I use my hedgerow cookbook recipe as always which this time made 3 bottles' worth; my winter cold avoidance ritual wouldn't be complete without it.
Take care,
Sophie
It does just feel like that tiny window for mild, cool weather evaporates in a matter of days then it's all winter coats and wrapping up warm. I do have enough jumpers and skirts but there are a few key pieces that my wardrobe is lacking which I have been keeping my eye out for in charity shops for. The other day I managed to get a big bleach mark on a pair of trousers I rely on as a fail safe which has left me quite sad as they'll be tough to replace with something I'm happy in. This pair of black skinnies is the a recent find and they are pretty comfy and I see myself wearing these a lot over the months to come.
Are you looking for anything in particular to wear this Autumn-Winter?
Take care,
Sophie
I haven't made mention of the 'orchard' patch in terms of the trees on the blog mostly due to having reaped virtually nothing off them. Their original site was the main plot but once we took on the extra half they were dug up and moved, so we lost a year while they were settling. A few years ago we had very hard frosts while they were in blossom. I remember is trying to wrap them in fleece which not only didn't keep them warm but knocked off a fair amount of blossom in the process. The years we have grown fruit it either fell off, got eaten or never amounted to more than a handful. The cherry tree produced enough for one jar of jam last year.
However, this year we were shocked to see so many pears on our little pear tree. The other pears being devoid of any fruit, of course. I assumed many would fall off in due course as the season progressed, but no! About 6 weeks ago I decided to take one off the tree which did have a glimmer of pink and give it a try. Ok, so it was quite a 'firm' eat, not juicy but had a lovely flavour. I took around a dozen off over the next week to give away and eat myself. Since doing that I was told that pears don't ripen on the tree and need to be picked and stored to ripen. Now you tell me!!!
The weather had other ideas and the hoolie that blew in, you guessed it, knocked all the pears off bar a couple, leaving them in a heap around the tree. Of course, I was dismayed at the prospect of all the fruit going to waste so we gathered them up in a big trug bucket. Aside from maybe 5 which weren't going to make it, the rest seemed absolutely fine, I suppose the short fall onto a soft surface hadn't hurt them. Even so, I was concerned that any mild bruising might lead to the fruit rotting so we pondered what to do with an enormous bucket of potentially damaged pears.
Pears were plopped to jars and filled with syrup then left to bubble away in the canning machine.
Unsure how they were going to turn out I opened a small jar a week later to test for whether they were edible or pleasant; it's no good giving away anything that's no good to eat. We'd forgotten to label soon enough so they're all pot luck on flavour. The pears were absolute heaven. Soft and tasty, sweet and utterly delicious. They will last a long time too so we can keep a few, while giving away some too.
We have ideas about being able to can more things in a similar way next year too.
Take care,
Sophie
Sophie
It's waterproof on the outside with a separate bag inside it. The bag will not be affected by the rain, it won't be damaged, nor would it care if it were.
I was given said bag by my Nanny a few years ago and with most presents, feel obligated to use it. Her suggested use was as a cool bag for frozen food at which I raised an eyebrow. A coolbag it is not.
I think it's absolutely hideous. And yet perfect for risking destruction in adverse weather.
Take care,
Sophie
Still a few clover flowers to spy - though it did remind me that there's been a poor showing of red clover this year, hardly any to be found.
Fetch your waterproofs and wellies.
Take care,
Sophie
