I took the opportunity to have an early(ish) morning stroll.
The sky was a stunning blue with fluffy white clouds, the sun was shining but the air had a definite autumnal nip in it. after only a few minutes my cheeks were pinched pink by the wind. It was just good to be out in the fresh air, soaking up the late summer vitamin D.
The trees, which back in August were starting to shed their leaves, seemed to decide to hang onto them after a fair amount of rain, and now in late October, they are still clinging on and not quite in their full Autumn coat. With ever busy lives, it is sometimes good to just stop and take stock of your surroundings.
My walk took in country lanes and open fields, the hedgerows still being full of bounty, the sloes are huge this year and still offering themselves up .
the leaves of the Blackthorn are long gone in this area, but the sloes remain, providing much needed fruit for my gin and also food for wildlife especially pollinators and caterpillar. The dense spiny structure of these bushes make for excellent secure fencing as well as lacerating various parts of my hands and arm, worth it though.
I also collected some rosehips, which again, were plentiful on the bushes which unlike the Blackthorn, was still hanging onto most of its leaves
These rosehips will this afternoon, be deseeded ( a totally thankless task), and then soaked in vinegar overnight before being used in my last batch of chutney for the year.
Rosehips are a great source of vitamin c , they actually contain significantly more than oranges, and can be frozen, so I might be out again tomorrow to collect some more!
Just being out soaking up the last of the late summer sun, walking in the fresh air and taking in all that nature provides, is a huge tonic, tomorrow we enter into darker shorter days, the light gradually changes over the next few months, a time of year that I do not like at all.
Luckily in 3 weeks I will be taking in some winter sun.
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