Chestnutting in the rain

Chestnuts - another good reason to get out into the woods...

I think most of you know that Steve and I are quite partial to some wild foraging, and what better way to encourage us out on a wet Autumn Sunday afternoon? We headed up to Ashdown Forest as the skies got greyer and the wind picked up. We sat in the car park for a short while, waiting for the rain drops to stop, but as this didn't seem likely any time soon, we headed off for cover under the tree canopy at Tabell Ghyll. It was rather muddy, but not particularly cold, and we soon passed the first copse of sweet chestnut trees. To our delight there were plenty of large nuts ready to be picked up or teased out of their prickly shell.

It was indeed very wet, but it didn't restrain our woodland romp! It was nice to get out and stretch the legs and explore a new part of the forest...

It was easy to gently squash the chestnuts out of their shells

Old coppiced chestnuts

We suddenly came out of the chestnut copse and walked straight into a magical stand of tall elegant birch trees.

A magical mound covered in fungi, surely here live fairies?

Back home we emptied our pockets and this is our chestnut haul! I am sure we'll be back for more. They are very yummy as a snack or with a meal. In fact we had a little bowlful of roasted chestnuts with our evening cuppa...very nice!

Have a good and hopefully not too wet week!

The Sunday slow worm!

The slithery slow worm. I am not sure Sam was that impressed!

A sunny Sunday begs to be spent outdoors, and with the very beautiful Ashdown Forest on our doorstep, we headed off for a little wander through the woods. Nearly two thirds of Ashdown Forest's 6500 acres (2500 hectares) are heathland, amounting to 2.5% of the UK's extent of this rare habitat. It also has some really wonderful views over the Sussex countryside.

Even though the height of summer is now over, and most of the wildflowers have long gone, there is another chapter of loveliness in the woods to behold; the fabulous fungi!

Wandering down little meandering paths, we came across many different varieties of fungi fruiting.

Spiders had made incredible webs with droplets of dew which sparkled in the morning sun...

Boy and Zaf in their element!

We were very lucky to spot a slow worm by the side of the path. I haven't seen this legless lizard in a long time. She (I think?) was well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter, and sat there very still, probably hoping to look dead.

BB was a little worried about holding the slow worm, it was cold and so very smooth. He did pick it up and squealed like a girl as it tried to slither off his hands!

As we circled back towards the car park, we continued to see more types of mushrooms, these truly are the autumn flowers of the woodlands.

Zaf did his usual thing of collecting the largest stick to bring home with him, he spent quite a while  dragging it back to the car, whacking us on the back of our knees as he tried to pass on the pathway. Needless to say, I did manage to persuade him to leave it behind...

Homeward bound!

A lovely outing, followed by a bit of gardening in the afternoon sunshine.

Hope your Sunday was sunny too!

Tomatoes in abundance!

In the past couple of years the tomato harvests in the garden and green house have been pretty poor or non-existent. Insufficient warmth and sunshine, and too much rain leading to the dreaded tomato blight, meant that we had almost given up on tomatoes all together. But I don't give up readily and planted again this year. And lo and behold, we actually did see the sun this year, and gained rather a good crop.

Such sweet and succulent tomatoes that are full of flavour are rarely seen in shop bought toms, and they smell delicious too. Those that didn't ripen on the vine, have been brought in and are doing well on the window sill.

So what to do with all these lovely gems. Well, Steve made Green tomato chutney and here's Friday's dinner that I made from a recipe in Bill's Cook, Eat, Smile: Roasted tomato and orange soup with a crusty rye bread...scrummy...

Hmmm, now let's see what else can be had in that garden of ours...?

Have a good week!

Two girls in a Mongolian Yurt

As a birthday treat my darling friend Gaby booked a weekend retreat away in a yurt at Forest Garden, Shovelstrode, just outside East Grinstead. The idea was to have a couple of days of chatting, crafting, reading and sussing out yurt living. Kushti is a Mongolian yurt with traditionally painted poles and a crown wheel with the stove in a central position, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere. Yurts are, however, fairly dark inside, and arriving on Friday evening in the dark with the rain thundering down, it certainly was cozy, but quite difficult to cook or see anything in candle light. Gaby had luckily prepared the fish dish at home, so we had a lovely meal, complete with champers and apple cake! Lots of chatting ensued over the following couple of days, interspersed with flower crocheting, reading craft books, a quick trip to Forest Row to stock up on torch bulbs and a light fitting, and lots of yummy eating.

Sunday morning breakfast with Gaby's porridge and home-made berry compote!

The first evening in the dark! Many, many candles did little to illuminate the yurt :o)

Gaby settled into yurt living very quickly, and we both dreamed of having our own!

The allotment in the Forest Garden, complete with three bee hives in the orchard

Inside the yurt, equipped with traditional furnishings

Yarn, crochet hooks and books galore!

We had the fire on a lot, which kept it warm during the chilly weekend. Lavender twigs gave it a lovely smell too!

The owners of the Forest Garden also run courses on traditional crafts, such as Art in the Woods, Green woodworking, Spoon carving, Foraging for fungi, and Jams, jellies and preserves.

Yarning twigs, I picked colours to complement the lichen

Crochet daisies, the making of a xmas pressie

After lunch on Sunday we sadly said goodbye to Kushti, and headed over to a vintage and craft fair near Ardingly. There were lots of stalls selling handmade items, different food stuffs, plants and a few stalls had vintage items too.

A huge thank you and much love goes to my special friend, Gaby, for a fun and inspirational weekend, which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite the rain, the night-time rave next door and our friend, Clive, the aging cockerel, who delighted in waking us up at 6am!

A big thanks also my wonderful husband, Steve, who bravely looked after home and boys whilst I was away

Love you both lots XXX