Saturday 1 November 2014

seasons

 One day it is all Autumnal and conkers, the next the weather shows its true colours as the tail end of the US Hurricanes turns into a storm.....
Today it is Samhain/Calan Gaeaf  So Winter is here and I'm sitting here in front of the woodburning stove all cosy as the wind roars in the chimney and the rain lashes down....

and who forgot to lock the car, and whose bike is sitting in the car after today's ride.....erm.....me!

I took advantage of the good weather we had at lunchtime to go for a bike ride with my daughter on her last day here.
I managed the first flatter part of the ride with her-then told her to go on!

Total ride was sixteen miles, but the last eight were uphill to the summit, where The Pirate rescued me!!   Then we drove to Newton Stewart and had coffeeand scones together, before going tohunt for her husbandand The Boys.
He had forgotten that he had saaid"if you feel ok at the arranged meeting point, carry on the next 16k to Newton Stewart".....)

We found him back here!!   All came out in the wash and nobody died!!

Sad to see them leave after only three nights up here, but The Boys are now in school and one gets fined if one takes time out in term time.

10 comments:

Cro Magnon said...

At home I never lock my car, or take the keys from the ignition. I haven't for over 40 years. I know what you're thinking; it probably isn't worth nicking!

Relatively Retiring said...

I love the picture of conkers. It's a shame they don't stay like that for very long.

smartcat said...

Memories! We had a horse chestnut tree when I was growing up. I loved the colors of the conkers, and of course we had fun heaving them at each other. Good thing we were such lousy shots!
Happy Samhain!

Michèle Hastings said...

Good to have family time no matter how brief. Interesting that parents get fined for taking kids out of school! Here in the states I often took my daughter out of school for a week to visit my parents. She brought her school work along and did it while we were away.

Peter said...

Lovely to see conkers... I remember pickling them overnight in vinegar to make them stronger, and little rings of boys engaging in the serious business of conker fights. I seem to recall that there was quite a complicated method of scoring the fights and the battle scarred conkers themselves became objects of great admiration.

kjsutcliffe said...

Still warm and autumnal here - well a strangely warm autumn. It will change this week for us. Our boys go back to school this week, it has been good having them around while we've out and about.

Sandy Miller said...

I have a horse chestnut out my front door…. they are everywhere and love hitting them with my bike :)

I pick them up and love the way they feel in my hands, so smooth and comfortable.

soubriquet said...

Hurricane- wise I imagine you're referring to the scrag end of Gonzalo?
Being where I now am, I keep a weather-eye out for these things, and can say, so far, so good. But the British weather forecasters seem to constantly attribute them to America, and I must point out that the last landfall Gonzalo made was Bermuda. God Save The Queen etc... Most Hurricanes originate just north of the equator and mid-atlantic, and britain should be thankful that they tend to hit the U.S. landmass and dissipate their destructive energy over here.
Gonzalo just skirted the coast and headed out again.

gz said...

Soub, we get what happens when the weather system hits the air above colder seas..and turns into what we get!!

soubriquet said...

Other than that, best wishes to you both..... Very impressed by your podium successes!
I understand the Pirate's frustration at not being able yet to do all the things he normally expects to, I'm still something of a one-armed-bandit, physiotherapy twice a week, exercises twice a day (supposed to be but it hurts and I'm prone to wimping out), and... Anyway, it adds up to me not having completed the tasks needed in my pottery, I can't do the plumbing or wire sockets, or build my workspace, or shelves. We're paying to have stuff like the garden done.... Want another customer?, sigh. And I've got a mower and strimmer sitting unused because I can't carry or pull a starter cord.
But it will get better. Autumn is here, but it's still very warm compared to your world. I had to put a shirt over my t-shirt to drive the teenager to school in the open Land Rover! And we lit our gas-log fake fire one evening last week. It's more of a psychological thing than warmth though, keeps the sabre-toothed mammoth at bay.