Welcome home

 

Skies while travelling yesterday...

Again we split the journey, 220 miles the first day and 270 today....today was mostly motorway...and boring! But at least we have the knowledge that the journey was done as economically as possible. With stops, today was 6½ hours....and the garden gave us a welcome!

Tomorrow high winds and heavy rain are forecast between 8am and 2pm......

Welcome home!!

Up on the Downs

looking towards Wye

Looking down over Brabourne 

 Breathtaking!!

Back in Kent

this is a beautiful foot and cycle bridge over from the entertainment park where the hotel is where we are based, to the town side and large supermarket.

The first evening children were waving to lorries travelling on the M 20 below and being rewarded with horns sounding!!

One patch of wet ground between the motorway and the park has deep water and is a sort of wet nature reserve...moorhens and ducks paddling through the duckweed 

Autumn fruits showing themselves by the path which leads to pirate's nephew's home

 And a tree rat!!

We went to pirate's old mate's funeral yesterday...quite a success...150 cyclists plus family...plenty to talk about....three hours and counting!!

Penkridge again

 This time on our way south we had a short walk into the small town? Large village? I am sure that Weave could tell me...and like everywhere there are more and more new houses being built there.

That looks like it has been a pub...then a bank...and is now closed.

There is however a branch of our building society/bank, antique shops, bakers, farm supplies, garages....plenty of small businesses as well as a co-op shop!

Result

 

Eight jars of dark plum chutney!

Foraged plums and apples, homegrown shallots.

Foraging foray

 We had an evening wander down our favourite hedgerow..the crabapples and wild pears are not quite ready..another week or so? Possibly another fortnight for the apples that we forage for juicing.

And for a change blogger didn't reverse the picture order!!

It was a lovely evening, although the midgies were beginning to bite!

What we did find was a largish boxworth of ripe sloes (now in the freezer) and masses of small dark plums..possibly damsons..at a derelict croft near here.

So far today I have bottled the elderberry (plus a few other  series) cordial made yesterday and now need to deal with the plums... possibly more chutney as that is proving a welcome gift...and I need some for our larder as well!!

The birds are slowly returning here, but the heat and drought has decimated the populations.  We have starlings, magpies and gulls, but very few blackbirds. A robin showed his face yesterday, and we saw a couple of bluetits and great tits in the hedgerows..but far fewer than usual.

Catch-up

 You wouldn't think that it would be so difficult to get everything back running smoothly after two weeks away.....

Only today has the last batch of washing been done!! Then getting it all kept, ready for the next trip.

The garden needed much attention as well. Hopefully the lawn won't need too much attention after today's cut, but that depends on temperature..it WILL keep growing over 5⁰C!! 

Despite a late start and too much time away it is satisfying to eat veges from the garden. Tonight we had runner beans, broad beans, carrots and beetroot...and one small sweetcorn because the wind snapped the top off one plant!!  All that after rasberries with this morning's breakfast.

Back home

 Two loads of washing done so far!!

A day out on the bus instead today...sorting a change of provider for the phone and internet...was BT....now EE...which is also BT....

So how come I have almost halved what I pay per month??!

Then a walk along the coast...just two miles...

Lunch in our favourite café, check up from the dentist, then home on the bus.

The garden is looking good...if a little jungly!!