Friday 31 October 2008


"I will dance
The dance of dying days
And sleeping life.

I will dance
As the Horned God rides
Across the skies.

I will dance
To the music of His Hounds
Running, baying in chorus.

I will dance
With the ghosts of those
Gone before.

I will dance
Between the sleep of life
And the dream of death.

I will dance
On Samhain`s dusky eye,
I will dance"
Karen Bergquist.


Thursday 30 October 2008

Happy Halloween


"The harvest moon hangs round and high
It dodges clouds high in the sky,
The stars wink down their love and mirth
The Autumn season is giving birth
Oh, it must be October.

The leaves of red bright gold and brown
To Mother Earth come tumbling down,
The breezy nights the ghostly sights,
The eerie spooky far off sounds
Are signs that its October.

The pumpkins yellow, big and round
Are carried by costumed clumsy clowns
Its Halloween - lets celebrate.
Pearl N. Sorrels.

Wednesday 29 October 2008

ABC WEDNESDAY

Todays letter is O

O IS FOR OUCH!
When we went to Spain in September, to visit my daughter, we spent the day in Denia, and we came across this amazing tree. We couldnt believe the size of the spikes on the trunk,

or for that matter, those on the branches! The flowers are really pretty

We remembered we`d seen a trunk like that before in Benidorm, but no flowers, only a large oval pod, and a fluffy tassle, but that had been in the spring, so we looked at our photos when we returned home, and found it was the same type of tree



After researching it, I found it was the Silk Floss Tree. Its a deciduous tree and its natural habitat is the north east of Argentina, Paraquay and Southern Brazil. The fruits are the long pods we saw, which contain bean sized black seeds, surrounded by fibrous fluffy matter.

ABC Wednesday Mr. Linky


Friday 24 October 2008

"When the trees their summer splendor
change to raiment red and gold,
when the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
when the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is Autumn
Loveliest season of the year".
Carol L. Riser.

But I thought not once of Winter
or Summer that was past
Till I saw that slant-legged Robin
With Autumn on his chest.
Andrew Young.
Out at the edge of town
where black trees

Crack their fingers
in the icy wind

and hedges freeze
on their shadows

and the breath of cattle
still as boulders,

hang in rags
under the rolling moon...
Kit Wright.

Wednesday 22 October 2008

ABC WEDNESDAY

Todays letter is N

N is for Nature


These are some of my photos of nature, I have taken over the year, I love all animals, birds, insects, flowers and trees, and enjoy nothing better than walking in the countryside.

ABC Wednesday Mr. Linky

Monday 20 October 2008

Rainy day


Oh, gray and tender is the rain,
That drips, drips on the pane!
A hundred things come in the door,
The scent of herbs, the thought of yore.

I see the pool out in the grass,
A bit of broken glass;
The red flags running wet and straight,
Down to the little flapping gate.

Lombardy poplars tall and three,
Across the road I see;
There is no loveliness so plain
As a tall poplar in the rain.

But oh, the hundred things and more,
That come in at the door!-
The smack of mint, old joy, old pain
Caught in the gray and tender rain.

Lizette Woodworth Reese.

Sunday 19 October 2008

Today has been a cloudy, moody sort of day, the wind has blown fitfully all day, lifting the leaves and whirling them in the air. When I nipped into town this morning, the moor looked dark, and lowering, from the end of the road, with banks of dark cloud hugging Haytor.
So I spent the rest of the day holed up in the house, doing `comfy` things, like this...

and I made the first soup of the year, its certainly the weather for it

I made vegetable, and my favourite Butternut Squash and red pepper, it has a lovely mellow taste, and is this gorgeous colour.... heres the receipe..

Butternut squash
Red pepper
Sunflower oil
Onion
Stock

Peel, and deseed the butternut squash, and chop into cubes. Cut the top off the pepper, deseed and chop into chunks. Peel and chop onion. Heat the oil, and gently saute all the ingredients for about five minutes. Add the stock, or water, bring to the boil and simmer for twenty minutes.
Cool slightly, then liquidise to a lovely smooth consistency.

