Cats in the Kitchen, Flora in the Garden

First of all I must mention a blog auction that is going on this week at Hidden Haven Homestead run by Peggy, please pop over to her site and see what is going on, perhaps you can donate goods or put in a bid for some items. It is all in aid of family that Peggy knows who are really going through some hard times. Go on over and have a look, she explains it all a lot better than I can.

We have just had our last public holiday until Christmas, so now I have drawn a line under Summer. Unfortunately, the weather has been dreadful over the weekend, but I put not being able to go into the garden to good use and set upon a marathon decluttering and sorting blitz. I have made piles, sub-piles, clipped and saved, made more piles, ripped up and thrown out until I was a totally dizzy Daisy Lupin, spinning from craft table to piles like a whirling dervish. Had to end the night with a lovely large glass of red wine, to recover my energy [hee hee]. I am just so pleased with myself and the amount I have done. Of course, now I have started doing a lot more collage means I have to think extra hard whether to throw things out or not, 'Would they be useful for collage or not, I wonder?' I kept asking myself, but even though I kept a lot of 'maybe useful' I also had a thorough sort. I feel I had to do this because by October I hope to be ensconsed in the spare room. Also I seem to have an eruption of creativity at the moment, like a giant wave swelling within ready to pour out and crash on the beach. I am in a flustered, crazy, estactic mayhem of creating, so better keep on going whilst I am inspired, it might not last. I have also, heard that my order of toy fillings will be arriving within a few days, so then it will be upward and onward with the Daisy family. Daisy Fae, herself will be making her blog debut, hopefully by the end of the week when my films are returned.


These two photographs, above right and above, are how my sweetpeas finally ended up, I was worried as they were very slow to grow, and I thought they were not going to amount to much this year. In the end they managed to have a short but colourful
blooming season. I haven't seen the swallows that live in the village for a few days, I wonder if they have set off for warmer climes? They seem to have left earlier this year, I hope this is not a portent of bad weather in September. Apart from that, I find it strange that I have missed them going, I usually watch them lined up on the telegraph poles, nudging each other and chattering about their journey, some of them getting over excited, probably the first timers,having a quick fly round, before their parents tweet for them to get back into line and behave themselves.

It's been a strange summer really, both weather wise and in plant and animal behaviour, I do think it must be the consequences of global warming. I know most people do their bit to try to help the environment, none of us are perfect, but even sorting out waste is step in the right direction. I, honestly, believe it is the governments of some countries that are being negligent in not taking being green seriously enough, but that is down to the usual offenders, it is big businesses that call the shots, and it is not always in their interests to be green. I digress though, it was the summer I was talking about, all my plants seemed to be blooming on the wrong dates and plants that usually flowered at the same time didn't seem to partner each other this year. I think, should I be taking this in consideration when planning next year's garden or will I just have to accept variations in flowering?



It is officially Autumn now according to my tiny world, so watch out for a brilliant low hung orange harvest moon in a few days, if the sky is clear. I always get a huge energy buzz at this time of year. I think I let things slide in the summer and try to live in the garden as much as possible.

Autumn means, first and foremost, cleaning rooms, organising curtains and cushions, getting the throws back out of the linen chest, lots of scented candles and insence. A pile of new to me books ready to read on the low drawered chest in front of my chair, winter crocheting or needlework to do while watching some dvds I have saved from the summer sales, especially the boxed set of Audrey Hepburn films, that I found in HMV for £12.00. Nights getting dark earlier closing the curtains lighting the lamps and candles and enjoying everything I mentioned in the last sentence. Adding drinking chocolate, back to my shopping list and beginning to buy in ingredients for christmas cakes, puds, etc, making warming soups and casseroles. Finally being frantically but happily busy during the day, designing and making artwork and crafts to sell at Christmas events. That's what Autumn means to me, what does Autumn mean to you?