August has been a month of lots of time spent out in the garden, it's quite an exciting time really because it's just about time to harvest fruit from the fruit trees and get 'jamming' for the winter.
Apples are just about ready for picking which means we need to go black berrying soon so we can make our much loved and enjoyed 'Bramble Apple' jam, and of course, I will definitely be making heaps of apple butter and apple sauce for the freezer. I often use apple butter to make pancakes. The Pioneer Woman has a great recipe for applesauce pancakes that my family adore.
My neighbour has also kindly said that I can go and pick plums from her tree, as they are ripening thick and fast, more than what she can cope with. Tonight I'll be trawling Pinterest to see what I can do with plums!
We have a family of 5 hedgehogs living in our garden and every evening they come onto the back patio to feast on the food that we put out for them - I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I wanted to share a few pics of these sweetie-pies.
These photographs were taken at dusk so they are little grainy. But this little fellow was quite happy with me following him around documenting his nocturnal activities.
I have a few garden pot drip trays that I have put into the garden beds and keep filled with water for the hedgehogs, I don't want them falling into our pond and not being able to get out, although I have put a rock into the pond so that they can get out if they do accidentally topple in. This particular evening I was thrilled to see that the hedgehogs are actually drinking from them.
As I was taking these pictures I looked back to the house and saw this little one staring at me intently...
😂 she's so funny.
Now...have you noticed that there are some trees already responding to the shortening days even though we have not yet entered the autumn months? We have two trees on our street that are beginning to tinge red and right in my garden I have one that is has a few leaves turning yellow already.
As you know if you have been following my blog for any length of time, autumn is my favourite season. I really do feel that I'm at my best in this season, I just come alive and feel energized. Does anybody else get that feeling that the just know that autumn has arrived? You can almost sense the time it turns from being summer to being autumn. There's a poem by Rachael Field that articulates that feeling quite well, I'll leave the poem at the end of this post for you to read, I'm sure that you will know it.
Now autumn has not arrived yet but I can feel that it's on it's way, summer seems to be fading, the trees are looking dusty and a bit crinkled and faded. Not as fresh and vibrant as it was in earlier months. It's just a sense...
Anyhoo, it's this feeling of autumn approaching that has me suddenly itching to begin getting certain things in order, and one of those things was to sort out the garden shed. Seriously, it was a tip, how does it get like that all by itself I wonder? Hmmmm...😊. So one sunny morning, I hauled everything out of the garden shed, gave it a good sweep, purged all the bits and bobs that I've been meaning to take to the recycling centre for ever but haven't, and popped all the 'keepers' back into the shed. Do you know, it feels so good every time I have to go in there, a sense of order prevails!
Right. I'll love and leave you now. Here's the poem I promised...
Something Told the Wild Geese
by Rachael Field.
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, "snow".
Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, "frost".
All the sagging orchards
Steamed with Amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.
Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.
I know exactly how you feel, re-energised by autumn! The wild geese are just now beginning to arrive on our feilds and in the local river delta. They fly down from the arctic and stop here to guzzle the ripened wheat and barleycorn before journeying overseas. The great migration is underway! Smaller birds are flocking too, practising their flying and preparing for their journey. I can hardly keep up with filling the seed feeders in the garden.
ReplyDeleteYou hedgie pictures are lovely! I believe we have one too , but rarely see him. What are you going to do with your plums? I make plum and vanilla butter with mine.
Gill I so enjoyed reading your comment and hearing about the geese arriving in your area. I love to hear that others are enjoying the small things that mark the coming or going of a season. Hmmm, I've been looking on Pinterest and so far I have found a lovely Plum Crumble recipe by Mary Berry, a fruit leather recipe - my girls will love that - and some lovely plum breakfast bars. So I think I'm going to give all three a go. I might make extra crumbles for the freezer :)
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