This post is long overdue, the summer seems to have taken all of my time and energy, but with the turning of the leaves, it seems that Autumn is well and truly here.
September has been a very odd month weather wise. It started with an unseasonably cold week. Rain, hail and temperatures well below 20c, which is so unusual here. This week however, we're back to the heatwave, with afternoon temperatures of 30c and above in our south facing garden.
I'm picking the last of the outdoor tomatoes and green beans, and will miss them a lot during the next few months.
The only glimmer of hope on the fresh veg front, is that a lot of the locals sell their own garden produce at weekends, and I'm hoping for some sweet, baby carrots, parsnips and some really great tasting sprouts and cabbage soon.
I've developed a taste for celeri rav, which I think is celeriac in the UK. It's lovely combined with mashed potato, and makes a welcome change in the winter.
Paid a visit to Cognac yesterday, where they produce some of the finest brandy in the world. The vines had been totally stripped of grapes, and starting to turn those beautiful orange and violet colours before they shrivel and drop. We had a mega thunderstorm, and headed for home, but it was a great day trip.
The other thing about the Autumn here, is that as I still have my bedroom window open at night, there are all sorts of mysterious rustlings after dark. It can be deer, wild boar, foxes, hedgehogs, badgers, squirrels or any of the other peculiar creatures that inhabit the woods around us, but in the pitch black of an Autumn night, they can sound so scary!
So, I'm preparing to get some watercolours done, well, that's the theory, but I really do want to knuckle down and get cracking, as before I can blink, the winter will be over, and the garden will be calling once again.
From my Autumn sketchbook.
September has been a very odd month weather wise. It started with an unseasonably cold week. Rain, hail and temperatures well below 20c, which is so unusual here. This week however, we're back to the heatwave, with afternoon temperatures of 30c and above in our south facing garden.
I'm picking the last of the outdoor tomatoes and green beans, and will miss them a lot during the next few months.
The only glimmer of hope on the fresh veg front, is that a lot of the locals sell their own garden produce at weekends, and I'm hoping for some sweet, baby carrots, parsnips and some really great tasting sprouts and cabbage soon.
I've developed a taste for celeri rav, which I think is celeriac in the UK. It's lovely combined with mashed potato, and makes a welcome change in the winter.
Paid a visit to Cognac yesterday, where they produce some of the finest brandy in the world. The vines had been totally stripped of grapes, and starting to turn those beautiful orange and violet colours before they shrivel and drop. We had a mega thunderstorm, and headed for home, but it was a great day trip.
The other thing about the Autumn here, is that as I still have my bedroom window open at night, there are all sorts of mysterious rustlings after dark. It can be deer, wild boar, foxes, hedgehogs, badgers, squirrels or any of the other peculiar creatures that inhabit the woods around us, but in the pitch black of an Autumn night, they can sound so scary!
So, I'm preparing to get some watercolours done, well, that's the theory, but I really do want to knuckle down and get cracking, as before I can blink, the winter will be over, and the garden will be calling once again.
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