Thursday, 24 September 2009

The wee red squirrel

It crossed the road in a scurry where I change gear to prepare for the mighty hill at Houxty Bank. Luckily I had slowed down a bit. The squirrel was so very red and so very small.
It is the second one I have seen crossing the road in a hurry of late. A good sign for sure. They are not dying out as fast as we fear around here.
This area in the National Park and esp at Kielder is one of their last safe habitats.

What I love about living here: the wildlife, the landscape of fells, the rivers and burns, the wide open spaces and huge skies, the many rainbows, Northumbrian pipes, the farm eggs, it is a cat's paradise, and the odd gannin's on.

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Autumnal Equinox

Glad to be back home for this time of transition and change.
Watching the garden and the landscape around us I see how summer turns to autumn and I would not miss that. The changing of seasons is a time of observing, noting and paying great attention. I love it.
The once lush green foliage is now coloured and bright red berries shine in the sun, rosehips of many kinds, cotoneaster, rowan, hawthorn...
The apple trees in the orchard are laden with fruit. This is a bumpercrop year. Although not one single plum!
Going for walks just to notice what is going on in nature right now. Invigorating and also melancholic as winter does seem closer than just before the equinox.
It is very windy and the tree brushes against the tiled roof, at night it is spooky. I may have to cut it back before winter.
Right now I am contemplating what to do with my huge apple harvest. Looking through my Swedish cookbook last night I found recipes for drying them, stewing them, making chutney...
I still have jetlagg and find it hard to fall asleep at night and I sleep late in the morning. Must try to shift that slowly.
A busy autumn lies ahead and I welcome that.
Winter will be for quiet work time, reading, writing,...

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Hemma igen!

A halcyon day with warm weather and sunshine.
So happy to be back home with the darlings Luna, Fergus and Myles! Sleeping all together in the bed.

Unpacking, doing laundry, opening mail, hoovering up feathers,...It is so good to be home again.
I love travels and adventures and yet coming home is bliss.

The neighbours filled me in on the "gannins on" in the valley while I was away:
Peggy is in Chevy Chase and yet another house is up for sale due to a tennant farmer retiring, Robert is parcelling out allotments in his sheep field, R Cocker is winding up the village with his building plans, the weather has been mild in Sept, a lot of mowing apparently, and the choir starts on Monday!
Peggy turned 100 this past spring and could have stayed at home I think, but now she is in a care home in nearby Otterburn called Chevy Chase after the ancient road going through. I will go over and visit and read to her.

Laundry drying on the washing line in the sun. Cats napping and I am looking closely at the garden seeing how plants fared and grew in my absence. The houseplants did amazingly well. No premature deaths.

I hope to have time to write more about the trip soon.