Category: autumn

#1105 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn, Beach Life, Colour, Serendipity2 Comments

Some of you may notice that 3 blogs have appeared in just over 24 hours. This is because Autumn proper finally arrived in the West Country and with only one planned task of the day we couldn’t give up on a cold crisp day with blue skies, bright sunshine and sharp shadows. We were out for all of the 10 daylight hours that November gave us yesterday.

Our early morning quest was to visit a farm cafe, that we always manage to miss,on our travels into the area known as South Hams. We like to have a small portfolio of places we have visited to take friends to. As I write this I realise we have never even taken our friend whose name is Hams to the South Hams.

Ironic really as his partner’s surname is Curnow the old word for Cornwall and he gets to visit Cornwall every time they visit us. Note to self to resolve this ommision.

Our target cafe of the day was Heron Valley. The orchard and fields overlook Heron Valley. As if to signal the beginning of a perfect visit a Heron rose into the air just in front of us and flew into the trees on the horizon to the right of this picture. Honestly!

Also perfect was the day bed provided for weary travellers. I was a traveller but hardly weary at 10 am. But needs must, for a photo opportunity.

Breakfast was fab. The dogs got chopped up sausage and a roaring fire to gaze at.

The cafe also has a small showroom for homewares made from recycled plastic water bottles. Autumn colours were everywhere.

And sharply defined shapes in the outdoor eating area.

https://www.heronvalley.co.uk/

https://www.weavergreen.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAudG5BhAREiwAWMlSjFVfXaYrHRA6X8h96CCll8TNBNFj6dpbrHX54PwMI9uF7zq8h6ZxlRoCStwQAvD_BwE

It was at breakfast we decided to extend our day and visit a garden centre.

This week I have taken delivery of two rambling roses. The yard has proved it can grow roses well, it has nurtured an old rose that has been there forever and a cutting that was gifted to me. I bought three rose plants from the London 2012 Olympic sell off . They failed to thrive in our back garden I don’t know if it was me or the clay that killed them off. They were the roses that provided the medal winners bouquets and may just have been exhausted plants. Whatever the reason I have become timid about buying new rose plants until this year.

Going to a garden centre did not alleviate my timidity. Too much information. We retreated to the cafe and I resolved to take advice from the growing advice provided with my two new climbers.

Autumn colour was everywhere. Some of it on my plate.

Some great colour combinations just in the texture of gardening sundries.

Two cafe stops in the first 5 hours of daylight suggest that the next 5 should perhaps be spent doing some exercise. Slapton Sands was our choice of location, just beautiful sea and sand with no tempting cafes. I think the words bracing and beautiful best sum up our beach walk.

There was another plan for our afternoon, more painting of walls at home. By staying out until sunset we quite naturally cancelled this plan.

And to finish, a pretty public washroom. I love a pretty loo.

#1094 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn1 Comment
The Tamar near Cotehele. November 2021

We did autumnal things yesterday in less-than-ideal autumnal settings. Hugo is restricted to 10 to 15 minute walks for the next 4 weeks, also  the light levels and dampness underfoot meant that the colours  and crunch of fallen autumn leaves were missing from our park walk. My photographs were disappointing. I have about ten years of autumn photographs stored on my phone so I picked a couple of favourites to brighten  this blog. Nobody loves a dull brown leaf.Our walks yesterday were at the pace of a poorly dog and a two year old. We had time to observe the leaf drop at a granular level. We were also hunting for acorns to be stored in a small person’s pocket. The squirrels in this particular park have been very efficient so our small person was disappointed. She turned her attention to Hugo who was attempting his first post surgery poo. I’m sure he would have preferred less scrutiny, but she was only trying to be helpful, and thoughtfully offered him a demo in case he had forgotten his technique.

You can see what I mean about the dullness of yesterday’s leaf fall. The demo must have helped, Hugo was able to be a successful eliminator moments later.

Luckily to counter the brownness of Devonport Park, I can share a picture of beach huts in November near Swanage in Dorset. Autumn colors in a different format

Beach Huts, Knoll Beach, November 2021

Doing our favourite walks at an even slower pace than normal and for much shorter times for the next 4 weeks is going to be a challenge for us all. My 12 year archive of random photographs may be plundered more often, the blogs may get even more repetitive. Let’s see what happens.

Stonehouse, November 2023

#1088 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn1 Comment

A gorgeous weekend of bright sunlight and long shadows. We are still in the process of domestic refurbishment so we didn’t see as much of the outside as we could have. But natural light streaming through the windows helped a lot with painting walls.

