Monday 5 October 2015

The bad season.



I'm trying desperately hard to like Autumn, but I'm only being partly successful.

I can appreciate the changes in colours, the fruits, the falling leaves; but I still can't get over the wretched cold, and having to say goodbye to the pool for months on end. And I certainly don't look forward to having to light fires every bloody evening; even though I do enjoy the result.

However, I find walking in the woods much more interesting than in full Summer, and as we're also in Mushroom season, returning with a bagful of Parasol mushrooms, or Hedgehog mushrooms, is always a bonus.

Any day now all the acorns will be dropping, as well as the Oak's leaves themselves, leaving a good old mess to clean up. Then the vines will need pruning, all the fruit trees will need attending to, and Haddock's will need to be completely dug-over and rotovated, in a futile attempt to avoid too much weed growth before next Spring.

On the plus side, the few Curly Kale plants that I put in last month seem to be romping away, and my fear of having no Winter 'greens' looks unwarranted. 

So, we're hunkering down, everything's been stored away, and before long my shorts will be replaced by long trousers. But before all that, let's enjoy the last few days of relative warmth; 20 C suddenly feels very pleasant, and the Autumn skies are glorious. I try to be positive, but it's not easy.






43 comments:

  1. I'd like fall a whole lot more if it didn't mean winter was just around the corner!

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  2. How about visiting Tenpin this year. Definitely not cold there.

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  3. It's all change here - dark still at 7.30 raining and miserable.

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    Replies
    1. Very mild here this morning with a pleasant breeze; yesterday morning it was 6 C. What a change.

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  4. We locked up and abandoned the garden last weekend for our winter in the UK. Very sad to leave. Paul has discovered he doesn't really gain anything by clearing the weeds in autumn, just leaves it all to be ploughed back into the ground in spring.

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    1. So you've gone eh? I find that if I don't prepare my ground before Winter, it's even harder to dig it in Spring. I need a plough.

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    2. We've got a sympathetic neighbour with a big red tractor! He ploughs it and then Paul rotovates afterwards.

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    3. Haddock's is all fenced off, I can't get a tractor onto it; bad planning.

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  5. Tomorrow we are going to have our first rain,still 30c here.

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    1. Quite warm and very slight rain here. A staying in day.

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  6. I was going to mention the mushrooms (I found a load of Hedgehogs on my last foray). I love the changes myself, it's the period between January and April I find hard to deal with.

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  7. I am feeling that way also. My gardens are still beautiful, but I know time is not on my side. Oh, how I hate the thought of putting it to bed and all the work that it entails.

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    Replies
    1. A lot of leaves falling here, the ground is already becoming covered.

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  8. Cro... as you are "welded to France"...
    do what the birds do...
    migrate....
    but in reverse...
    spend a month in Brittany in the Winter....
    I suggest January...
    then return South!
    It will feel quite balmy, chez vous, upon your return!!
    Tim

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    Replies
    1. For several years I used to pop back to England (Brighton) for the winter, but I prefer now to stick it out.

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    2. I'd give the Cote d'Azur a miss at the moment.

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  9. It is pouring with rain here in the Yorkshire Dales and a harsh wind is blowing. Need I say more.

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    1. It's actually turned into a nice sunny day here, in fact I'm just off to do some gardening.

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  10. I agree. The prospect of winter becomes more gloomy as the years roll by. I don't mind the fires, soups, warm jumpers etc, it's just it seems so long before spring is here again - and I love summer.

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  11. I really do love all of the seasons ....... they all have a positive side. Nothing nicer than a roaring fire, glass of red and something good to eat whilst it's cold and rainy outside.... then there's Christmas and my February birthday to look forward to !! Get your glass into half full mode Cro ..... you'll feel better for it !! XXXX

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    Replies
    1. Well, it's turned out to be a beautiful day here. Hot sunshine; and guests for dinner. I'm actually feeling a bit better.

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  12. I was saying to a friend the other day that i'm always sad to say good-bye to summer. Saying good-bye to fall and hello to winter is often needless, as we usually have a good bit of snow on the ground by then.

    When I got up today, it looked as though we may have had just a touch of frost. The day is warming up nicely, and the cats and I are making the most of enjoying the sunshine.

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    1. It's been warm and sticky all day here, a total change from yesterday (6 C)

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  13. It is supposed to reach 80 degrees here today, but the nights are cool. We leave for Arizona again this Friday and they had a light rain there yesterday…..very unusual weather here on the west coast.

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    1. I know nothing of US weather patterns, other than when I was in Miami (en route for Cayman) it was really unpleasantly hot and humid.

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  14. "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"...
    I used to love Autumn days, and like you, found the daily dog walks much more interesting. It was fun the scuff through the leaves !
    We're now living too far south to experience the changing seasons and they are something I miss, but not the very cold winters and the rain. 27ºC here again today, and forecast to be slightly warmer tomorrow.

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    1. 27 C sounds good to me. I've just got up, and it's raining.

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  15. Spring is in full swing here and it's lovely. Blossom everywhere. It's going to be a long hot summer in the southern hemisphere, according to the weather boffins.

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    1. We are told that it's going to be a long cold winter here, but seeing as they can't even get the next day's weather right.....

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  16. When I moved back to Tucson, Arizona I found out why I always loved fall. After the searing hot summer months, fall comes with days in the 80's and evening cooling off nicely. It is such a beautiful time here. But even with the hot summer months all the seasons in Tucson are lovely.
    But if I lived where you do I would miss summer too.
    I close my pool in November.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. oops, I keep forgetting to tell you how much I love the photos of your garden.

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    2. The garden's a bit scruffy at the moment, I try to keep it quite tidy but with all the leaves down it looks a mess.

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  17. Looking at, and admiring, this post after a return from the late shift at work, I can only say that I liked the post and the comments, and will have a day off tomorrow, with a chance to see what will be offered at the farmers market.

    I do enjoy visiting here.

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    1. Nice to see you here Frances; enjoy your day off. It is raining here with a little thunder and lightning.

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  18. No heat on here as yet, although some have given in no doubt. I don't mind this....I usually get the miseries around mid January and they hold on until mid May.

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