The crab apples are ready – time to pick a few and make some jelly.
This was the tree about a month ago.
They are in the pan as I type this cooking down to be put through a jelly bag overnight.
And my beetroot chutney is almost done. The jars are warming in the oven – must go and check it.
Jane xx
Autumn is not my favourite time of year. Seeing everything die back and the days get shorter makes me feel a little sad, I much prefer the spring. For some reason, this year I’ve been feeling more lacklustre than normal, hence my lack of posts this month. 
Yesterday I took my camera with me on our walk with the intention of capturing and enjoying the rich autumn colour.
It was one of those misty damp mornings, which eventually turned into a beautiful warm mellow sunny afternoon.
The leaves are beginning to change colour, and the oaks are heavy with plump ripening acorns.
The dew was thick and coated everything with a scattering of sparkling diamonds. I was hoping to find a beautiful big dewy spiders web to photograph – this one hanging on the fence was the best I could find.
At this time of year we have some wonderfully dramatic sunsets.
Most of the plants in the garden might be dying back for the winter, but some are just appearing for the winter season. Silk tassel bush (Garrya elliptica) and arum Italicum.
Some of the plants in the garden are still going strong, including these cornflowers, which have been a delight all summer.
I was able to find a bouquet of late blooms.
We both enjoyed our walk, and the sun broke through as we made our way back, and in a few weeks I will be able to enjoy one of my favourite autumn past times – kicking through drifts of autumn leaves.
This young lady is 8 years old today.
Here she is at 6 weeks old, we went to see her litter twice before bringing her home.
My late father chose her for us. Little did we know life would never be the same again!
Because if there is anything curious or different about the place, you can rely on Daisy to go and have a nose around.
She makes us laugh, fills our life with joy and gets me out into the fresh air for a walk, whatever the weather.
I named this blog after her. Her official name is Daisy Keeper – the lady who bred her knew my father had a small holding called Keeper’s Cottage, and all the puppies in Daisy’s litter had a name beginning with D. She said we could change her name, but we liked Daisy. Her sire is called Dinky Donut and we nicknamed her Daisy Donut.
She’s waiting patiently under my chair as I type this, hoping we will go for our walk soon. It’s going to be a shower dodging day today, and as the sun has just appeared, I think we’d better make a dash for it. xx
