and put away in the old recycling box ready for spring. The boy cleaned his tools ready to go back in the shed until the spring before he digs anymore holes!

I began building a raised bed out of all the house bricks found around the garden. With plans to sink all the various types of mint I have into it in spring saving a lot of watering in the summer months. I first need to get a decent mix of homemade compost into the bed. Its in an ideal spot right next to the back door. It gets a decent amount of sun and shade in the early evenings, an almost perfect spot for them. I'll spend the next week finishing it off between rain showers.

Roses were pruned. A little weeding tended too. The leaves were swept from the path, some spread over shrubs and the rest bagged for spring. Bird feeders were refilled and tied firmly to new spots in the garden and I even had time to wash the outside of the windows probably for the last this year.

Its not quite ready for winter. Its getting there with jobs slowly being ticked off the list.

keeping busy

It doesn't look that appetising!

 Chutney slowly cooking. This one is made from apples given to me by one neighbour, tomatoes that failed to ripen by another and a bag of courgettes reduced down to 50p in the local shop. Appearances can be deceiving and this super chunky chutney is really good!

 Stripey and wavy scarf  finally finished. it was over 15ft in total. In the end I folded it in half and stitched it back to back to make a double thickness scarf and to stop it curling in on itself! This one is to be given away as I've knitted yet another in the same yarn - different pattern - for myself.

Last lot of haws gathered over the weekend simmering with vinegar to make a haw ketchup. First batch tasted really good and has all been used up!

Who can resist a cup of tea and a delicious new teapot?

 I spent an evening untangling all this yarn and for £1 a ball instead of the usual £5 it was worth it! When I get a chance this will make me 2 new pairs of socks or maybe one pair of socks and a pair of gloves.

clouds

Autumn Woodland Walk

A few photographs from this weekends walk. Lovely and sunny but bitterly cold with the wind. The woods provided a lot of shelter and gave us a chance to explore and forage for the last of the autumn berries.

I think this is a Birch polypore. This one was as big as my hand.

Sweet chestnuts still ripening.

Fighting the squirrels for the tiny number of sweet chestnuts this year. Just like the apples the sweet chestnut trees were laden with nuts last year, this year we've struggled to find them and those we have found the squirrels had first.

My favourite tree. Its trunk roughly a metre across.

My guess this is one of the oldest trees here, just behind it hidden by the bushes is an old dry stone wall. These woods were originally market gardens gardens and farm land growing everything from strawberries, rhubarb and daffodils and they would then send the harvested produce by river to the train stations. A few of the boundary walls are left, hidden beneath the undergrowth. Cast iron gates are slowly decaying amongst the thriving trees and if you look carefully you can see the old stone gate posts. I walked down what was once perhaps a right of way between the farms. The trees towering over on both sides growing between the stone walls and the path beneath my feet slowly being washed away down to the slate once quarried just a few miles away.

pine cones gathered ready for christmas wreaths and deocrations,
These will be dried out allowing them to open.

A patch of the woodland has been taken over by pine trees. Thick layers of pine needles litter the floor and not much else grows. The odd fungus grows on a decaying pine and squirrels come for the pine seeds. Once they've gone, not even the birds bother much with these trees.

Pine trees. Squirrels were already in the trees
tearing at the pine cones for the seeds.

fallen leaves outside my house.

plans

Today I woke with the best intentions, a morning walk in the woods to gather sweet chestnuts and then the rest of the afternoon to work in the garden. The weather has put a halt to those plans, bitterly cold, windy and very very wet!

Instead I plan to sit here at my desk and tackle to long list of jobs. I have had this list since since June. Many have been crossed off and yet more added. Its safe to say it is a work in progress!

I have a lot of small sewing jobs that need finishing. I'll get to those first, then there is the cleaning. I'll be doing that room by room, locking them up as I finish. It is the only way to save my sanity with the boy.

I have more photographs to mount and frame. Then they can be returned to the freshly (july!!) painted walls in my bedroom freeing up some much needed space.

There's an illustration idea I need to work on. Some small book binding projects. Books I need to find homes for. I want to cross as many jobs off that list as I can today freeing up tomorrow for all those jobs listed in the garden.