Wednesday 28 October 2020

Mud, Leaves and Pumpkins

 


I'd originally had high hopes for this week. In my mind I'd envisioned bright autumn days, walking on the fells, enjoying picnic lunches on the summits, then returning home at the end of each day exhausted but happy. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. It's dismal, cold and very very wet, and disappointingly it's set to stay this way for the remainder of the week.

On Sunday, however, there was a brief window of opportunity. The afternoon was predicted to be dry and if we were really lucky there was also the slightest chance of seeing just a little bit of sunshine.


We didn't go very far. Our walk was just long enough to stretch our legs and breathe in some fresh air. Being stuck in the house is not for me and I know I can get (very) grouchy if I can't get outdoors for at least some part of the day.


Waterproofs and wellies on, we walked down the track and through the fields just past the pond.
 

Mushrooms are growing all throughout the woods just now. These Inkcaps appreciate the wet weather at least.


After a lot of rain parts of this walk can become very muddy, which as you might imagine, Lily enjoys very much. She also likes to walk in the nearby stream, which is the reason her wellies look 'clean' in this photograph. What you can't see is that her jeans are completely mud splattered up the back. : ) Not to mind, I'm more than used to this by now and  they are easily washed. 


Once past the clearing we walked back amongst the trees once again. Following the recent wet and windy weather the leaves have been falling thick and fast. They carpeted the woodland floor but they squelched rather than crunched beneath our feet.


Before we left the woods, we sat for a while, enjoying the sun as it broke through the sparse canopy of the trees. This is my favourite section of the walk. The light is so beautiful here and it's also where we stop for chocolate. : )


Another reason for getting out was so that we could call in at the farm and choose our Halloween pumpkins. It took us a while, as there were a variety of interesting shapes and sizes to choose from but we settled on a medium sized white one and a small orange one, and at some point over the next few days we will be carving them in time for the weekend. 

J. X

46 comments:

  1. Lovely post! Walking through the woods has always been a favorite way to spend a day! Thanks for sharing your walk.

    Grace & Peace,
    Pam

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    1. Thank you, Pam. A walk in the woods is always lovely but it is especially so at this time of year. X

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  2. You have again sparked a wee bit of envy. I had hoped last week or the week before to get out into the Woods ate the Castle Grounds in Stornoway where I used to walk most days until last March. The weather has been terrible since and when I was in the Castle Grounds throwing stones into the water of the harbour with my son and grandson (despite the rain) I noticed that all the beautiful colours I'd seen in friends' photos have now gone in the gales and rain. I might go back with plastic sacks and gather up leaves for the compost though.

    You mentioned the word 'envisioned' which has fairly suddenly entered my world (I have always used 'envisaged') so I decided to look it up and see what the difference was (I had assumed that it was an Americanism). Interestingly as I am aphantasic I can't envision something anyway but I can envisage it. Every day is a school day. Thank you.

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    1. We're forecast some strong winds here over the weekend, so I expect the trees will be looking quite bare very soon. X

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  3. So lovely, my friend.
    I wish I could hop into one of your photos!
    We also chose a white pumpkin this year. Our first, I think.
    Carving them on Friday!
    Have a cozy evening.

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    1. We've never chosen a white pumpkin before either. I still prefer the orange ones for Halloween. Happy carving. X

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  4. My grandchildren are carving their pumpkins today, I'm waiting for the photos. It really has been a bit soggy. I hope we have a bit of sunshine over the next few weeks.

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    1. This week has been a bit of a washout, so I hope the weather improves as we head into November. I hope your grandchildren have fun pumpkin carving. X

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  5. I bet it did you the world of good to get out for a walk. I am already sick of the cold and wet and there's months more of it to come.

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    1. It's been so wet this week that it looks like we have a pond beneath the swing!
      It always feels good to get out after being stuck indoors. X

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  6. Your photos are lovely despite the challenging weather conditions! I haven't seen mud like that since last year's festival season.
    It was lovely to escape the rain on our trip to The Cotswolds on Monday and despite today's forecast being abysmal it's stayed dry all day..hooray! xxx

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    1. Thank you, Vix. I like your description, and the weather was definitely challenging here yesterday. :)
      I'm glad you managed to avoid the rain and get out. It's not a lot of fun being stuck indoors. X

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  7. Lovely photos, as always. I love how you go walking in all kinds of weather. Enjoy carving your pumpkin. :)

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    1. Thank you, Bless. It was very wet on the ground but at least it wasn't raining. X

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  8. It is turning out to be a very soggy week isn't it. It is such a shame with it being half term, it makes it much harder work to get out and about doesn't it. Although I do love to come back to a cosy warm house after a wet and wild walk!

