Waste not...

The pulp from making blackberry cordial...joined with a kilo and a half of Japonica Quinces from the freezer....

The rain thrashed against the house last night and the wind was checking all our belongings in the garden!

No bike ride today , just a walk around Hannahston reserve..with a 2 litre ice cream box and two carrier bags..just in case...

We nearly filled the box with blackberries, half filled one bag with elderberries and rowanberries and found a kilo of windfall apples for the second bag.  

At least now I know a good local clean source of blackberries! 

Rain stopped play so we returned for lunch and Pirate rode his bike on the turbo trainer indoors and I made fruit cheese.

Now we are watching the Vuelta on TV..and trying to find inspiration for supper!

First Autumn cordial

Mainly blackberry and a handful or two of elderberries.
Not enough to last a year, but a start on the job...now for more picking!

Back home again

Pirate with Zola....she is a sweetie!

Now we are back home catching up on all the ordinary jobs..bread and yoghurt making, washing, gardening,. reducing stuff.
Pirate is finding the latter difficult and I find that is stretching my patience at times! Trouble is that his stuff is blocking access to my stack of things to be sorted!

The laptop is now showing signs of impending doom..and I haven't had a chance to find out what's the matter with the camera yet..
It would be lovely to be able just to get things good enough to rely on, without a second thought..

Grumble over..I must get on with re-stocking my Etsy shop and working on some new prints!

Autumn in August?

It really feels like Autumn..and the last image is rain and wind damage on a wheat field.
We picked blackberries and even a few elderberries...time for the first batch of cordial this year!

Walking the dog...

 A green manure field...and some of the constituent plants. This field is usually growing tatties, but every three years has a rest and recuperation!

 The result of recent heavy rains

 Pirate with our local friend..these woods and paths are near his village...and with Zola, our other friend's dog that we are caring for this weekend.

Garden day two..and postcards...

We are ready to take a large bagful of garden waste to the "cowp" or municipal recycling centre.. luckily we have a friend in a village a couple of miles away who has a trailer, an empty builders 1 ton bag and knows the way!!  Highly valuable when working away from home!!

I know that many don't send postcards any more..but go on....have a go...send me an address!! You never know you might enjoy it!

My father always said If you don't know what to write, just send a postcard to keep in touch.. you'll be surprised how soon you find more to say then you've room for!!

Garden day one

Steadily tidying, not overdoing it..but it's coming along nicely..
Luckily the green waste collection is the beginning of next week!
More tomorrow....

Working

We are at present dog sitting and weeding...I'll get money for the gardening. It's a friend's dog and his usual dog sitter's dog is sick.

The gardening is no big deal, just tidying.  I'd still rather be working in my own garden!

postcards

I've just written one ready to post..next step,find a decent,interesting stamp...I might just have some in stock from last year.

Who shall I send the next ones to? Thanks to Zhoen for the idea in One Word..and John in Going Gently for his postcard competition...who knows when blogging might disappear (I've only just discovered that picasa is no longer linked to here) and even electronic communication...

Exchanging email and snailmail addresses seems a good idea in these times...if you want to join in, please do comment...and I wont publish your details as I review all comments.

time

Time can flash by...visitors sadly waved off early..they have to be in Ullapool by 5.30 pm at the latest, to check in for the ferry to Stornoway.

Now I'm trying to date fix a visit to daughter and family around Pirate's next race..no point having two long trips southwards....and we must get back to the Western Isles for a return visit.

We haven't done either for about two years....too long....

going Maritime

We have yet more visitors!..our friends from the Western Isles , on their way home from a wedding in England.
Lunch at The Coo Shed cafe near Alloway was followed by a visit to the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine..an inspiring place.

There are other boats jut up the jetty and a tenement house reconstruction,with an hour's guided tour...but our feet gave up before that!

The order of the day was then a cuppa and cake in the Puffers Cafe, and ice cream from Vanilla Joe's Gelateria, and the chance meeting with a fellow cyclist who started cycling with a leisurely Land's End to John o'Groats ride..and four year's later, at 52, she is still enjoying riding around, using her bike one way and train the other.

Then back home....and rest!