Autumn, Fruits & Words

Hello on this beautiful Autumn Thursday (18th September)

This morning was calm & misty with a sharpness that says winter is well on it's way. For me it was the first real day of autumn & to celebrate I took the little dog for a walk & watched the sun break through the mist. We collected rosehips, hawthorn berries & elderberries from the hedgerows for the hens. The trees & bushes are profusely covered in fruits, does that mean we are in for a severe winter - what I believe is referred to as a "blackberry winter"?

All week I have been gathering fruits for the pets and, for me & the significant other. Whilst the gathering of food for the bleak months ahead is an ancient ritual the searching of the Internet for recipes & storage advice is not! It feels to me like an excellent juxtaposition (what a fabulous word) of the oldest & newest of human technologies. It also set me reflecting on serendipity (another wonderful word) - lucky chance. Many years ago whilst I was at university I went out with a chap who was at Cambridge doing research on how to get the world's computers to talk to each other - yes - that now indispensable Internet. He went off to Silicon Valley & I expect he is now earning a 6 figure salary or has dropped-out & is trekking in the Himalayas searching for yetis!

In my fruit gathering I have discovered that :
* one flimsy supermarket plastic bag is totally inadequate for collecting blackberries - the thorns just rip holes in it - smugly returning the berries to the ground!
* the green husks of walnuts really do stain your hands brown & it doesn't come off easily.
* the same husks can be used for dying things - I now have a soft-brown cloth bag (much better for fruit gathering).
* that chickens love shiny berries & run round excitedly with them in their beaks.
* too much fruit gathering gives you sore feet, sore hands & a bad back,
* but the aforementioned complaints are ameliorated (a lovely soothing word) by eating puddings made with them, accompanied by lots of custard: with the side-effect of a warm lingering virtuous feeling!

On leaving the army my significant other took a course in furniture making -little did he think that those skills would be used to build a "Poultry Palace" or "Cluckingham Palace" as someone has labelled it. All the wood is reclaimed, the floor was bought at an auction for few pounds, the nails & roofing materials are new but bought as great prices. Even so - I estimate that labour costs alone would price the Palace at £1,200!! That doesn't include the flasks of coffee & moral support that a perfectionist, master craftsman requires!

So my Thank You's this week are to the wonderful words in the English language (my favourite word is lozenge- what's yours?), the abundance of the hedgerows & a husband who loves his hens so much he builds them a Palace.

Pears, Poultry and Pets

Hello again on an overcast September Thursday (11th September)

Pears - Today I was gathering windfall apples for my horse when I was delighted to discover pears. They were small conical pears with a slight blush, very beautiful little fruits. I have walked passed that pear tree for a year now & had thought that it was an apple tree like the others in the little orchard. When I really looked at the tree it was clearly a pear - I've taken it as a little reminder about making assumption & jumping to conclusions!

Poultry -For ages we have wanted hens for eggs & are at last in a position to have some. After extensive research we decided to start out with about 10 rescue hens & some Light Sussex. At the weekend we bought 30 hens of different breeds - so much for sticking to a plan! Once my impulsive husband saw the hens on offer he said yes to them all! So we are now the proud owners of 5 Calder Rangers (brown), 5 Black Rock, 9 Bluebelles (smokey grey) & 11 Light Sussex (mainly white). And the final touch - we have been offered free a Light Sussex cockerel - fate! The hen house (aka Poultry Palace) is not quite complete so the horse has been evicted & the girls are squatting in there for a few more days. More on hens in another post....

Pets (& Domestic Animals) - I believe that there are people in the world who don't have them, don't want them & cant see the point of them! I can remember a time in my young adult years when I didn't have any & those were definitely days with less colour, action & responsibility. It's very hard to explain to non-pet wanters the expansion, even a tiny, low maintenance pet can bring to a life.

There's the research into what makes them happy & comfortable & then finding the suppliers that can provide their material needs: whether is be the familiar supermarket, locating a specialist store or talking a local greengrocer into giving you unwanted veggies!

Then there is the activation & accessing of latent wells of care, love & commitment - these often "gushing" when the pet is not well or has presented the owner with a challenge: eating through the phone cable, trashing a door, standing on a foot, knocking over the spouse, biting and so forth!

