Eventually The Sun Shines Through

Well this has been a funny old week. Lots of rain, some things to be sorted that I really didn't want to, lots of dreadful things in the news, lots of rain and lots of dark, gloomy days. You know me with dark, gloomy days and I'm the same with dark, gloomy issues. So my mood took a sizeable dip and I had to step back from social media and news stories because I couldn't cope. I needed head reset time, this usually involves walks in nature but the rain just didn't stop this week so indoors it was.

I did manage one walk in the rain - to the library, books can be a good mood lifter I find, and then I walked on to pick up some craft things to make an autumn garland to brighten the room. Some fairy lights were added and that's it at the top of this blog. A little brightness to lift dark days.

As for this week in nature, well it wasn't really gardening weather so it was a case of watching through the window, lots of birds coming and going, including two pesky magpies who have been coming to steal Mrs Tufty's nuts. Mrs Tufty just stares at me through the window plaintively in the hope of a refill.

At my cousin's the wily old fox was waiting to greet me again.

I am always delighted to see just one but she tells me there are four or five out most nights, waiting for the neighbours to feed them.

Garden plan this coming week is 1) to buy a squirrel feeder to keep the magpies away from the monkey nuts, 2) to plant those autumn bulbs 3) to bring indoors the rest of the tomatoes to ripen 4) mow the lawns and tidy.

So how about cooking and baking this week? Well, I just managed to bake another sourdough loaf and then a wholemeal loaf in the breadmaker, no cakes I'm afraid. I made a new soup - cauliflower and walnut, which was tasty and much needed on a chilly day. I tried a new recipe for kimchi tacos too.

They were quite a hit and I will try them again.

The plan for next week is to bake another sourdough loaf, some focaccia and some apple flapjacks. I hope to try out a new soup and a new pasta dish too. I'll let you know how they go.

Book news is that I finished Ian Rankin's The Falls which was just super. I do love his Rebus books though I rarely get close to solving them till near the end. This one was really meaty with some historical references that set me off on some of my own research. I have now started Joanne Harris's Chocolat. It seems to have been in my TBR pile forever, I can't believe that it has taken me this long to begin it. I am really enjoying it though.

As Saturday's planned outing was washed out by torrential rain we visited the Walker Art Gallery to see the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition. It is free to visit and is so worth it, some amazing artworks on display. A wonderful way to spend a rainy day. We loved it.

My SAD lamp has been much needed this week and I frequently forgot to use it. Astronomical autumn begins tomorrow and there will be darker and more gloomy days ahead so I need to prepare for them and use it regularly. I know I'm not fun to be around when my SAD kicks in so I need to be ahead with my absorption of light.

Today, as you can see, it has not been needed. The blue skies have returned and the sun is shining. Eventually the sun always shines through, be it after bad weather days or bad life times. We all need to trust and believe that, even on the gloomiest of days. I hope some of this has been interesting. Wishing you all a wonderful new week, I hope that the sun shines for you xxx

Time For Cosiness, But Don't Forget Nature

 

This past week we seem to have well and truly left summer behind. It has been so much colder and so much wetter. The house has seemed darker and gloomier without the summer sun. I've accepted that summer is gone for another year and have got out my case of autumn/winter clothes and packed away the lighter ones. If we suddenly get some returning warm days I have t-shirts. I also have my blanket ready to snuggle on the sofa and new batteries for my fairy lights to cheer the house. Hot chocolate and chai latte mixes are being bought and I have begun to use my SAD lamp. My winter SAD hasn't kicked in yet but I think it's best to get ahead. I need to get out on some nature walks too now to soak up the vitamin D and remember to appreciate all that autumn has to offer. Sometimes it's easy to forget the beauty that's out there when the weather turns.

So how has this last week gone? Well, when the rain wasn't falling I managed to get the front garden tidied, more shrubs cut back and the beds weeded. It's generally looking a lot happier, There are still a few summer blooms out there and my cotoneaster (which some people use as a filler but I love) is at its autumnal best.

If you remember last week I was giving up on the tomatoes ripening but, if there is something I should have learned by now, gardening takes time and this week lots began to ripen. I had eight in a salad (my husband doesn't like them so more for me) and I'm looking forward to these ones being ready soon.

Elsewhere in the garden, Mrs Tufty has started coming more often, obviously stocking up for winter when she will slow down a little. Unfortunately the magpies have noticed where the monkey nuts go and are beginning to steal quite a few before she gets them. I may need to buy a squirrel feeder. The robin has obviously realised that it is autumn and is now a daily visitor for his lunch/dinner.

