Blogtober 2022 - Day 31 🍓

It's the final day of Blogtober and I only remembered at about 3pm! Good job I had taken some photos in advance or I'd be a little bit lost for what to share, especially because it's now pouring down with rain and everything has turned very dark and gloomy ☔ not weather to be outside in if I can help it!

A few days ago I noticed that our pineapple sage is flowering in the garden which inspired me to have a wander around taking photos of what else is going on out there. Only the nice bits though, I didn't include the bare tomato stems that are still standing in the raised bed even though I picked all the fruits weeks ago...we'll get round to tidying things up some day soon!

Fun winter flowers and the leaves smell like pineapple!

Purple beautyberry 💜

White snowberry:

Glossy rosehips and verbena bonariensis:

A few of these sweet little orange bidens have popped up recently, seemingly out of nowhere:

The nasturtiums which had all but shrivelled up in the height of summer have now resurrected with great gusto:

In my hand ✋ an acer leaf from the neighbour's tree, along with 2 chestnuts and a ginkgo leaf from my pocket (picked up at Dartington):

Time for boots again, and even the bonsais have their autumn colours:

A final rose has shown its face and my winter pansies are starting to come out! I bought a 24 pack and planted them all up in pots at the end of September and it's taken until now for them to get going:

Imagine my surprise when I found we had strawberries growing, on the plants which finished fruiting months ago! They must be confused by the mild autumn we're having 🍓

Thank you for joining along this month! I'll be back of course, just not everyday! 😄 I'm glad I attempted this daily challenge through October (I only missed a few days!) but looking forward to spending less time on the laptop and more time knitting again as I'm close to finishing my current pair of socks! 💓☕🍁⛅🍏✨ xoxo

Blogtober 2022 - Day 29 ☕

Yesterday Jethro had his first visit to the bonsai nursery...despite that big yawn I think he enjoyed himself! Future bonsai boy in the making 🌳 It was his first outing wearing the hat I knitted and it's so cute but kept slipping down over his eyes haha. 

After the nursery we headed to Stone Lane Gardens where there was a sculpture exhibition on (turns out I didn't actually take many photos of the exhibition pieces oops, clearly more interested in mushrooms!) It was one of those magical sort of days where you stumble across somewhere new and it turns out to be a bit of a hidden gem! I'd recommend a visit if you're near Dartmoor, but the exhibition finishes at the end of October so perhaps wait until next year as it's an annual thing.

Stone Lane has National Collections of birch and alder trees. Here I am rocking Jethro to sleep in perhaps the most idyllic setting for a woodland nap:

After a(nother) picnic lunch on a well positioned picnic table, and after settling the baby into his cosy sling, we headed off to explore the garden. 

You know I can't miss a mushroom photo opportunity, especially when there is amanita muscaria about! 

🍄

All in a row.

Some of the stone statues, like these deer, stand permanently amongst the trees:

Acorns and moss.

Ed in the silent space 🙏

Identifying trees.

Fallen leaves that look like confetti on the ground.

Another strange looking fungus (looks like purple minced beef lol). One day Ed and I will get round to becoming knowledgable mushroom hunters so we can ID them as well as just admire them! 😄

Humungous gunnera leaves are always fun:

And we we are, at the start of the sculpture trail. Or the end for us as we realised we'd done the whole winding route backwards 😆 but it didn't matter!

Before long we were back in the car, Jethro was hungry after his sculpture garden snooze and the grandparents consulted the map to plan the route to our final destination of Chagford. We almost didn't make it out of the carpark though when the car tyres were spinning and slipping in the mud 😯

Jethro's first cream tea experience (he agrees that although we are in Devon, the Cornish way is in fact the correct way), and my first time trying whortleberry jam. 10/10 delicious rating 👌

An excellent day full of Devon delights, I felt like a tourist even though I've lived here forever! 💛

P.S. Now that I've completed this post nice and early I've got the afternoon free to tackle my next job - making an apple crumble! 🍏

Blogtober 2022 - Day 27 💫

Hello again! Welcome to a little look back at the last couple of weeks, a few pictures that might have gotten left behind otherwise. Can anyone believe that October is nearly over already? What is going on?!

Some apples growing up into the sky, and a onesie I found with a J for Jethro. Sadly it's going to go right back to the charity shop because it was too short for him but it was a find worth remembering. It was funny because I picked it up and thought "why a J? That is so oddly specific" and almost put it down until I remembered that I do in fact have a reason to buy a J onesie:

Hooray for being able to wear knitted socks again, and just look at the masterpiece of a mini apple pie that Ed and I made to use up the excess ingredients (if you were wondering, sprinkles do survive the oven and come out looking pretty much the same...and yes that's a pastry snake 🐍):

Juniper in the golden, Sunday morning sun, and Jethro watching his dad practice for worship at church:

My freshly painted nails (half chipped off now 😢) beside these amazing pink snowberries, and a final selfie with my giant cardboard Jack Sparrow. We spent a morning sorting out my mum's loft and this was one of the relics from my past that I had to say goodbye to:

Sweater weather is here again! Me wearing the same one back in May with a big tum, and a week ago:

Juniper coming close for a sniff of that addictive baby head smell (not sure if she's as big a fan as we are), and discovering the endless fun that is a dripping tap:

On Monday Jethro had his first trip to IKEA! I can now add "the IKEA carpet section" to my list of interesting places we've breastfed ✅ He enjoyed his first experience in a baby change room and had a good look at my plate of meatballs:

Sleeping on the drive home (check out those razor sharp baby claws), and another visit from the local cat who likes to sit on cars (I've learned his name is Rocco and he is old):

Please give a warm welcome to the newest member of our family, his name is Jarvis and we are determined to make him Jethro's favourite toy 🐒 Here they are matching in their stripes:

Yes you have seen correctly, at the grand age of 12 weeks Jethro now sits up in highchair!!! 😭 He is growing up way too fast.

And finally, a bedtime story from Grandma and Grandpa (a book that was Ed's when he was little) 💛:

Hope you're having a wonderful October! 😄💫