In with the new.

Strange looking cow!

Autumn

Swirling early morning mist and the
Hazy platinum sun,
The noticeable chill in the morning air
Tell us that autumn has come.

Underfoot the crunch of leaves
Brings with it the scent of autumn.
That nutty aroma of crushed acorns,
Evoking childhood memories
Of collecting autumn treasures.
Acorns, conkers and hazelnuts,
To fill a squirrel’s winter store.
Soft plump blackberries and sour crab apples
For making jam and golden pies.
Sycamore keys floating down like helicopters
Coming to rest amongst the crumpled leaves.

Fluffy old man’s beard covers the hedgerows which are hung
With scarlet chains of black bryony berries
And delicate webs laced with dewdrops in the still morning air.

The smell of autumn bonfires fills the air
Reminding us of the cold that winter will bring.
Changing the mellow autumnal days
Into cold grey ones, awaiting the arrival of spring.

Autumn Day

It was a beautiful autumnal morning today so decided to take a walk down the lane (above) near where I live. The trees are still very green but there are lots of ripe berries growing in the hedgerows. Plently of food for the birds in winter. Below is the view of the fields and hills which can be seen from the gate down the lane on the left of the picture.

Autumn Fete

Went to an autumn fete at Stuart's school this afternoon. He chose some tickets for me in a tombola and won me a bottle of wine.
He also bought a woopee cushion and won't stop blowing it up and saying "I feel a little tired I'll sit on my chair". He nearly rolls on the floor with laughter every time he hears it. Will he ever get tired of it? lol

Out with the old

I was expecting the arrival of my new car today but unfortunately it will now be friday. So instead of posting a piccy of the new one thought I would keep a reminder of the old one here.

It has served me well.

Nature's Larder

Conkers

Conkers are seeds that fall from the tree,
This wide leafy chestnut that spreads over me.
The squirrels collect them and store them away
To eat when they’re hungry on a cold winter’s day.

To children who find them they bring lots of joy.
Threaded on string they become a great toy.
A seasonal pastime when autumn has come
A battle with conkers can be so much fun.

Early Autumn Colour

Taking a trip up to Abergavenny

If you are a teen from the 60s like me you may remember this song by Marty Wilde. Abergavenny is an ancient market town just 16 miles from where I live. http://www.abergavenny.co.uk/

We visited there last Saturday for its annual food festival. Not very exciting but a nice drive out and lovely weather.

Photo courtesy of Stuart

Not too sure of the Welsh leeks

but the French onions look quite nice!

Eating out

Jasmine joined us all at the table for the first time when we went out together for lunch yesterday. I think she enjoyed herself.

Happy Faces

Franklin Hyde

A visit to the seaside always brings to mind a poem that I learned at school. One of the few I remember:

Franklin Hyde
Who caroused in the Dirt and was corrected by His Uncle.

His Uncle came upon Franklin Hyde
Carousing in the Dirt.
He Shook him hard from Side to Side
And Hit him till it Hurt,

Exclaiming, with a Final Thud,
"Take that! Abandoned boy!
For Playing with Disgusting Mud
As though it were a Toy!"

Moral:

From Franklin Hyde's adventure, learn
To pass your Leisure Time
In Cleanly Merriment, and turn
From Mud and Ooze and Slime
And every form of Nastiness-
But, on the other Hand,
Children in ordinary Dress
May always play with Sand.

Hilaire Belloc

SAND

To tell where we’ve been
You need just one guess.
The clues are quite clear
When we undress.

Sand in our pockets
When we take off our clothes.
Sand in our socks and shoes,
Hair, ears and nose.

It sticks in our navels
And between our toes.
Every nook and cranny
Who knows where it goes.

A day at the Seaside

Let's go test the water granddad

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!

A seat in the sun (what sun?)

We found just the plaice for lunch

Boats at low tide

Chasing the waves

It's Quite Nice

Asked what he thought of his first day at school, Stuart replied "It's quite nice!"

Food for the birds

One tiny sunflower seed has produced so many new seeds.

We will feed them to the birds in winter.

Can't quite reach

Almost at its tallest. Photo taken 11 August when it reached 8 feet 8 inches.

By 1st September it was 8 feet 10 inches.

The start of something big

We planted our seeds in March 2007. This is the first photo taken on 30th about a week after planting.

More than hopping mad!

Over the summer I have been recording the progress of some sunflowers that Stuart and I have been growing. I have photographed them at different stages with the view of making a website for him. I spent such a long time one evening reducing the photos in size to put them on the site and now I cannot find the folder I made for them ;-(

I saved them all on my laptop and unfortunately didn't copy them to the other computer. The only ones I have there are the originals and I am not even sure if I have them all there. Hope so then I will be able to do it all again.