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| Hereford 2015 |
I suppose it’s odd to start a new beginning in September,
but I’ve always thought of September as a chance to start over. No doubt it’s a throwback to those long ago
school days, but the end of summer always seems to be a natural conclusion to
the year.
The long anticipated holiday is a thing of the past; the
Summer plans made so long ago have either come to fruition or been abandoned as
a lost cause and the outdoor living season is drawing to an end. It’s time now to settle down to Autumn, make
the most of the last of the sunny warm weather at home and get ready for the
cooler months ahead.
In nature too, we’re in a transition. The harvest is more or less gathered, farm, garden and on a foraging.
The summer birds and geese are preparing to take off for warmer climes as the year
settles in for the quiet wind down to Winter.
The gardens too are winding down as everything retreats for the colder
months.
The hot sultry days (the few that we had!) and sleepless
nights of July and August are behind us, leaving us with (hopefully) pleasantly
warm, sunny days and cooler nights. The evenings
will begin to draw in noticeably now – especially as we reach the equinox,
meaning cosy evenings at home curled up with a book or some trashy television
to entertain us.
September is the last of the foraging season for me. The blackberries will be going over
soon; the
Old Wives advised against gathering after September 19th - no doubt,
because by then they are all fly blown and maggot riddled! They’ve been ripening since the beginning of
August and I have plenty stashed in the freezer for crumble season. I might be lucky enough to gather a good
batch of cobnuts, if I can get to them before the squirrels. The hedgerows and trees are groaning with
rosehips and rowan berries for those inclined to turn their hand at jellies. Soon the sloes will be ready for picking,
although the longer they are left on the tree the better. They are ideally an October crop but
competition tends to be high among the sloe gin makers and they rarely last
that long here! According to folklore,
they shouldn’t be picked until after the first frost, but a day or two in the
freezer does the same job.
Kitchenwise, the last of the preserving has been done until
next year so we have plenty of goodies stored up to see us through the winter
months. September will probably see our
last barbecue of the season, unless we have a very dry October. The new gas Man-Aga we bought has been worth
every penny. It’s so much more
convenient than the charcoal ones we’ve been used to so we’ve taken to
barbecuing at every opportunity. The
Bacon Wars I’m engaged in with my lovely neighbour were ramped up when we
started barbecuing gammon steaks!! By
the end of the month soup season will have begun in earnest, I love soups and
could happily live exclusively on them!
I restrict myself to making one batch a week, with the leftovers being
stashed in the freezer for another day.
September is also when crumble season begins; served with a swathe of
cool creamy custard at the beginning of the month, we’ll be having thick hot
custard by the end!
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| Blackberries August 16 |
On the domestic front, after months of flicking a feather
duster around, September usually sees a concerted attack of dusting, polishing,
vacuuming into the furthest reaches and window cleaning. The annual spider migration has much to do
with this newfound interest in housework as everywhere I turn, I’m surrounded
by cobwebs! A few days’ neglect can turn
the house into something Miss Faversham would recognise! The summer duvet will be probably put away by
the end of the month, the flannel sheets will put in an appearance shortly
afterwards too ....... even if I have to have all the upstairs windows open
again to keep me cool at night!!
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| Blackberry Crumble |
In the garden, we’ll be having a general tidy up and a session
or two to plant up the winter bulbs.
Last year I decided to plant Crocus and Snowdrop bulbs directly into the
lawn. They are always such a cheerful
flower and always make me smile; they were a lovely treat to see in the barren
garden in March this year. I’ll plant up
another swathe this year too, hopefully in the years to come they’ll naturalise
and spread to give a lovely carpet of Spring flowers. I wish I’d done it years ago!
