This year has been a good year for apples, so it would seem. Our trees have been laden with them and our trusty cooking apple tree (possibly a Bramley) has produced baskets of large red and green fruit. We have now harvested them all and are slowly going through the many crates filling the floor space in the kitchen. We daren't light the woodburner in there so as not to spoil them before we have a chance to process them.
Today is Apple Day and I thought I would make a contribution to this 30-year old autumn celebration by giving …
This time of year always reminds me of the Brambly Hedge stories by Jill Barklem that I used to read to our children when they were little. Particularly, Autumn Story with its evocative descriptions of harvest time and the beautiful illustrations of delightful mice gathering berries, seeds and roots to be stored away for Winter.
In that story, old Mrs Eyebright says: “Bad weather’s on its way, I can feel it in my bones. We must finish our harvesting before the rain begins”. Right now, it feels just like that at Upper Cefn-y-Pwll… we are preparing ourselves for Winter! The …
At this point in late Summer, the garden is looking full: still productive but with an untidy, crowded appearance. Plants, flowers and vegetables are now showing signs of having passed their best and beginning their decline towards decay. This is consistent with the time of year as the Autumn Equinox is only about three weeks away. However, there is something else that contributes to the unkempt appearance – something that has more to do with me than the time of year: weeds!
I am acutely aware that I have let weeds take over in places: massive thistles in the strawberry …
Today is the Summer Solstice, marking the longest day of the year with maximum hours of daylight as the Sun reaches its peak in its ascending - or waxing – phase. Since the Winter Solstice six months ago, the light has steadily increased throughout two seasons and it reaches culmination point now at Summer Solstice. Now is the time to celebrate the strong energy of the Sun and the long days of Summer that will bring us a bountiful harvest to feed us during the dark, cold and leaner days of Winter.
