Wednesday 16 September 2015

Wednesday

It was our exercise class for the over sixties this afteroon and this doubled up with the ninetieth birthday of one of our more active and spritely members, so we ended with a chocolate 'hedgehog' cake, courtesy of Mr Sainsbury, and a group photograph.   Delicious cake (undid all the good done by an hour's exercise of course). We sat in the garden of The Old School House, where we hold our class, in the Autumn sunshine and all had our photographs taken around Ruth who was holding her pretty hydrangea plant.   It was a lovely ending to a great afternoon.   Lots of fairly strenuous exercise and lots of laughs as we are all in varying degrees of decripitude.

The trees were covered in little, sour-looking apples, the lawn was covered in crisp, brown, dead leaves - no doubt about the season.

In the fields the farmer took this photograph of a giant puff-ball; he was just about to let beast into the field and knew that once they were in they would make straight for the puff-ball and trample on it.  I suggested I sliced it and we ate it with fried bacon but he said he 'didn't fancy it' (being the squeamish chap that he undoubtedly is.)   (this is the chap who, as a small child, suddenly found out where eggs actually exited the hen and didn't eat an egg for another ten years!!)

The late afternoon sunshine is gloriously warm and there is a light breeze.   Heavy rain is forecast for later tonight - yesterday the North East coast caught the edge of an Atlantic storm and had a huge quantity of rain in a hour, which flooded the main street to wellington boot height.  I understand that the same is forecast for further inland later tonight.

Yesterday and today I am having new windows put into my cottage in the village, so I am crossing my fingers that the work will be done before then.

24 comments:

Mac n' Janet said...

I was a bit shocked when I found out where eggs came from too, but I kept eating them, as long as they were scrambled. Hope the rain isn't too bad.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Curious to know what sliced and fried puffball would taste like

John Going Gently said...

I would have loved to see the group photo pat

jinxxxygirl said...

Hmmmm... didn't know you had a cottage in the village too Pat... Have you ever shown it to us? Guess i don't know just what a puffball is.. What i'am imagining is a mushroom that when 'ripe' i used to kick as a kid and a big puff of spores would come out....?? didn't know it was edible.. Hugs! deb

donna baker said...

I have puffballs on my farm, but have always been afraid to try them. I saw one once as big as a soccer ball. I still won't eat the white part of eggs if it is at all runny and for most of my life wouldn't eat an egg until those two white cord things were removed. Aren't people strange about food?

SandyExpat said...

Any chance of you sharing the snaps of the puffball and the group exercise class?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Puffball photograph is now on the post. Group photograph might well come through from our tutor, who took it. If so, then I will post it.

Rachel Phillips said...

Oh, cottage in the village. You just dropped that one in.

Gwil W said...

puff ball. Any taste? Any texture?

There's a dish in Austria called a Salzburger Nockerl. It sinks like balloon when you stick a fork into it. Looks impressive when it arrives on the plate, is all you can say for it.

Heather said...

My son enjoys finding 'free food' in the countryside and has tried puffballs - he says they are very good, also the shaggy inkcap toadstools. I am not squeamish about eating them but just a bit nervous of identifying the safe ones. All to often there is an inedible one that looks just the same!
I do hope you will get a dry day for your windows to be replaced and looking forward to seeing the group photo.

Dawn said...

Great find the Puff Ball, I think they are nicer when young, we keep n eye out for them, the only ones I have seen round here is the none edible ones

SandyExpat said...

Thanks for the puffball photo - that is (was) huge.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

That puffball certainly grew quickly; I could swear it wasn't there when I looked earlier!

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Giant puff balls make good eating, so long as they are young and white, not brown. We slice them and fry them like fried bread. I also dice them to put in casseroles. haven't had any this year, nor many field mushrooms either.

Terry and Linda said...

I had to laugh about the 'egg' sentence. What a huge lovely mushroom!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Wilma said...

I love fried puffball slices. You could have them with egg, too, and really make the farmer squeamish!

Cro Magnon said...

Puffballs are good. I slice them about 1 cm thick, and fry. WE had a HUGE circle of them this year, there must have been almost 100, and the circle had a diameter of about 50 metres.

thelma said...

Never tasted puffballs, the ones we used to find in Essex where small and brown, and did not look very edible. Funny story about the Farmer and eggs ;)

The History Anorak said...

You don't expect farmers to be squeamish about what they eat. I always assumed they'd make the most of anything edible that turned up.

Rachel Phillips said...

Believe me, farmers are just as picky as anyone else.

Elizabeth said...

One of my dearest friends is 90.
Utterly sharp and most amusing.
My chum Renata Singer, an Australian who lives in this building, just published a book called
Older and Bolder. She interviewed lots of 90 year olds - and asked them about life
after sixty.
A good read and available on Kindle and Amazon etc.
The party for it is here on Saturday!
Hope you saw my reply to your comment on elizabethwix.co
I'm still making hats for charity!

Derek Faulkner said...

What a delightful blog, I came across it while looking at Wilma's latest offering. I've seen hundreds of puffballs in my life but never one that big, quite amazing.

www.lettersfromsheppey.blogspot.com

Hildred said...

Oh, I was looking forward to a picture of the hedgehog cake, - never mind, the big puff ball will do. Sounds like a most interesting and enjoyable day, - I envy you the rain.

Reading your comments, Pat, I am intriqued by Elizabeth's friend's 'older and bolder' book. I shall be looking for it and hope for inspiration...

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone and a particular welcome to Derek from the Isle of Sheppey - never had a follower from there before.