Category: countryside

autism · countryside · garden stuff · general stuff · in the woods · spring

June catch-up

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)36 Comments

Well, here we are at the start of the school summer term. Happily it’s a long 7 week one so I’m really hoping to get a lot of things ticked off my to-do list before the summer break starts.

The half term hols went well here with lots of warm sunny days for Toby to enjoy bouncing and bubbles in the garden. I also tried to get him to help with a spot of gardening but it didn’t go to well – too much goes in his mouth for him to be a good gardener! But nevertheless our little patch is looking good with all the herbs, beetroot, kale, rocket, beans and spinach all growing well.

I’m trying wherever possible to involve Toby a bit more in household chores, though it is very difficult for him to grasp the purpose of such tasks. We have one eye on the future here as it is our hope to continue caring for him at home once he leaves school – something that is fast approaching and is a really daunting prospect so we are trying to take small steps now towards a meaningful, enjoyable and busy weekly schedule for him. Over the school break l’ve involved him in pegging out washing on the line which, as long as the items are small, he is getting quite good at, though he has yet to understand the need to stretch things out and to use 2 pegs for some things. We’re not doing quite so well with clearing the table after dinner. He has a very strongly defined sense of order and is good at knowing where things belong; cutlery in the draw, glasses in the cupboard, plates on the shelf etc. but he has yet to understand the concept of clean and dirty and so will tidy away any dirty spoons or plates that he comes across. We are working on the idea that dirty things go in the dishwasher or by the sink and hopefully he will eventually start to understand and be able to do some of these household tasks semi-independently with just some verbal prompts and simple supervision. Later this year he will turn 16 and so begins the transition over to adult support services. There is so much paperwork involved that I already feel exhausted and we’ve not really started, it will be a case of a day at a time and hopefully things will fall into place.

In knitting news I am currently finishing off a small batch of animals so will pop back with an update when they are done. For now I’ll leave you with the pictures I took a month ago (and have been meaning to post ever since) from a visit to a local orchard nature reserve. It’s a wonderful place full of ancient apple trees buzzing with busy bees who are based in the hives on site. There is a flock of very grumpy geese who hiss and posture as you walk past their enclosure and up in the woods there is a large badger sett – I hope to go and visit one evening as there is a viewing hide where you can see them quite clearly from.

Thanks as always for taking the time to visit my blog, I appreciate you stopping by and so enjoy reading your comments x

Tewin Orchard, Early May 2017

countryside · in the woods · spring

bluebell time

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)42 Comments

Although I didn’t grow up in the area where we now live, I feel that I’ve got to know it well over the last 20 years. I’ve enjoyed that process and it’s one that continues as there are still so many new places to explore. One of the nicest things about getting to know an area well is discovering it’s seasonal secrets. This local wood for instance is unremarkable for most of the year but for a few weeks every April it is transformed into a magical wonderland, a perfect habitat to begin believing in fairies, elves and unicorns.

I know I share pictures like these most years but I couldn’t resist doing so again. It’s such a beautiful sight and there’s an incredible perfume too, though sadly I have no way to share that here.

Next week I’m looking forward to the next spring event in my local calendar, which will be the apple trees blossoming at an ancient orchard. I’ll pop back then with some pictures if I’ve got the timing right.

Thanks as always for visiting with me here and sorry I’ve been absent a lot recently. I’ve still been deep in pattern writing and am also working on a tutorial to share, so there will be lots coming up over the next month. For now I’m off to do more editing and finish testing out the last few bits and pieces, but I’ll be back as soon as I have some news. Until then I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from our school Easter break – all of our neighbours know it’s spring again when Toby resumes bouncing as they can hear his squeals of joy and see the clouds of bubbles drifting over the fence 🙂

countryside · crafts & knitting · garden stuff · general stuff · spring

signs of spring

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)35 Comments

Firstly thank you so very much for all of the kind messages on the previous post, you really are the best and I am glowing from all the warm comments.

At last it feels like Spring is gathering pace here. Today has been mild and sunny and this cheery bunch of daffs from the market is brightening my table. For the first time this year I’ve hung the washing outside on the line and while doing so saw the first of the bumblebees buzzing around the newly opened plum blossoms. In the last week the trees and hedgerows have gone from bare and tired looking, to fresh with bright green shoots and frothy with bridal-white blackthorn blossom. The snowdrops have been good this year but are already starting to fade and are being replaced with primroses, anenomes and the first of the daffodils.

The best place locally to see a carpet of snowdrops is in the little churchyard of the St John The Baptist church in Great Amwell which is where I photographed these. It’s such a beautiful churchyard set on a wooded hillside and surrounded by the river, canal and water meadows. I like to sit there sometimes as it feels so very peaceful and there are always lots of birds to listen to and watch.

There are also some interesting inhabitants in the graveyard including Harold Abrahams (buried together with his wife) who was the Olympic runner depicted in the film Chariots of Fire and many of the gravestones are beautifully carved and very old. The church is also where Richard Warren married Elizabeth Walker in 1610. Richard was a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620, settled in Plymouth Colony and co-signed the Mayflower Compact. After settling he moved his family from Amwell to Plymouth where he and Elizabeth lived until their deaths (they are both buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth) and they are the ancestors of two U.S. Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Some of my favourite walks are around the little village of Great Amwell, it’s a quiet and gentle place with lovely countryside…

Amwell village in Hertfordshire, about twentie miles from London, not so obscure in itself (if wee consider eyther aptness of the seate, sweetness of the ayre, delicacy of the soyle, mixture of pleasant hills and fertile valleys, thicke woods and serviceable rivers, both fitly and plentifully enterlaced, all which may yeild both pleasure and profit to the inhabitants) as by reason that it is overtopt by foure towns of note barring it on either side from the eye of observation (Hartford to the west, Stansted to the east, Ware to the north and Hodsdon to the south.

Description of Amwell by Thomas Hassall written in 1631, The Parish Register and Tithing Book of Thomas Hassall of Amwell.

As well as wandering around churchyards getting muddy knees while taking pictures of snowdrops I’ve also been knitting lots. I’m still working on some new patterns and although progress is slow it is steady and I’m pleased with how things are shaping up. I’ve also been busy knitting up bunny cosies for Easter. Hopefully this little batch of heads will have some cosy bodies soon and I have an idea of a little pattern adaptation that I’ll be back to share with you soon. Til then I’m going to tuck them safely back into my lovely new project bag from The Wool Barn and go and start to think about Toby’s tea. See you soon, J x