And for those pets that require regular exercise, there are safe routes to find, leadership & socializing processes to get to grips with & fitness development - on both sides!

Then there is the sadness & grief we feel on discovering those pets who don't have caring owners, who suffer abuse & neglect & outright violence & malice. This part of pet ownership can change people's lives for good & bad. Think of all those animal shelters, welfare workers & veterinary staff, they all involve individuals who have been profoundly moved to take action to directly alleviate the suffer & misfortune of unfortunate & sick animals.

And then there are those who are prompted to question the wider relationship between pets & animals & people & who lead us all to insights about compassion, about relationships & about what it is to be human.

So this is a Thank You to those countless animals who have directly enhanced individual people's lives. It is a Thank You to all those animals who by living, dying, suffering & interacting with people have helped the evolution of compassion in society at large - everyone & everything has benefited from that.

Some interesting Links
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com
http://www.safepets.co.uk/index.html
http://www.trallwmfarm.org.uk/index.htm
http://www.dog-training.com/springer.htm
http://www.animalaid.org.uk
http://www.janfennellthedoglistener.com
http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk
www.montyroberts.com

Fungi, Frills & Fun

Hello again on this wet & windy Autumn Thursday (4th Sept)

Puffballs
For the last few week I have been gathering giant puffballs - to quote "Mushrooms - River Cottage Handbook (no 1)" by John Wright :
"If there is one edible fungus that cannot possibly be mixed up with anything inedible, it just has to be the wonderful Giant Puffball."
I found them on an old muck heap amongst the nettles & burdock - softly glowing. Now I'm not one for eating mushrooms of any sort - they just don't agree with me- but I am reliably told but my "significant other" that a puffball omlette is a culinary delight. So if it's "safe & legal" get out there & try one -even better share one with friends!

Bread Making (more fungi)
After years of complaining to those around me that commercial bread was horrible I went out & brought a bread-maker. With a bit of experimentation I have found it possible to produce - REAL BREAD. Not only has this stopped me moaning I have discovered how pleasurable it can be. I know all the books go on about how satisfying it is but it really is. Call it alchemy or science - it is fascinating mixing the wet & dry ingredients, adding the yeast (more fungus), letting the mixture sit & voile la - a frothy mass. I recently tried a new recipe that required a very wet mixture, I let it over rise & it became a creeping mass that nearly fell off the work surface! Then from this bubbly mass comes bread - with that wonderful aroma matched by taste, especially when spread with butter!!!

Gladioli (the frill)
Gladioli- no wonder the word "glad" is in there - they always make me smile: yes I know it's derived from word for a the roman sword. I have some at home at the moment, great spears of outrageous ruffled pink. They rise from the slim vase like an effervescent fountain or a placket of frills on a summer blouse! Absolutely no restraint - a most un-English flower- hurrah.

Fun on the TV
Still on a theme of fun, this week I watched an old episode of the "Good Life", I'd forgotten how good that series was. Of course the best part was given to Margo Leadbetter perfectly played by Penelope Keith. Later on in the week I managed to catch "Bride & Prejudice" - a Bollywood version of "pride & Prejudice" The music is infectious, the costumes jewel-like, the tone up-beat & the storyline comfortably close to the original. Get a pizza, frothy coffee & some friends round & get dancing to this movie!

So this week it's a "Thursday Thank You" to the wonders of nature (& science) and to the script writers/film makers/actors who have made me laugh.

Happy quotes, plants & dogs

Hi again on this windy, gloomy end of August day


Foundation For a Better Life.
I was directed to this site by a friend - what a great site. There is so much gloom in the news & so many people far & near in need, that is sometimes becomes difficult to remain positive & thankful. Get a quote sent your inbox each day & be uplifted!




