September garden

 A garden day yesterday, grabbing the chance between showers.

Moving the tomatoes out, there were a few possible signs of blight on leaves and the space was needed . What moved in were the squash plants growing in plastic crates. The gherkins and yellow courgettes/zucchini are cropping slowly but steadily...and the single Aubergine/Eggplant has decided to get growing...a bit late in the season!

Pirate's runner beans have started flowering again after a couple of warm days, but there hasn't been a massive amount of pollenation in that bed. None atall in the three outdoor tomato plants...now gone..and we are crossing fingers for the sweetcorn. Pirate made a sad discovery this afternoon...loads of caterpillars on the kale. We need insects, but...!!

A rainy day out!

 After the sun, we pay for it! Pirate decided on the spur of the moment that we would go round to the far edge of Glasgow on the edge of Stirlingshire .

We headed out , initially in the opposite direction to our favourite post counter in Dalrymple to post two more sold bike bits (and two more are awaiting payment today!)

The lanes and roads were fine, but wet. As soon as we went onto the motorway, and gained altitude, we were in clouds of spray and in the clouds as well!

It was a relief to descend to a rainy Glasgow, then find our way to the other side.

We had bike shop business to do. We thought that the hub in an existing wheel we had would go into a new wheel with a different rim..but after deconstruction and much cleaning it had a crack between two spoke holes in the flange. Plan A fail. Still, we had good coffee, good craic, caught up with friends..and I had an interesting walk up the valley behind the shop and around an old graveyard by there.

Sunny day out

 We had a multi purpose day out! Foraging, picnic lunch and a bike ride up National Bike Route 7 to the ice cream shop in Irvine.

There are more of the sculptures around the main streets in Irvine, I think I did a blog post about them a few years ago.

It was a good thing we took advantage of the weather, despite all the jobs to be done on the list at home..today is back to wet cold and windy.

Producing

The pulp left after cordial making

Went in with some cooked crabapples from the freezer

And made Apple and Bramble with Elderberry fruit cheese

Our neighbour with the chooks has a plum tree....so I make jam..

Prunes..and another two pounds will be pickled.  Then we share the product!

At last I have found some Mason jars, and have got back to bottling/canning. It is a long time since I have done this, and with a different pan..getting back into practice now!

And the polytunnel is still going strong

It won't be long before the tomato plants come out and we can move some of the squash plants in, that are growing in crates.

The blueberries are ripening! Incentive to grow more of them.

 

Going to "furrin' " parts

 We ventured Over The Border today, for the first time...in a year, possibly?

Over to see a good frame builder, mender and general reconditioned, with my latest acquisition...a road frame..advice received and it will go back for some new paint and other things next year. Pirate left two there for more attention , one in the paint department as it was a plain blue and needs other colours, and the other is an "is it safe or does it need constructive surgery as well as a complete paint job "?!!

All funded by selling bike bits!!

It was a lovely if slightly breezy day, far better than yesterday's gales and heavy rain!!

We saw some big County Durham skies, interesting buildings and the contrast of a town on its uppers but trying hard..Spennymoor...and coming back through Barnard Castle where there appears to be affluence and hardly any boarded up shops, unlike the former.

Just over twelve hours away from home..a long day, but good practice for when we get to travel and see families again.

The work starts

 Blackberry with elderberry cordial to start with. I have added a little citric acid as usual, and this time a touch of pectolase to prevent the cordial making jelly as it is processed!

I extracted the juice over a water bath this time but I would like to try cold extraction some time as it apparently gives more flavour. With that process you can add pectolase to help break down the cell walls and aid juice extraction. Quicker and safer I think than using fermentation.  It would be a process to try when the kitchen isn't full of all the other jobs queuing up..including small bike bits being sorted on the two feet at the end of the kitchen bench by the back door! 

With fewer bike bits around, Pirate will have a workbench in his workshop!!

Autumn is definitely here, officially, meteorologically since the first of September. 

So today we have heavy rain showers, and strong Southerly winds, rising stronger tonight. Time to list more on eBay and Etsy and get that bottling done!!