Autumn

The weather is changed, winter is just about here. Yesterday was minus when I woke and my car has to be put away each night to stop the ice forming on it!

The trees are now in a race to lose leaves before the next winter blast. The apple trees have the last few apples on but our harvest has been vast again. Must have given 30 bags of apples away, and each bag is a supermarket carrier bag full! also have got giant box full to go in the kitchen and even I am getting fed up with crumble! apple cake! apple pie! you get the picture.

Oddly just sat here remembering being young and loving the autumn, the leaves under hooves the colours as I rode round Devon, either by bike or by horse, later by motor bike and car. The smell of autumn, bonfires and mulch, feeling of nipping cold and warm suppers.

Made enough soup recently to have to look for new ingredients to stop them being samey. Mind you, best soup ever is fridge soup, when you open the fridge and go what have I got and when does it have to be used by :-), some fab ones from that.

Change is autumn, looking back and making a tally of your work, looking forward to what you need to do for winter and next year (yes only 63 nights to Christmas), this is both home and work for me.

Best of all I remember being 12 and riding in the woods in a crisp morning to Tarr Steps, The splash of crossing and the low sun making everything magical. More than three decades on I still remember the chill the warm breath of the horse and feeling free.

Snow is due this week and then for us Autumn is past, winter is here. Until then I shall wollow in memories of younger days.