damsons II20th September posted by hannah
Damsons to eat! To roll in! To play ducks and drakes with forever more! We spent the afternoon in Pete and Michelle's orchard and now have more damsons than we know what to do with. The freezer is cramed and I've run out of jars, but it was an idylic afternoon, finishing up with scones and tea under the trees.
school boy16th September posted by hannah
Daniel is mid-way through his first full week of school and so far, so good. Yesterday Bethan and I joined the class for some blackberry picking and today they're making jam. Not vastly different from home so far then!
caleb14th September posted by hannah
Caleb and Boo warming-up after paddling in the lake.
damson day13th September posted by hannah
Daniel, Bethan and I have been helping to bring in the damson harvest at Saul Hill. We spent all morning picking on Saturday and made a good start collecting 20lbs of fruit before lunch. This was the produce of just one tree and there are many more, so we will be back next weekend. In the meantime, jam and crumble, here we come.
paddling12th September posted by hannah
The men folk of the church (Ug)! have been out paddling loch shiel this weekend. Having endured two months of monsterous low pressure and gloom, the sun shone and the sky was blue. At night, the loch was so still that even the stars were reflected in it.
stan and chris6th September posted by hannah
While I don't go quite as far as Commander Walker in Swallows and Amazons, "Better drowned than duffers. If not duffers, won't drown.." Drowned they nearly were, and not because either of them are duffers but because of the relentless lakeland rain. That said, Stan and Chris seemed to thoroughly enjoy their weekend in the hills, and I believe there were one or two magic moments along the way. Not least, a moonlit canoe down Coniston water and overnight camp on Wildcat Island itself.