The clocks went back this weekend, a sure sign that the inevitability of winter is near. Samhein is nearly upon us.

Peak Pumpkin

#1079 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumnLeave a comment

We accidentally went to a farmshop yesterday. Mid to late October is peak pumpkin spotting season. Pumpkins are at the top of my list of vegetable photography but I was encouraged not to linger as we were on a mission to buy paint for the house.

So I have had a digital linger, admiring and changing my one shot of the day.

I am fairly certain a watercolour will emerge from these colour observations.

#1052 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumnLeave a comment

This week’s figs. Not freshly plucked from the Fig trees of Kalamata but picked off the shelf from Marks and Spencer. A sign of the times figuratively speaking.

Today is the Autumn Solstice, a calm acceptance that Summer is officially over. The autumn clear up of the yard is scheduled for today.

The huge success of this summer has been the trellis extension( the orange area)  to the wall. It gives us a foundation of better privacy in the yard. There are three seating areas to catch the sun and we use them much more often than we ever have before. Not that our neighbours are Ogres at all,but they do have a garden trampoline and goodness me I have an irrational dislike of those things. Now it is just a small black line on my extended horizon. The trellis also stops our dogs seeing the cats and chickens of our local area walking along the top of the wall. The dogs have an irrational need to be terratorial about such incursions.

A calm acceptance of the Autumn Solstice is a bit of a lie. Inside I am fuming, Summer arrived late in our yard and yet it is departing on time. I have enjoyed watching the progress and achievements of the climbing plants as they clamber their way up new wood and old stone to colonise the trellis. The Wisteria has something even more exciting to climb on, a massive rusty length of marine chain which was washed up during the last storm before summer established itself. In time the wisteria will cover the garage roof using the chain as a wayfinder.

So here we are Autumn, in theory my favourite season but I really only dislike winter.

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. I am already signed in with my figs.

#1046 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn, Serendipity1 Comment

How do you celebrate holidays?

I am not sure that I have a way of celebrating holidays beyond enjoying them in whatever form they take. Our most recent holiday ended yesterday as we eased our Australian friends into their hire car and set them free to explore North Wales and East Anglia without us. It has been a holiday of joyful surprises and beautiful places. Embellished with great conversations around all subjects both ancient and modern, great and small.

The picture above was taken in a small mountain village called Stemnitsa in Arcadia. Early autumn leaves edging a storm drain. I knew, when I saw it, that this image would somehow symbolise the end of summer for me. Here we are now in the middle of September and it seems only sensible to accept that Summer 2024 has slipped away. Accepting that allows me to celebrate autumn.

Not with fat, fresh figs as I could in Arcadia but definitely with the fruits of an English Harvest. I am on the hunt for Quince again and optimistic for autumn sunshine. Both things to celebrate a summer well spent and an acceptance of a change of season.

#714 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, autumn, Words1 Comment

I learned a new word yesterday.

I am shocked that I never thought to question what the counterpart to misogynist is. Both misogyny and misandry are pretty easy to spot but it never occurred to me to give the dislike of men a name. Now I am thinking myself  into a circle of over thinking.

Is it misandrist of me to think that misogyny is more commonly experienced in society.

Thankfully my second new word of the day is much easier to get my head around. 

Goodness I love biomimicry. Yesterday a friend was knitting with variegated knitting wool,which was the exact shade of fallen autumn leaves. At the time she was sitting under this piece of art.

©Yan-Feng

These were exactly the colours of the day yesterday.

Two new words in one day!

#379 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumnLeave a comment

Not one ever to talk about Halloween, a ghastly reimagining of a perfectly good pagan event ruined by commercialisation and tacky plastic. But were I to buy into it then these mighty mushrooms, that we found this morning, seem pretty scary.

Autumn is such a gorgeous time of year if the weather is good. Last night we found some gorgeous greens on the beach and browns in some woodland.

Greens and browns and autumnal shades are the colours of a piece of costume jewellery that was gifted to me recently. A memento of a friend’s mum who died recently. It really is a most audacious piece of bling.

I am wearing it with pride. But for the end of this blog there is some more fungus.

#359 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumnLeave a comment

I may be biased but a crisp London autumn is hard to beat. The combination of early morning dew makes some wonderful jewels on the fallen leaves.

Days like this are a fizzy boost, and long walks on Wimbledon common are a real wellbeing tonic. My next picture is a vivid natural emerald twinkling on the pavement.

The picture I can’t share with you is the epitome of urban cafe culture, which I witnessed last night. An urban fox returning with a large intact slice of cake.