Seeds
Imagine it is late winter & you have just put some great big seeds in pots, then you have put them to one side (in the greenhouse, on the window sill, in the spare room etc) and waited. Soon you excitedly see lovely shoots emerging & watch these grow into lushious leaves - time to pot on. Then one beautiful day you lovingly put them in the warm, nutritious ground & wish them well with a good watering. Jump to late July. Those seeds are now 8 foot monsters, leaves 6inches across, red flowers humming with bees & festooned with long green beans. Beans, beans everywhere!! However many times this pattern of seed - plant - fruit/flower/vegetable - seed occurs I am always thrilled & it is as if I am watching it for the first time. So Thank You to "nature"/nature spirits/God/the divine spark - whatever it is that makes it happen - Thank You.



Butterflies/moths.
Until this year, when I began growing brassicas for the first time, I had really looked forward to seeing butterflies. It has come as a bit of a shock to realize that those pretty, almost weightless fragile dots of life are MONSTERS!!! I find it hard to describe the mixed emotions I felt seeing my baby broccoli plants, with their rapidly expandly, dark-green healthy leaves, covered in eggs & holes! I have searched to strike a balance between the needs of the butterflies & my need for food!!!So this is it - fine netting over the brassicas except for one large unidentifed wild sown brassica & no attempt to save my nasturtiums. I now have a large leafy plant with great holes in it's leaves & lots & lots of leaf stalk but few leaves on some of the nasturiums. I don't eat the latter & have really enjoyed them for months so the loss of them seems a small price to pay for my peace of mind. (More on battles with invading creatures on another post).

Monday Moments
It gives me pleasure to tell you all out there that a good friend has re-started her Monday Moments slot. I really enjoyed that first batch so I'll be eagerly visiting the new site of these thoughts http://www.tinasdivadiary.blogspot.com/.

Dogs
just a few words on another of my enthusiams - dogs. Those hairy creatures that are always there for you with:
* paws that have stomped in fox poo,
* a back caked in horse-pat,
* a lick after they have just eaten a bowl of smellie dog food,
and not forgetting
* the unforgettable "arome de pond water" now all over the car!!!

The First real "Thursday Thank You"

This is a big

THANK YOU

to lots of medical personnel!

One week ago my much love, but very naughty dog, was spayed. I had been rather appreensive but these misgivings have thankfully all come to nothing. One week on & the scar is almost healed & she has managed a normal, if rather gently-paced walk on the lead. The biggest problem has been a nasty bit of razor rash but that's looking much less angry & sore.
So it's a big thank you to the staff at the Marches vet centre for doing an excellent job. The thank you is for my dog & for my horse who had a very nasty accident a few months ago).
I'm also grateful for Rescue Remedy, homeopathic remedies, aromatherapy oils & Reiki - all of which I put to good use to.

On Tuesday,the 90 year lady who owns the park where I currently live had a heart attack & fall which severly damaged her arm. The medical team spent an hour stabilizing her heart then she was air-lifted to hospital. The next morning she was reportedly sitting up in bed - marvellous news. I'll be visiting her later in the week.
Events such as this act trigger in me immense gratitute, gratitude to the large number of people directly & indirectly getting this lady safely to a hospital bed. From the people who put in-place the procedures for airlifting patients, the designers of the helicopters & ambulances, the producers of medical products to the more obvious medical personnel & concerned friends. What a huge interconnected web of people & materials & ideas all working positivly together to bring about help, support & healing.

I believe that healing energy is all around us if we choose to tap into it: it sometimes uses surprising vehicles. I've grown lots of plants from seeds this year & some of them I planted specifically to use for cut flowers e.g my dwarf sunflowers. But I have only been able to bring myself to cut one sunflower bloom, why? Well I have watched the bees feed from them & feel they need the flowers more than I do (bees are under serious threat globally). Every time I see the sunflower's bold, vibrant faces they make me smile, to me that means they are generating healing energy - an energy that I want to share with everyone who walks or drives past. Flowers are truely "spiritual food" & really do lift the heart & soul - so much from a £2 packet of seed- what amazing value.

The Thursday Thank You

This is my first real post so "hi" to the blog community.


I've been reading friend's blogs for a long while now & finally feel ready to have a go myself. I love the idea of a regular blog slot (Wellness Wednesday by Anna's World comes to mind) - making it a discipline/commitment rather than a random event, which I feel sure will not happen. So I'm going for a day of the week but not a necessarily weekly posting. Thursday feels good- The Thursday Thank You- to emphasize the positives in life.

poppy m