Swallows

This morning started out very misty, a typical start to a sunny autumn day.  If the weather wasn't enough of an indicator, the swallows had gathered on the wires ready to fly south for the winter.

I love when the swallows arrive early in the summer and am always a little sad to see them go, because the days are really beginning to get noticeably shorter now.

What are your signals for spring/summer and autumn/winter?

Autumn Fruits

It was a warm day today, perfect for a walk and what a treat it was to see such an abundance of fruits in the hedgerows.  There are still loads of blackberries although they are not all they seem, some have been spoiled by the rain.  I picked some on Friday evening and probably have enough in the freezer for my purposes. It does seem a shame not to pick them, but I just don't have enough time to preserve them. 

The hedgerows are also full of haws on the hawthorn hedges and, for the first time for many years, we have some beautiful rose hips. The pictures were so vibrant, I was inspired to do a digital layout!

The View - September

Warm September brings the fruit

sportsmen then begin to shoot..

Well this warm September has certainly brought the fruit to the hedgerows.  We have more brambles (blackberries) than I've ever seen and many of them are huge!  There are also rowan berries in this photo and, although not shown, more rose hips than I've seen for a long time.  

I'm fortunate that we have two roads into our farm and each has a hedgerows full of fruit. I spied these when I was taking the bins down to the end of the road to be emptied tomorrow, one of the less attractive aspects of rural living. 

Muffins are very easy to make, one bowl of wet ingredients another of dry ingredients, gently mix together and add in whatever is seasonal.  These are based on a Blueberry Muffin recipe substituting the brambles for the blueberries.

And here is The View for September.  I took this photo on the 1st September and it wasn't such a nice day, things are still pretty green and a lot of my pots are still in bloom.  I'm really pleased with the pink scabious which has bloomed all summer and is still blooming, I'm definitely getting one of those again.