GUILT

As the day has progressed, the wind has increased. It is beautifully sunny, but the wind is wild - not that I have felt any of it.





I have been happily occupied reading and sewing, but every time I look up one or other of the dogs gives a sigh ...



I am still confined to indoors because of my wretched toe; George has not found the time to get down (from the top shelf of the dressing room) the one pair of shoes which I think may fit me, despite my taped toes.





This could be a deliberate ploy, he knows how impatient I am to get moving again.





So I have been confined to quarters. All day long I have been made to feel guilty by two pairs of brown eyes - Pip and Toby. Pip is disappointed that I have not taken her to the wood so that she can take the opportunity to steal some food from the hens, Toby wants his normal walks.





George has walked them, but as far as they are concerned that is an optional extra. Only the walks that I take with them are counted.





Sorry dogs, I just can't do it - especially without shoes!





Your Dad has been busy working on the headers for the patio wall - photos will follow when I am able. It is looking really neat though, Jonny.





George very kindly took a photograph of some beautiful mushrooms which have grown

can you guess which part of the garden this is Jonny? Goodness knows what type they are, but we won't be making mushroom omelettes from them. Aren't they beautiful though?





This is what we are actually having for tea

I plan to roast them, along with some garlic, black pepper and olive oil,when they are almost done I will sprinkle them with grated cheese and put them back into the oven, along with some home-made garlic bread and we will have a feast.





It was wonderful having such a long chat with you this afternoon Jonny. You were looking really well.





Lots of love





Mum

xxx

When it hurts

As someone who has accumulated a few European languages, I'm fascinated by the different sound each language has for that sudden moment of pain - hitting your thumb with a hammer, or falling on an icy pavement. The Scots word for such moments is 'oooya', pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.
I spotted this advertisement today for the minor injuries clinic at Edinburgh's Western General Hospital. It was in the row of small ads above the windows on the lower deck of a number 23 bus. With our scenic and unprecedented amount of snow there were plenty of cameras being wielded as we came down the Mound, past the fairy tale turreted houses of Ramsay Gardens, and the white-clothed bulk of the castle rock. Except I was the only weirdo taking a photo of the inside of the bus.
Nice to know that someone in the National Health Service has both a sense of humour and a grasp of Scots. And no, your eyes don't need testing. The blurring is because of the vibration of the bus.

Rutland Water clockwise on foot

With Barry, Maureen, Gordon and Eddie. Harry in the afternoon. Cloudy, then one shower, then clear and even sunny. Pretty good underfoot. Lunch at Horse and Jockey, Manton.

Dramatic lighting over the Water

We started from Barnsdale car park and walked clockwise, via Whitwell, Sykes Lane, the dam, Normanton church, Normanton car park, Lyndon Nature reserve, Manton, and Egleton.

A very welcome pause for tea at the Egleton village hall.



We easily reached the pub by 1pm. Starting from Barnsdale at 9.40 am. We could have had a coffee stop!







Lots of martins and swifts, birdsong which I couldn't identify near Lyndon nature reserve.

The Shadiest Time of the Year

This is our fifth autumn in this house and as each October ends we've noticed that the air-conditioner seldom kicks on no matter how warm the day. The sun is so low that it can't penetrate the still-full, green canopy of the two tall pecan trees to heat the rooms on that end of the house. The east end of the garden gets sun in the morning, but by the middle of the day the back garden is all shadows. As the sun swings around to the west around 3 PM, it illuminates the outside edge of the garden along the fence and then shines on the vegetable patch. After barely surviving the long hot summer, the pepper plants obey their biological imperative, using the sun at low power to reproduce and set a couple of dozen peppers. We'll let the peppers run their race to grow until the freeze warning comes - and will be glad to have even a small crop!
In late afternoon enough sun falls on the Secret Garden to trigger a few Confederate Rose blooms. Hibiscus mutabilis is a close relative of hardy Hibiscus like my 'Blue River II'. Confederate Rose can grow to tree size in Austin if sited well, but my small plant is new this year - a passalong from my friend Carole, it's still in a 10" container.
Enough sun fell through the pecan leaves to set buds on the Camellia sasanqua 'Shishi Gashira' a few months ago. The taller, older Camellia japonica did not enjoy this summer. It looks stressed and may have a handful of flowers this winter. In contrast this little sasanqua didn't seem to suffer one bit and is prepared to open dozens of blossoms.
When I wrote about berries in October I had to leave out the most spectacular berry in our yard - a tall Yaupon near the gate. The paperbark type of birch tree was always something I admired for decades but could never own. They didn't do well in Illinois and could not survive here. Now the sight of bright berries, beautiful trunks and white bark have vanquished any longing for birches... I love my yaupon!

The morning sun is enough to make these Brugmansia set buds but they develop more slowly than they did a month ago. If frost comes too soon these buds will never become yellow trumpets and the peppers and warm weather annuals will die and these passionvines will turn to threads, but the garden won't go to sleep.


Instead, as the pecans let loose their leaves, the winter sun will shine through the spaces between the bare branches. When the shadows turn again to sun it will be time to plant pansies and snapdragons, alyssum and dianthus. The loquat will keep opening fragrant flowers and when we take our coffee out to the patio, we'll be glad to have the patio umbrella over our heads.

Going to the pictures

Test your Scots vocabulary and place these films. I can't call them 'movies' - I'm sticking with good old British 'films'.

A Yearn for Ireland

I just finished reading Oh Come Ye Back to Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine Breen.  They were a couple living in Manhattan who got tired of the rat race.  They moved to her grandfather's cottage in Kiltuper, Ireland and settled themselves into rural life.  They cut peat from their own bog for fires, grew a garden, and eventually owned cattle.  They went and stayed.
They talk about the old, traditional ways of Ireland  and how they're slowly being done away with.  This was a fascinating book to me since I've recently learned that several of my ancestors came from the Emerald Isle.  Fortunately, there are four books in this series about their lives in Ireland.  
Yesterday I ordered the other three from half.com.  I'm in an Irish phase right now.  It started with a hammered dulcimer concert two weeks ago.  That got me in the mood for reading about Ireland.  I guess the next thing is to actually go there!

Recycling

The news today reports that a key government adviser has warned that recycling initiatives could add to global warming rather than reduce it. Better to play safe and put your faith (and money) in antiques. As this shop in the New Town points out, it's 'part of the largest recycling trade in the world'.
Babzy has tagged me to reveal 6 details about myself. As a shy Scot, this feels strange, but here goes!
1. My ideal comfort food is green lentils and olive oil. (yes, I know it's weird. My family tells me that.)
2. I am very slowly learning to play the classical guitar.
3. I wrote a doctoral thesis on the second longest book in a Latin or Cyrillic language (A la recherche du temps perdu) and added in the complete works of Flaubert for good measure.
4. Every time I step on skis I injure myself, so I've given up.
5. The city I would most like to revisit is Turin.
6. The place I would most like to visit in the world is Svalbard. Followed by Tierra del Fuego. Followed by the Queen Charlotte Islands. Oops, that's three.