{ Mu'Mu }

Back At the Farm

Another trip to the farm, this time for plums. Plums, plums and more plums. As well as a stash of good old fashioned organic vege for the table.

Some really late raspberries and blackberries are also still available, and I know there will have to be a few more trips to the farm before pumpkin-picking season. Sweetcorn ready for picking will be a couple weeks away, and I have a lot more jam I need to make first.

Oh and that crazy dog. What trip to the farm would be complete without that silly mutt and her doggy friend joining in the fun? She thinks she's human you know.

Forest Foraging

Well, I'm glad to say that summer has made a welcomed reappearance again in these here parts. It was getting decidedly autumnal at one point, so having some late summer days to play in is a really welcomed treat.

And better late than never! Berry picking time, a whole month after schedule, in one of our favourite forests. Wild blackberries, although smaller than their commercially grown cousins, are a lot tastier. They also happen to be abundant and free. Elderberries were also foraged and destined to become Mama's much anticpated Wild Berry and Apple Jam.

It's definitely canning season, people.

Winding Down

Are we at the end of August, really? Can it really have flown by THAT quickly? Yes, I guess the chill in the air says it's a quarter to Autumn; the gardening year is winding down somewhat. Plans being made for food growing are being made for 2011 (!). No more sowing this year.

Plans for next year and beyond? Well, Mama is keen on a beekeeping course in the spring. I have grand plans for polytunnels and raised beds. Chickens? I do hope so - depending on the patience of DH.

The babes are keen to get started on their guerrilla war on terra after scouring the web for red clay powder and wild flower seeds; I hate to break their heart and tell them they'll have to wait til spring.

As we slowly wind down from the summer rhythm, I am hoping and praying for good weather for an Autumn agricultural Show this year - and maybe even a few last runs up to the PYO farm for plums and the last of the late summer raspberries.

And aren't the blackberries late this year? A long walk in the forest for some free food and a long weekend of canning, and I think I can safely say plans for the next few weeks are all pencilled in.

And you? What are your plans for this late summer period?

Nature where you find it

A couple weeks back the littlest and I had to make a semi-emergency trip to the hospital. Thankfully there was nothing broken and we were discharged with lightening speed.

Finding ourselves with a little time on our hands we sat in the car park to take in the view of, um the cars, and the general hubbub of everyday nee-nor life of a hospital. Until I spied apples in trees over-hanging the car park.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "I see fruit - want to go apple-picking today?"

"Yesh"

So we did. We shook the trees and there they fell, plop! plop! plop! at our feet. There were other goodies too and so, in the middle of the ghetto that I call 'home', the babe and I sat in a car park having an impromtu picnic on free food.

And it was tastey!

We got more apples than we could carry, poured them into my poncho, made a sack and threw them over our shoulders and went home, to core, slice and freeze our little harvest ready for more pies.

And I suppose it was mini-lesson in life :: you can either plan, and plot and schedule your life and get nowhere, or you can take the blessing out of every opportunity, this very second and grab the sweetest moments and happiest memories with both hands right now, for in reality Right Now is all we ever have in life.

And if you could manage not to fracture your finger falling down the stairs landing on the vacuum cleaner? That would be good too.

Just sayin'

Hit and run summerdays...

I don't really want to moan about the sucky weather, but it's getting hard to avoid - constant rain? Thunder and lightening daily? For FOUR weeks?? Come on - by any standards that sucks.

We have spent a lot of time indoors, or garden-based ready to run for cover when the deluge hits. Summer activities have made way for Autumn and Winter-time pursuits : games, drawing, dressing up, whilst Mama reacquaints herself with slow crafting in the easy chair.

So when the forecasts predicts something crazy like a whole morning with no rain (sun optional but oh so good) we hit the ground running.

And *because* of all the rain, we usually make it to the allotment to do mortal battle with the damn weeds. It works out great -  I get digging practice and the babes watch and catch bugs, paint in their nature journals and eat what they find. Bugs optional.

And s l o w l y I y I can see the tide turning a little our way. Bit by bit, patch by patch from jungle to farm.

And bug hotel - very important...

 And whilst wondering just why the hell I went for an allotment and made all this work for ourselves I overheard the youngest say to his brother as they sat in some long grass catching crickets::

"Brother: I LOVE our allotment"

And as the sweat dripped down my back, for that one sweet moment I really loved it too. And so what if the weather sucks. When it rocks, it really rocks.

Sew Quick

Yeah new blog but puns just as lame...

My son, my eldest son who is seven, is intense. Spirited, if you will. Hyperactive if you like labels. Nuts, if you're on the edge of a nervous breakdown and just happen to be his mother. Whatever label you give him the fact is he goes through pants like you and I go through teabags. Clothing to him is disposable.

I have seen clothes in charity shops that are better quality than the stuff he wears, and not because we don't TRY to civilise him - oh no; clothing just doesn't stand up to his requirements. He doesn't need denim pants - he needs body armour.

I have lost count of the amount of holes in knees. I just wave the white flag on that battle.

The amount of trousers in the recycling bin? Oy! The amount of trousers turned into shorts? Well, put it this way - if he ever needs to goto Hawaii he's got the wardrobe covered.

But fed up of binning his stuff I managed to repurpose some cut offs this week.

Having cut below the knee the cut offs were begging to be used. So a quick inside-out to sew the bottom together, some webbing and a snap closure? You just happen to have a cool bag in under five minutes. Yes five minutes.

Small and compact, slings over the shoulder ready for any impromptu walk - and the bonus? Mother gets a handbag to herself without little people shoving their nature treasure in!

Their own bag for the must-haves in midget accessories. You know, pine cones, seeds, feathers....

...the important stuff.

Chasing the sun

You know how it is - you've been under the weather for several days, doing nothing except wallow in illness and having the occasional glass of water, and when you finally feel perky enough to leave the bed you are met with? Well, in our case it would be scenes of aggravated burglary - oh the mess! The piles! Where - where did they come from?? And how?? I mean, everyone has been curled up in the same bed for over 36 hours so just how did all this devastation happen??

So, you sigh and shrug your shoulders; put the first load in the washer and tackle the dishes which seem in imminent danger of cascading over the edge of the worktop. And it's your favourite pyrex so you *have* to do something....

You make mental notes of which piles need your immediate attention first, then in which order you will attempt to conquer the rest.

But there's that quiet nagging in the back of your mind: the babes need fresh air; the babes need OUT.

You try to be Grown Up and tell yourself you have responsibilities, that housework won't do itself you know. But then the sun comes out, and as it has been such a rare sight these last few weeks you know the battle is lost. You've been out-manœuvred. You quieten the Grown Up inside your mind and you listen to what your body and soul is telling you. Instincts take you farthter than To Do lists. You down tools, size up your new mission and get to work.

Basket. Drinks. Snacks. Paper. Paints. Brains. Eyes. Willing disposition.

Off we go.

And you know what? The piles are still there -  they'll get sorted eventually insha'allah, but life? Well, that has to be grabbed with both hands, doesn't it?