Something I posted HERE this time last year was conkers, on 8th October so just one week later to be exact ... where did September go to!! It was all about how having a conker on each of your windowsills will keep away spiders.
For the sceptics amongst you it really does work, and this last two weeks have been a testament to that. As the weather turned cooler and the nights drew in spiders had been making their way into the warmth of the house at an alarming rate, well alarming to me ... fun for the dogs who love to chase the big beats when they run across the floor.
There was nothing for it but to go out conker hunting ... so we did!!
We walked along the river bank in Llanrwst with the dogs then Lovely Hubby had a fun filled half hour chucking sticks up trees and diving out of the way before they came back down on him, the dogs thought he had gone mad and would have nothing to do with this vertical stick throwing and kept well out of his way, as did I only rushing in to help pick up the bright green prickly balls as they landed.
So for the last week the conkers have been back on all windowsills except one, the one Mavis and Rosy can get onto .... and they love eating conkers ... and for the last week there has not been a single spider sighting .... PHEW!!
In other news ....
We went out picking blackberries again and managed to get just over 1.3 kgs of luscious large berries.
Last time I made Apple and Blackberry Jelly so this time I decided.to make Apple and Blackberry Crumbles. Seven for the freezer and one we ate the same night as a treat for all the painful picking we had endured .... boy do those scratches tingle when you get in the bath later that night and have just about forgotten about your battle wounds.
I say crumbles, but in fact I have frozen these as just apple and blackberries that have been cooked together, so they can be used as crumbles, pies, cobblers or even thawed and added to a sponge mix to make a delicious cake or pudding, very adaptable. I keep my basic crumble mix in a big tub in the freezer and use it as it is or add extras to it such as oats, nuts or dried fruit depending on the mood we are in and what the kitchen cupboards demand we use up.
I'm busy reading my way through one of my favorite books again at the moment for more processing and preserving inspiration. Alys Fowler is one of my gardening heroes and she writes extremely well. I love the pictures in this book of the things she is doing, her home and Isabel, her lovely Jack Russell dog. We chatted about our Jack Russells amongst other things over lunch at Yeo Valley Organic Gardens a couple of years ago when we met HERE it was a brilliant day.
I'm off for a bit more inspiration now, it's a hard job but somebody has to do it :-)
Sue xx
