1 The leaves are falling fast and they glisten beautifully in the rain.
Leaves on the drive
Beautiful Maple across the road
2 Our fruit bowl is full of beautiful Autumn produce and the garden full of fruits for the birds.
Autumn fruit bowl
Cotoneaster, with berries for the birds
3 We’ve picked the very last of our lettuce today and planted the over-wintering green manure seeds to help the fertility of the ground next year.
The last of our salad leaves
1 This morning the sea on the horizon as seen from our bedroom was a really deep blue.
2 Driving to Truro, this beautiful sky opened up as we turned a corner.
3 Such a bright and beautiful blue sky with the spires of Truro Cathedral lit up by the sun – just lovely.
I’m trying out the new gallery format here. What do you think? Somehow all the photos are below as well so you have a good comparison!
The sea from our bedroom window this morning
Trails in a blue sky today
The spires of Truro Cathedral with blue sky
Godrevy 17:9:2012
Little boy in blue pyjamas
Bluebells by the beach 24:4:2010
Blue outfit
Forget-me-nots for my Mum23:5:2012
Blue sky Moab 29:9:2011
1 We are promised four days of Summer starting tomorrow but today is a typical Autumn day, full “of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (From John Keats’ poem, To Autumn, 1820:)
Mist droplets on a web
Horses in the mist and a rabbit running away
2 I spent this damp day doing more sorting. If you’ve been following long, you’ll know that constant but gradual ‘de-cluttering’ of things I inherited is happening at our house! Today it was a bookshelf where I found some beautiful books which have gone straight back onto the shelves! Just look at these…..
The Fern World, published 1877.
Just look at that beautiful lettering!
Fronds unfurling – plate
Fronds unfurling -index to plate
Plate Four
Plate Four info
Published by the Great Western Railway in 1923
I travelled on some of those branch lines, pre Beeching.
I’m saving another treasure for another day. It is so lovely to handle these books knowing they were also loved by my Mum and Dad.
3 Pressed in a Diary and long forgotten, I discovered some beautiful pressed flowers. I picked all these in our garden the day we moved back to Cornwall mid January 2008. I am thrilled by the retention of colour in the primrose, the crocus, the snowdrop, the tiny blue flower and the greenery.
Beautiful flowers pressed January 2008
1 We spent a pleasing hour or two choosing beautiful plants for my Suffragette Garden, a small plot in the front which we have just finished clearing. Everything growing in this space will be purple, white or green to honour my Great Granny who was a Suffragette. She was imprisoned in Holloway for her ‘misdeeds’ while fighting for the right for women to vote and we are very proud of her. I have had a Suffragette Garden wherever I have lived.
2 Driving home, we saw a Mobile Library van, stuffed with books and with such a pleasing slogan on the back, “The universe at your fingertips!”
The Mobile Library van travelling around Cornwall
3 The following poem by Thomas Hardy was read this morning at a Humanist Funeral we went to. It was a beautiful and very moving ceremony to celebrate the life, and to mark the untimely death, of the son of friends of ours. The same poem was chosen by my parents for their funerals so it has a particular place in my heart.
Afterwards by Thomas Hardy
When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay,
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say,
‘He was a man who used to notice such things’?
If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid’s soundless blink,
The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight
Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think,
‘To him this must have been a familiar sight.’
If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm,
When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn,
One may say, ‘He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm,
But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.’
If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door,
Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees
Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more,
‘He was one who had an eye for such mysteries’?
And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings,
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell’s boom,
‘He hears it not now, but used to notice such things’
1 Mr S wants to learn to sail – in fact he would love to have his own boat! I love water! I love living near water. We live near the sea but being on or in the sea – not one of my beautiful things! I determined to learn to swim before I was forty and I did. Now I have to learn to sail before I am seventy!! To that aim we went to a local lake today to find out about sailing lessons. I would so love it if sailing could become one of my beautiful things! I’ll let you know!
Lessons on Stithians Lake
2 One of the things I love about water is the sound, be it crashing, thundering waves or soft swishes of little ripples on a shingle shore; be it a river rushing through a weir or murmuring quietly through the reeds; even the sound of all the rain we’ve had this summer, especially rain pounding on a corrugated tin roof or on the top of the tent. And after the rain, I love the petrichor, not a sound but the loveliest of smells!
