Category: garden stuff

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 · 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

food and Drink · garden stuff · general stuff · summer · wildlife

summer productivity

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)27 Comments

These long summer days are perfect for ripening fruit and we’ve indulged in a favourite summer holiday activity of strawberry picking at the local pick-your-own farm. I love that they grow the strawberries in raised troughs, there’s no bending down to hunt for the best berries or finding them covered in dusty soil, instead the berries hang plump and delicious from the plants and are easily picked and popped in a punnet. It’s made me very happy to be carrying on this tradition with Amy. We had a lovely morning spent together and topped it off with lunch in the farm cafe – I had a twice baked goat cheese souffle on a bed of rocket, pear and pomegranate salad and she enjoyed a mexican pulled pork parcel, delicious!

Back at home summer has brought bounty to my garden and we are enjoying fresh feasts of french beans, broccoli and peas. I like to pick them just before we are ready to eat so they are as fresh as possible. Here’s how we like to eat them…

Ingredients:

  • French beans / peas / broccoli
  • A clove of garlic (or more if you like)
  • A couple of handfuls of chopped cherry tomatoes
  • A handful of chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram are good but I tend to pick whatever looks best at the time)
  • A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Rinse and lightly steam the beans and peas (or broccoli), then let them cool a little while you saute a clove of garlic in butter over a medium heat until soft. Once the garlic is soft but not browned throw in a couple of handfuls of chopped cherry tomatoes and let them soften while you chop some fresh herbs. Add the herbs to the pan and give everything a good stir, you can add a little more butter at this stage depending on whether you like a thick or a runny sauce. Pop the beans and peas (or broccoli) into a dish and scoop the garlicky, herby tomatoes over the top. Slosh over the olive oil, a twist or two of black pepper and a few more herbs and eat with some crusty bread to mop up the juices with. It makes a delicious summer lunch or a good accompaniment to grilled steak or fish.

The garden is also being productive in other ways. We currently have a family of newly-fledged robins chirping noisily in the hedge and I’m over the moon that we have blackbirds nesting in the clematis. I’ve watched them build the nest over a couple of weeks, then the male popping in with tasty treats for the female while she sat incubating the eggs. Last weekend she was out of the nest and we heard the first tiny cheeping noises from inside the deep cover and since then both parents have been busily dashing in and out with beak-fulls of worms. I am a bit worried though that food is a bit scarce as it’s been very dry recently, so yesterday I went to the fishing tackle shop and bought a couple of beakers of worms and I’m leaving a few in a little dish in the hope that it helps keep those hungry mouths fed. I’d be so thrilled if these little birds make it to fledging day – the odds are rather stacked against them, especially around here where nests are often decimated by magpies, so it will be wonderful if they do.

There is even a little productive knitting going on here too, though not as much as I’d like a Toby is a demanding chap during the school hols. Still, I’ll pop back soon and show you what has been on my needles, ’til then keep well and thanks so much for stopping by x