Category: wildlife

autumn · countryside · crafts & knitting · in the woods · magazine features · wildlife

October ramblings

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)23 Comments

At the end of last week I went walking in a local nature reserve at Broxbourne woods where I was delighted to come across a slow worm sunbathing on the path. Although he looks very snake-like and does have a forked tongue he is actually a legless lizard (apparently his ability to blink and shed his tail make him not a snake). He was so blissed out in the patch of sunlight that I had to step over him and even though I took lots of photos of him he didn’t seem bothered by me. He’ll probably be starting his winter hibernation in the next month so I expect he’s extra bold on these last sunny, warm afternoons while he tops up his tan!

I also met a group of lovely ladies. These beautiful Red Poll cattle have been introduced to the pasture in a habitat conservation project involving legacy grazing. The Red Poll breed is native to the East of England and they certainly looked very at home and were completely relaxed about me walking through their field.

Whilst out and about I’ve been enjoying the cosy warmth of the void shawl (pattern and yarn details in link on my Ravelry project page). The yarn is really soft and comfortable to wear and the shawl is pretty flexible, looped twice or three times depending on how cold the breeze is. The pom-poms are still in place despite Toby’s attentions and I’m hoping he’ll be able to help me to make him some pom-poms of his own to play with as a distraction from playing with mine.

Back at home I’ve been finishing off patterns, starting new socks and getting winter woollies out of storage ready for wearing. I’ve also been enjoying the October issue 79 of Knit Now magazine which has an interview with me as part of the Knitter of the year awards that I won a prize in earlier in the year. The awards nominations for 2017 have just opened so if you’d like to nominate someone then head over to their page for more details.

Well, I’m off to continue with pattern writing, won’t be long now I promise – hopefully I’ll be back with news in the next post, til then keep well – there seem to be coughs and colds everywhere at the moment so fingers crossed you avoid them x

 

 

autism · countryside · general stuff · summer · wildlife

balance under a big sky

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)40 Comments

Sometimes being a parent means that you loose your sense of self a little. You are so focused on ensuring that everyone is fed, has clean clothes, that there’s milk in the fridge, toilet rolls in the cupboard and no-one has to go without breakfast because the bread has gone stale, that there’s not much time for anything you might want personally. I’ve felt a little like that recently. It’s probably magnified in our household because of Toby’s constant needs and the intensity of the school holidays but I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a little parental self-annihilation at times. Over the last few months we’ve had a busy time helping Amy research Unis, H has been away from home more than before as his father is very poorly and overall the balance of life has been more hectic than relaxed. I’ve also been listening to friends excitedly talk about family holidays and have felt a pang of envy because we don’t holiday anymore (it’s too stressful for Toby and so by extension for us too). It’s not that I particularly wanted to go away anywhere this summer but I’ve realised that I do miss the excitement of doing something new, of being somewhere different and of having that sense of being on an adventure. So, earlier this week I left H in charge of after dinner parenting duties, took my backpack, camera and walking boots and drove out into the countryside.

I’m never usually out of an evening, unless it’s for a school parents evening or a concert that Amy’s taking part in, so just being out in the car at 7pm is a novelty for me and it did feel something like a small adventure. I drove to a local hill which has lovely views over the surrounding countryside and just walked until the sun disappeared below the horizon. I saw lots of rabbits, heaps of the big Roman snails particular to the hill, heard the alarming bark of a muntjac deer near by and saw the bats start to flit. Sadly I didn’t get to see a much-longed-for barn owl but heading back towards the car I was treated to a magnificent sky overhead and bathed in a sense of well-being and calm. Although my tiny adventure was less than 2 hours long and took place only a 15 minute drive away from home it did help enormously. Sometimes you just need to be humbled under a big sky.

It has reminded me that although being a mum to an almost-adult with special needs perhaps brings more intense parenting, there can still be time for me if I can be flexible with when that can be, what form it can take and if I embrace the small and simple pleasures that exist all around us but are sometimes overlooked and undervalued. It’s my plan to keep finding small and fortifying adventures on my own doorstep and I’d love to hear about what small adventures you’d choose to have – tell me in a comment below if you have time to x

 

crafts & knitting · garden stuff · general stuff · summer · wildlife

Late Summer

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)15 Comments

Our summer days have merged into a flow of lazy, mostly at home days and I’m at that point in the school summer hols where I can no longer remember which day of the week it is.

We’ve been spending lots of time outside; swinging gently in the shade or lazing on a picnic blanket in the garden; walking in the woods and over hills; riding on the little steam train near here and eating lots of ice-cream. It’s been mostly relaxing and Toby is coping. He’s also beginning to adapt to the lack of pudding that I mentioned in the previous post and though it’s still a work in progress it looks like petit filous yoghurts are becoming his new pudding of choice, which is a great relief!

Out in the garden things have been really productive this year. I’m still picking french beans, raspberries, rocket and kale and the cylindrical beetroot that I planted from seed has done really well and is deliciously fresh – seems I’m not the only one to think that either. Everything is still flowering too, the little oregano flowers are attracting lots of bees, hoverflies and butterflies and we’ve been watching the rapid growth of a surprise self-seeded sunflower.

There’s even been a little knitting going on: I’ve finally finished and blocked a shawl that has been languishing in a bag for a year or more (Dream Stripes by Berangere Cailliau, details here); have quite a few pairs of socks on the go, as I’m clearly still under the spell of the sock knitting fairy (above are Wildflower and Honeycomb socks by Olivia Villarreal, details here) and there have even been a few animals emerging from my knitting basket too (more on that another time).

We’ve got exactly a week left until school starts again so we’re just going to keep things simple here and try to savour the last summer break days, because days of warmth and sunshine are now numbered for this year. Mornings are becoming hazier and cooler, the evenings are shortening noticeably and the leaves in the woods are taking on that late summer dusty green. Autumn is waiting in the wings.

 

PS: I knew there was something I’d forget and that’s the pictures of the tiny cucamelons that a kind friend gave to me as seedlings. Incredibly and despite unwanted attention from slugs, snails and squirrels they actually have tiny fruits!