Indian Summer

I was wishing for an Indian summer, and now it has arrived -thank heavens. I had such a stressful day yesterday, when Snowy had to have his checkup following being dabbed in the eye by one of the fluffy black horrors last week. It wasn't healing as well as the vet or I expected and it looks like his ear cancer is returning. I had psyched myself up for him having to be pts yesterday but he has been given another few weeks so we can see how things are panning out.

Anyway, today it was so warm and summer-like, I decided to walk for my free range eggs, which we get from a neighbour. I had bartered a large jar of my Queen of Jams for some. It was a wonderful walk, with butterflies (even both the Tortoiseshells were in evidence and I have seen more today than the whole of this year and last put together, so there must have been a hatching, which is good news after they were victim of a parasitic attacker ). My neighbour had an elder bush which I was able to pick from so I now have enough for my sauce making. I picked some more blackberries too- this late sunshine should produce a few more for the freezer. I had a chat with several of my neighbours, but otherwise had the lane to myself and the butterflies, with the river chuckling across the stones in the valley bottom, three Red Kites soaring high above me on warm thermals. On the far side of the valley a blue tractor droned up the hill as it cut the hedgerow.

I have been busy in the kitchen and got some pickled onions bottled today (in an old glass Horlicks jar.) The phasing out of glass Horlicks jars are much lamented in this household. I did a mini roast using some lamb breast from the freezer with potatoes from the garden as roasties, and yet more runner beans to accompany them,and then stewed up some windfall apples and put a layer of mixed frozen fruit (blackberries/redcurrants/raspberries etc) which had been on special offer in the supermarket this summer and I had bought several packs then. One pack will last us three pies, used that way and it gives a sharpness to the pie which my husband prefers. A small piece of pastry was rolled out and spread with bramble jelly I made recently and became a jam roly poly for two small appetites!

I am typing this very slowly and not at all fluently on my daughter's laptop as my computer is still in being mended and my camera is with it as it won't automatically load the photos. Needless to say I have not got access to any of my photos . . . Hopefully normal service will return tomorrow.