Misty morning

The last day of August and this morning I could almost feel the summer slipping away. We woke to thick mist and I went for an early walk along the canal a few miles from home.

It was very quiet and still. The was no movement in the water of the fishing lakes (old flooded gravel pits) except when birds moved leaving ripples travelling across the surface.

Everything was a soft grey colour and very peaceful, it felt as if the world was just waking up.

The mist had settled everywhere, little droplets of water on the grass, falling from the trees and picking out the outlines of hundreds of cobwebs.

A perfect walk, full of the restful quietness that comes with autumn.

Decluttering

I know spring is the season generally associated with having a good clear out and getting everything clean and tidy but autumn also seems to be a good time to get things in order.

It is the time of year when I tidy up the garden, pruning and cutting back, moving plants or getting rid of those that are too big or taking over the garden. This year the same clearing and tidying process is taking place inside the house as well.

I can't take the credit for these bags ready for the charity shop though, they are full of books that my youngest son has decided that he has outgrown. He tells me there are 139 books altogether.

He is usually such a hoarder, I was really surprised that he could part with so many. As we dropped them off at the Oxfam bookshop, it was me that felt a bit sad, there were hours of bedtime stories in those bags.

I have followed his good example and cleared out some clothing and a few books of my own. I have listed some of last years school textbooks on Amazon and am hoping to recoup some of the money I spent on them. I'm not sure how well they will sell though, a lot of other people have had the same idea and there are loads for sale at very low prices.

Of course visiting the charity shops does give the opportunity to buy stuff as well and I must make sure that I don't get carried away and return home with more than I donated. Only one purchase this time, a pure wool Witney blanket that was too good a bargain to be missed - even the chickens approve!

Late summer

I have just checked the British Airways website and my husbands flight home from America is due to land on time so he will be home for the Bank Holiday weekend. We haven't got anything planned and he will probably very tired but we will be able to spend time in the garden which will do him good after two weeks of meetings!

Two weeks ago when he left it still felt like summer but now it is starting to feel as if the seasons are starting to change.



The crab apples have ripened. I shall be picking some soon though there are plenty and I will leave some on the tree for the birds to eat this autumn.




The shortening of the days is noticeable now and the chickens are roosting earlier. The sun is lower in the sky and more of the garden is shaded. This afternoon the late sun lit up the stems of the ruby chard.

The autumn raspberries are ripe. We don't have very many but there are enough for a late summer treat.

Of all the changes in the garden, for me this flower always marks the start of autumn. The autumn cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolia comes into flower just as the summer flowers start to fade. This plant self seeded into a clump of Ophiopogon planiscapus : 'Nigrescens' and I really like the contrast of the pink flowers and the black leaves.

I hope the weather stays fine so we can enjoy the late summer sun. Have a good weekend.

Food from our front garden

The first plums from out little plum tree. It was planted last autumn and in its first year it has fifteen plums. I wondered whether it would have any at all as it was in blossom when we had the late fall of snow back in April.

The tree is in our front garden which is a small plot about 6 x 15 feet beside the drive. It was originally lawn but it was hardly worth the effort to carry the lawn mower round from the shed in the back garden to cut such a small patch of grass so I got rid of it and planted perennials. Now I am trying to squeeze in some edible plants to make it productive as well as decorative.

In this photo the poor tree looks a bit dwarfed by the existing plants but I am making sure the area around the trunk is clear of growth so I hope it will soon be growing well, although not too well because it is only a small space!

I also have tomatoes in my front garden, three plants in pots by the front door. Not probably what you'd expect by a front door but its a good use of space and when they (finally) ripen, I think they will look good next to the red geraniums.

I also have some herbs, chives, thyme and two different variegated sage. I am wondering what else I can plant. In the winter when the sun is low in the sky the garden doesn't get any sun at all and it is quite a cold spot with the frost often staying all day so it will have to be something quite hardy. Unless I can think of anything else it will probably be spinach beet.

Recent Knitting

Knitting seems to have disappeared from this blog lately. Partly this is due to the time of year, I am busier outside with the garden and also its the school holidays so no knitting in the car at the station car park. Another reason for not posting is that I don't much like my photographs of my finished knitting. There must be a knack to taking good knit-photos which I don't seem to have.


This cardigan is a good example. It is my favourite cardigan of this summer, I've worn it a loads, I'm really pleased with the way it fits yet when I try to photograph it, it ends up looking like a limp dish-cloth!

It is knitted from a bag of wool I bought in a charity shop. Eight balls of Sirdar Balmoral Natural Tweed (double knitting 75%wool/25%alpaca) for £5. A bargain, but unfortunately not really enough for an adult garment. I decided on a deep V neck to reduce the amount of yarn required and then had to choose between a cropped cardigan with long sleeves or a longer cardigan with 3/4 sleeves. I went for the second option.

This is the second top down raglan cardigan I have knitted and I do like this method, much easier to adjust the shaping as you go along and no sewing up.

I kept the design very simple, just a little waist shaping, a narrow garter stitch edging and nice shell buttons from my button box.

Of course there has also been some sock knitting. This pair is knitted from some wool I bought in Belgium last summer and again they look better than the photo.

All the socks I have knitted up to now have just been a simple sock pattern so I thought I ought to get out of the rut and try something different. I am knitting these at the moment, one finished, one to go.

I've enjoyed knitting the lace pattern though I do have to concentrate a bit more. I've made a few mistakes while watching television and thinking more about the film than my knitting.

This cushion cover however was perfect television knitting. Another charity shop bargain, six balls of cotton yarn for £1.99. I was intending just to knit dishcloths but I liked the look and feel of the knitting and decided to make cushion covers to replace my old worn out ones. Again, one done, one to go.

So, one sock and one cushion cover to go and I really should try to get them both finished because my husband is bringing some wool back from America next weekend and I know I will want to cast on as soon as it arrives. Wool seems to be so much cheaper in the States than here so I placed an order with Knit Picks to be delivered at his US workplace. I have 13 balls of swish double knitting in lemongrass heather - easily enough to knit a cardigan that is both long and has long sleeves! To qualify for free delivery I had to spend $50, so sock wool for two pairs of socks will be arriving as well - I wish we could get yarn for that price over here.