Saturday 13 October 2012

Autumn is really here now.

     If we were in any doubt about it, the last few days have shown that Autumn is really here and that Summer is well and truly past.  During the last week we have had sharp frosts, gale-force winds, heavy rain and brilliant sunshine,   The first three have contrived to bring down an awful lot of the leaves and as Tess and I walked through the fields this afternoon (ankle deep in mud in places) we were walking as much through fallen ash tree leaves as through grass.
      In the gateways the water has collected in the ruts and it is difficult to get into the fields without getting wet feet.   But once in we set off down the field to where the farmer is busy digging out the beck at the bottom.   It always silts up every year but this year, with the torrential rain of a couple of weeks ago, when Dominic's lane was all but washed away (it is the same beck that flows through our fields), a lot of rubbish came down too, so there is a lot of digging out to do.   The farmer has to keep a sharp eye out because he digs out bullheads and small trout and tries to see them in order to put them back before they perish.   After all, they are good winter food for the heron and the kingfisher.

     We chat for a few minutes and Tess has a good old sniff at the wet mud which has been dug out.   Then we walk back home.   It is a glorious day here today - brilliant sunshine, slight breeze, and - as you can see from this photograph - amazingly beautiful clouds.



10 comments:

John Going Gently said...

yes the green fields have now gone brown/green
oh bugger!

Penny said...

Lovely photo of the clouds.

Pondside said...

Despite all the mud I'll bet it's still beautiful. Over here the rain has started, just in the last 24 hours and it is most welcome. It will be several days before the moisture penetrates the forest canopy and we are out of fire danger.

ArtPropelled said...

What a lovely day for a walk!

Irene said...

The weather you have first, we get next because the weather usually comes from the west. Today we should see some blustery clouds and some sunshine and yesterday it rained like crazy. xox

Golden West said...

That is indeed a glorious sky! We just had our first measurable rain in 5 months and are hoping the parched fields will take on a touch of green.

Anonymous said...

The fields opposite us are ploughed; the sun is low; the leaves are red and gold; the woodburner is active! Once upon a time, it was at this point that we'd begin to indulge the visions of the return of spring and summer. What are we to do this winter instead?

Heather said...

The sun is shining in through the window and right into my eyes as I type this! My husband is planning to mow the lawn once the dew has dried. We had a frost last night and there was a thin coating of ice on the birdbath this morning. I am hoping to leave the geraniums outside a little longer as they brighten up the garden so.

Crafty Green Poet said...

that last photo is wonderful!

It's definitely autumn here too, though we've had some wonderful weather over the past week

Shirley said...

Hi
A large cast iron casserole dish will do fine, that's pretty much the same as a Dutch Oven. I haven't had a failure yet using this method, good luck with it.

Shirley :)