3 Near the lake we saw a lion, golden and gorgeous with the most self-satisfied smile on its face.
Smiling Lion
1 There were lichens galore on our walk around Botallack Mine and the cliff tops today. They are so varied and so beautiful.
Feathery lichen
Mixed lichen
Glorious lichen
2 Tin and copper have been mined here for hundreds of years The historian John Norden wrote of the fact that the hamlet of ‘Botallock‘ was ‘a little hamlet on the coaste of Irishe sea most visited with tinners, where they lodge and feede, being nere theyre mynes’ in 1590 and there is evidence all around of rocks and minerals, layers of red, green, black, brown. I found this beautiful shiny purple bit in a wall. Does anyone know what it is?
Purple mineral in the rock
Botallack Crowns
Red rock
3 The only humans around, we sat high up on the cliffs and watched and listened to the waves, the sea birds, and a kestrel hunting.
Waves crashing onto the rocks below
Perched atop the cliffs
Blowing in the wind
A Ginger Fairing ice-cream finished off the beautiful day rather well!
Ginger Fairing ice-cream
This last is just for a laugh and was found in a treasure of a shop in St Just. We followed this very good advice!
1 The gig at Carn Marth was beautiful! It was a lovely relaxed affair with the barbecue burning, children playing, scarecrows were being made for the competition and all while we were singing our hearts out, all 100 of us, all taught by Claire, and, after an horrendous forecast of torrential rain, the sun shone on us! Brilliant! I only have a picture of the three choirs enjoying our warm-up.
Inglehearts, Suitcases and Riversiders warming up prior to Carn Marth Gig
2 When I came home, I sat in the arbour at the back of the garden, knitting and listening to nothing but the murmuration of the bees and was reminded of this lovely piece by Tennyson, especially the last line.
“……………. and sweet is every sound,
Sweeter thy voice, but every sound is sweet;
Myriads of rivulets hurrying thro’ the lawn,
The moan of doves in immemorial elms,
And murmuring of innumerable bees.”
3 For supper tonight I made a delicious dish from the Hairy Bikers turned Dieters – Spanish Style Chicken Bake. I’ll post the recipe if anyone is interested. It was warm enough for us to eat outside tonight too. Lovely.
Spanish Style Chicken Bake a la Hairy Dieters with a couple of variations
P.S. For your information and delectation, ‘murmuration’ is the collective word for a flock of starlings as well as the sound of murmurings. Just thought you might like to know!
1. A delightful day out along the South Bank where the atmosphere was truly beautiful – Londoners, visitors of all ages from all over the country and from all over the world, Olympians and lovely volunteers. There was singing, break dancing, art work and poems, a Rainbow Park made of sand for children and an Ark being built by the Wildworks team!
2. There was the most amazing food market with food from all over the world – amazing smells, lots of delicious samples to be had and a very tasty lunch in the glorious sunshine.
3. In the Festival Hall there was a Maze made of books! Lego packs were being given away! And the lift sings to its passengers! I just loved that – and joined in!
You’ll have to wait for pictures, I’m afraid, as my iPad won’t allow me to upload photos but they will be worth it!
1 I wanted to see Ben Ainslie’s golden post box in the wall at The Pandora Inn so we went down there for another beautiful lunch.
2 The Chocolate Cosmos has changed on Day 2 . It is now matt – still beautiful and with a delicate fragrance of chocolate. The garden is looking really beautiful at the moment.
3 On our drive to a cliff walk at Chapelporth, the Cornish hedgerows were blazing orange as the Crocosmia has come into flower. It is magnificent.
We’re off to London tomorrow to babysit for the weekend! Posts may be brief and may have no photos!
1 Curiosity landed on Mars! Isn’t that just a lovely thing to hear? I love that name!
2 I parked near a stream this morning when I went to meet my Baby Naming family. It was so lovely. The sound of the water was beautiful, the reeds lovely and the whole experience very peaceful and I loved it. I just wish I could give you the sound as well as a photo.
The stream in St Erth
3 Driving home from a fabulous choir session tonight (where my part was changed to my initial consternation but in fact it is a beautiful part that suits my voice even better! Thank you Claire and I’m sorry I was grumpy!) I came across this peacock in a garden! I stopped to take a picture but was somewhat hurried so unfortunately it’s a bit blurred but how often does that happen?!
Peacock in someone’s drive!
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