I always make a large batch, so I can freeze it down, today I added a yellow pepper as I had a spare one in the fridge, and its sweet like the red, so worked well with the squash.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
"Lady Autumn, Queen of the Harvest,
I have seen You in the setting sun
with Your long auburn tresses
blowing in the cool air that surrounds You.
Your crown of golden leaves is jewelled
with amber, amethyst, and rubies.
Your long, flowing purple robe stretches across the horizon.
In Your hands You hold the ripened fruits.
At Your feet the squirrels gather acorns.
Black crows perch on Your outstretched arms.
All around You the leaves are falling.
You sit upon your throne and watch
the dying fires of the setting sun
shine forth its final colours in the sky.
The purple and orange lingers
and glows like burning embers.
Then all colours fade into the twilight.
Lady Autumn, You are here at last.
We thank you for your rewards
We have worked hard for these gifts.
Lady Autumn, now grant us peace and rest"
Deirdre Akins.

A Trip to Brixham

Yesterday, as Pete was off we went to Brixham, a pretty little fishing town not far from us. The houses are set all up the hills and are lovely pastel shades of pink, blue yellow and cream.
It was a lovely fresh sunny morning, and the water in the harbour was like a mirror..
We walked down to the break water, where you get lovely views across the bay to Torquay, we could see the balloon was up!


Walking back, I noticed this cheeky fellow had made himself very comfortable in the wall!


All Saints church is famous for the fact that the first vicar there, was the Reverend Henry Francis Lyte, who wrote `Abide with Me` and every evening, the sound of the hymn can be heard drifting across the peace of the harbour. It was a nice day out, especially as we hadnt been for a while, and we finished the day off with a nice home made steak and kidney pie..


Friday 17 October 2008

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like silence listening
To silence."
Thomas Hood.

"The sweet calm sunshine of October now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold"
William Cullen Bryant.
"The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
to see the frosty asters like smoke upon the hills.
William Bliss Carman.
"The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed the pastures far and wide,
The russet woods stood ripe to be stripped, but were yet full of leaf.
The purple of heath bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills....
Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay;....its time of flowers and
even of fruit was over.
Charlotte Bronte.

First day off

It was my first day off work today, and although I should have cleaned the house, I thought `blow it` and walked over to Paignton instead. The sun just rose above the clouds as I reached the sea-front, and there were some lovely big white puffy ones by Berry Head

The lovely moon hadnt gone to bed..

She peeped at me from behind the trees....

And hid behind the Grand Hotel....

She followed me into Paignton, she was very welcome company...

and after a nice leisurely stroll round the shops I found these lovely things..

I was really pleased with the flour bin, it goes so well with my kitchen, and I loved the plates, as ivy is my favourite thing, and they were only 50p for two. The pretty cup and saucer with `Happy Birthday` was very appropriate as its mine next week! so a present to myself....

Tuesday 14 October 2008

ABC Wednesday

Todays letter is M

M is for Moon..
The stars about the lovely moon
Fade back and vanish very soon
when, round and full, her silver face
swims into sight, and lights all space.
Sappho.

October Moon Names:
Celtic-Harvest Moon
Colonial American-Hunters Moon
Chinese-Kindly Moon
English Medieval-Blood Moon
American Indian (Choctaw)-Blackberry Moon

The Blue Moon is the second full moon in a month that has two full moons.

I love the Moon in all her phases, and never tire of gazing at her beauty.

ABC Wednesday Mr Linky

Sunday 12 October 2008

Foggy Morning

I got up at half five this morning, I dont sleep very well anymore, well not these last couple of years. I used to fall asleep the minute my head hit the pillow, and not wake till dawn, but I guess I`ve reached that time of life, when insomnia is one of many irritating symptoms.....

When I opened the back door to let the cats out, I was met with a wall of fog, its as though someone had wrapped a blanket of cotton wool around our hill, everything was still and quiet, and judging by the dark windows down the street, me and the cats were the only ones up!

By mid-day, the fog had just about cleared, and we were left with blue skies, and golden sunshine, and the view from the hill was lovely, I picked a huge bunch of fennel, which was just coming into flower, and smelt wonderful, and some pretty purple flowers for my vase..

When I was in one of the charity shops the other day, I had a rummage in a box marked `50p' and was thrilled to find (right at the bottom) these two lovely vintage cloths, one had a slight mark on it, but I thought at that price if it doesnt come out, I havent lost a lot..but hoorah, after a good soak, and wash, and a blow in the breeze, it was fine..

I`ve spent the afternoon in the garden, the sun was lovely and warm, and I could hear a wren scolding me from the ivy. I planted up two small pots for either side of the front door, with fabulous pink cyclamens, and golden ivy, underplanted with minature daffodils.

And a couple of other pots, with winter bedding, which will look nice when the polyanthas start to flower..

Well, its been a productive day, and its gone very quickly, which is a shame as its work tomorrow, boo.....