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    1. It has been a bit of a washout hasn't it. Although the rest has probably done me some good as I've been feeling quite tired recently. X

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  9. A breath of fresh air can make all the difference in a mood, can't it?

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    1. The fresh air I enjoy, it's the rain I'm not so keen on :) It always feels good to blow the cobwebs away, however. X

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  10. You are a very talented photographer, Jules. I always enjoy your wonderful, peaceful pictures.

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    1. Thank you, Arleen. That's a very kind thing to say. X

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  11. I always enjoy seeing your photographs.
    So pleased you were able to get out, it really has been a wet week hasn't it.
    Happy Pumpkin carving.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you, Jan. I've been dodging the rain and hail all week. X

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  12. How lovely - gorgeous photos and lovely autumnal colours.
    xx

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  13. Lovely post, Jules. It is so unfortunate that half term has been so wet, but I’m glad you managed to get out a bit. Looking forward to seeing your carved pumpkins! Hubby always carves ours now and challenges himself each year. But he’s not been talking about ‘designs’ this year and doesn’t seem to be over enthusiastic. Perhaps it’s because people are not going to be doing trick or treat this year. We will just be putting ours in the window on Saturday, rather than outside, as we don’t want to encourage anyone to knock xx

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    1. We're going to be carving our pumpkins this morning, then hopefully going out for a walk this afternoon if it stays dry. I don't think we'll be getting any callers this year, although I've got some sweets just in case. X

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  14. It has been a wet and dismal week leading up to halloween. Our village has had a week long halloween display to allow the trick or treaters to have plenty space to go and hunt out the decorations. I don't think we have seen more than one or two as everyone is hiding from the weather! But it is nice lighting up the window at night giving a warm and positive glow. I might leave the salt lamp there once the decorations are gone. With this grey and driech stuff a little warming light goes a long way x Have 'fun' in the mud :D

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    1. The weather's been a bit miserable hasn't it. And it's set to be even worse tomorrow, so I doubt we'll get any callers. It's still nice to decorate though, so we'll be carving our pumpkins and putting them in the window. Your salt lamp looks lovely. X

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  15. A lovely walk! it really does you good to get out I would like to walk in the woods near me but I fear it will be very muddy here too and I don't want to slip, I need to get some wellies too. Have a great Halloween. xx

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    1. I couldn't be without my wellies, Linda. Happy Halloween! X

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  16. I may be a Grandma....but count me in pumpkin carving....not that we ever did such a thing as children! x

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    1. You may be a grandma but you are certainly not too old for pumpkin carving, Jackie :)

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  17. The perfect pathway to pumpkins. Miserable weather today but the tree colours still look beautiful. :)

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    1. The colours of the leaves certainly brighten these dark and dismal days. X

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  18. Wonderful that you could go for a walk when there was a break in the weather. I love going for walks along the creek here after we've had rain. There's the sound of water, the brighter washed greens of the leaves and the scent of the earth after rain. I hope the weather clears and you can take more walks soon. MegXx

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    1. Thank you, Meg. It's good to get out whenever we can, especially at this time of year when it can be all too easy to stay cosy indoors. X

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  19. You were lucky to get a break in the weather so you could get out. I'm not particularly an outdoors person but even I'm fed up of being stuck inside waiting for it to stop raining. Lily's love for paddling in water or mud always makes me smile. xx

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    1. I often liken walking with Lily as being similar to walking with a dog. There's usually water or mud involved and more often than not we return home with a stick! :)

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  20. Oh, it looks so beautiful there! I picked out a couple of small pumpkins, too. I have them in the garden for decoration. I love seeing all of those leaves in your photo.

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    1. Pumpkins are lovely for decoration at this time of year. X

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  21. The dreary weather is the worst bit of autumn for me so I'm like you, any sign of a let up in the rain and I'm out enjoying any fine weather I can. It was lovely and bright when I got up this morning, I had high hopes for the day but as I sit here now it's like night time, it's gone so dark and I fear we're in for another day of rain.

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    1. It's just miserable when the days are dark and wet. Thankfully it looks as like the weather is set to improve as the week continues. X

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  22. I love the picture of mushrooms - aren't they fascinating? I'd be too scared to pick any in case I got it wrong but many years ago my father-in-law (who did know about these things) used to forage for them and I remember making mushroom soup. Like you I find dark, damp days miserable. A bit of winter sunshine is so uplifting...and right now, much needed.

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    1. They are, aren't they. And they're popping up everywhere just now.
      With the days growing shorter I'm making the most of any available sunshine. Xx

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  23. All the photos in the forest look beautiful. I love the view of the land that looks wet and the green vegetation. So I wanted to try to explore the forest.
    Greetings from Indonesia.

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    1. Thank you for your comment. Woodland walks are wonderful here, especially at this time of year. X

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