We have no other new visitors to the garden yet but I have heard the first of the overwintering geese flying above us to Martin Mere.

Plan for this coming week is to get out there and spend a little more time readying the garden for winter and planting some spring bulbs. I'm also hoping to gather the runner beans and some more tomatoes.

In the kitchen, the cold weather has set me baking and preparing for colder days. I made the first sourdough loaf of the year this week.

I also made a rosemary and raisin loaf,  some apple & sultana scones, an apple & raisin loaf (a bit soggy in the middle, would never pass Bake Off!) and some Paddington Bear Marmalade cakes. 

As it's getting colder the kitchen plans for this week are to bake another sourdough loaf, make a wholemeal loaf for sandwiches and start winter stews with dumplings. I'm going to try a new soup too - cauliflower and walnut cream. I may try some apple flapjacks if I have time, it all depends on the weather. If it's fine - I'll garden, if it rains - I'll bake.

Book news is that I finished Jenny Colgan's Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe. I absolutely loved it. A light hearted romance with lots of super cake recipes to try. I've now started Ian Rankin's The Falls. I really enjoy Rebus mysteries and am thoroughly enjoying this one

So that's this week's news. I hope some of it was interesting for you and I wish you all have a lovely new week xx

Is Autumn Rushing Forward?

So autumn seems to be hastening on (not as much as in the photo though, that was taken last year). So many trees are already turning golden/brown and quite a few are shedding their leaves already. I was beginning to think that autumn was coming earlier with climate change. Then I read a Guardian article about how it is a false autumn. Apparently because of four heatwaves this summer the trees are under stress and are shedding their leaves early and so much is out of sync, nature wise. So climate change, yes, early autumn, no.

So how has this week gone?

Nature spotting - I went to visit my cousin and, as I stepped from the car, a beautiful fox appeared from behind it, obviously hoping that I would have food.

The garden has started getting busier with birds coming to feed - bluetits, great tits, blackbirds, goldfinches, magpies, feral pigeons. Soon I shall be expecting the collared doves, woodpigeons and starlings back.

The squirrels have been coming regularly. Mrs Tufty more regularly than usual but I notice that she has teats now so obviously has a family to feed. When she sees me through the window she has taken to standing on her back legs in a pleading manner and doesn't run when I go out, just waits for the monkey nuts. 

So this week I need to clean out the bird feeders again to protect them from bird flu, get a new mealworm feeder and buy extra sunflower hearts, peanuts and mealworms to fill them - oh and more monkey nuts for the squirrel families.

In the kitchen this week I have made some ciabattas and French country bread for the freezer for busier autumn/winter days. I haven't baked much else as I have been busy catching up with family and friends who were neglected over the busy summer. In the coming week I'll hopefully get the first sourdough loaf baked (the starter should be ready to use by Tuesday). Then the plan is to bake some focaccia to go with soup and to attempt an Italian rosemary and raisin loaf to go with soft cheeses.

For sweet baking I am still using up the apples from the trees so, assuming I have time, I hope to make apple and sultana scones, apple tea loaf cake and stew some apples for pies and crumbles later in the year. The freezer may well be full then, we'll see.

I always like to try new recipes so this week I'm going to try a cannellini beans and greens soup. Should be some to freeze too.

A new autumn dinner recipe to try this week will be mushroom, leek and chestnut pie. Just right for these cold evenings.

In the garden this week I have mostly been tidying - lawn mowing, cutting back trees, shrubs and died back summer plants such as monbretia in the back garden. Weather permitting I'll carry on with that this coming week, trimming and weeding the front garden and raking up some of the falling leaves. I may get some spring bulbs planted too. The runner beans are mostly ready so I shall pick them and we can have those with a meal sometime. Only three tomatoes have ripened so far, the rest remain green. I shall give them another week and then I shall concede defeat and look for some green tomato recipes.

Book wise this week I have finished King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard. I enjoyed the adventure a lot more than I would have expected but I did struggle with the superior colonial mindset and demonstrations of hunting prowess. I do remember lecturers at university saying that some books had to be read as 'of their time'. This was definitely one of them and some of the attitudes would have gone unnoticed reading them in Victorian times I'm sure and it would be considered a fine adventure novel.

I have now begun a light romance book - Jenny Colgan's Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe which I am enjoying immensely.

Well that's this week's nature, cooking, gardening and book news. I hope I haven't bored you. I'll let you know next week how I get on with my plans. I hope you all have a wonderful week xx