Tags
Anastasia Moutsatsou, autumn, berries, Diary, insects, leaf colour, Mendham, October, plants, renovations, Sir Alfred Munnings, sunset, trees, weather
We have had a fair amount of cloud and rain this month and there was a week when the rest of the country was getting very pleasant weather while we in eastern East Anglia and also those in eastern Kent were having gloomy, wet weather with north-easterly winds. We have had a few slight frosts and some sunshine too – but not as much as we would have liked! For anyone who is interested in our weather here in the east of Britain – and why wouldn’t you be! – here is a link to the local BBC weather forecast.
The leaf-colour has been very beautiful but I haven’t been able to get out often to take photos. The leaves are falling fast now and the recent heavy rain and windy weather have stripped many trees of their leaves altogether.
Richard and I have been sharing driving Elinor to and from college and I have been feeling much less tired than I did when I was doing all the driving. The month has had its fair share of hospital, doctors’ surgery, optician and dentist visits. Every week this month one of us (at least!) has had an appointment or has had to take someone (my mother) to an appointment.
Elinor has had her half-term holiday this week. She has worked very hard during her first half-term and has had quite a lot of homework to do during this week. She has enjoyed the course so far and her tutors are very pleased with her and the standard of her work. This bodes very well. She is also working hard to overcome her anxiety and also the sleep-phobia that has returned to plague her nights.
Alice seems well and is enjoying her new job but wishes she was able to work longer hours. She has to have her PhD thesis printed before she can take part in her graduation ceremony so is trying to save up enough money to get it done. She is coming home for the weekend in a fortnight and I am looking forward to it very much. To see her in action discussing horror films please watch the video on the following link.
Richard and I are starting to compile the list of improvements and repairs we need to do to the house and garden. One of the first jobs will be to replace most of the windows and we hope to get this done before Christmas. We are also getting a gardener/landscaper to clear and dig out the front ditch which has become overgrown and blocked. We have asked him to cut the hedges too. This will be done in a fortnight’s time.
Last winter we had no ladybirds hibernating in the corner of the window in our bedroom. This year, when we hope to replace the windows in a few weeks time, the ladybirds are back! I will have to think of a way of gently moving them before the windows are removed. I don’t know if they will be as interested in the new poly-carbonate windows we are to have, as they are in the old wooden ones with ladybird pheromones on!
The artist Sir Alfred Munnings was born in Mendham in 1878 and this restaurant and bar was re-named after him.
Here is one of my favourite songs – ‘Ola Ta Diskola’ (All the Difficulties) by Anastasia Moutsatsou.
Thanks for visiting!
Jane said:
Thank you for a lovely update again. The autumn foliage and buildings are lovely and I especially liked the raindrops caught in the spider webs. I’m pleased for your daughter that her studies are going well. I do sympathise with her over the anxiety and sleep problems. So exhausting for her to deal with and difficult as a mum for you to have to see her go through it. I wish her the very best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
You are so kind, Jane – thank-you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautywhizz said:
Maple tree looks amazing. I like also the hemp agrimony.
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! The maple tree has lost most of its leaves now 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautywhizz said:
Lots of bare trees as well on today’s walk. Welcome November!
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
🙂
LikeLike
quietsolopursuits said:
The Spindle berries have a great color and an interesting shape, I’ve never seen them before.
I really liked the photos of the spider web and Witch-hazel leaves, the just makes the second one even better.
Once again, it sounds as if you have a full plate in front of you, with the various doctor’s appointments, and working on the home improvements. I hope that you find some time to get outside to relax and enjoy the few remaining nice days that there will be before winter arrives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jerry! I am sure we will be able to get out for a few walks before it gets too cold. We are told that the whole of November will be warmer than usual. I love the colour of spindle berries. I went to have a look at them today and they are just starting to split open revealing bright orange seeds inside. I will have to photograph them in a day or so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jill Weatherholt said:
The Maple trees are always my favorite. I only wish the leaves hung around a little longer. The slightest wind sends them twirling to the ground. Great photos, Clare! Praying for Elinor.
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Jill! I love the Maple’s bright colour but you’re right – the leaves drop too quickly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’m glad you posted the photo of the spindle berry. We have a shrub at work that has had be baffled over its identity, but now I’m fairly certain that it’s a spindle berry. I’ll have a closer look at those seeds Monday. If it is it’ll be the first one I’ve ever seen.
You couldn’t ask for more color from the trees and shrubs than you have there, and with a rainbow to top it off who could ask for a better day.
I hope Elinor gets through her anxiety and sleep problems. I had insomnia once for a while and it was terrible.
The sunsets were beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Allen. As I said to Jerry earlier, the spindle berries are just starting to split and the seeds inside are bright orange. Such an amazing colour combination. I will be posting a photo of them very soon. If your shrub is a European Spindle you will see the berries for yourself but with your colour-blindness you may not flinch quite as much as others do! The leaf colour has been very good here though we don’t get all trees changing colour at the same time as you seem to do. I think Elinor will do very well soon – she is that much older than when she last had sleep problems and is using her common-sense to reason herself out of most of her fears. I am grateful for your kind thoughts. We have had a number of sunsets like the ones I posted shots of. Cloud all day and then, just before sunset a small gap appears on the horizon and light streams through!
LikeLiked by 1 person
tootlepedal said:
I can get those shadows on my pictures too! Usually it’s my thumb. A fine set of pictures today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Tom. I suspected it might be a stray digit causing problems.
LikeLiked by 1 person
colorpencil2014 said:
Good to hear that all of you, despite doctor’s visits etc are in a good place and good for Elinor to start of college so well! Thank you for sharing the colors of fall and great music. Have a lovely Sunday, xo Johanna
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Johanna! I hope you have had a good weekend too. xo Clare
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lavinia Ross said:
An autumn rainbow! that is lovely! Looks quite colorful there and your music choice was enjoyable.
A grey, rainy day here, but sometimes those are good for reading and napping. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
I quite like rainy Sundays for just the same reasons!
LikeLike
Aquileana said:
Beautiful post, dear Clare…. thanks for sharing your updates and these stunning pics … the holly berries brought me memories of my childhood… a sort of fashback, so to speak… I love them…
Happy november… Sending love and best wishes. Aquileana ☀️
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you dear Aquileana! A happy November to you too! With much love, Clare xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
greytabby1 said:
What a lovely song Ola Ta Diskola is! I keep putting it on repeat… I was surprised to read that your weather has been a bit gloomy in Suffolk. I supposed that when I had seen such lovely autumnal pictures of England on Instagram that it was everywhere. It’s a bit frustrating isn’t it when everyone else is getting lovely sunny weather and you are not. Everything around you looks so pretty though. I get quite nostalgic for England when I see all your lovely photos even though I grew up further west of you. What a lovely village Mendham looks. I will have to put that on my list of places to visit, which is getting longer and longer!
Enjoy the rest of your week.
-Kate
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
My goodness, what a lot of posts you have read! I always put Ola Ta Diskola on repeat too – Greek music is so good to listen to it always makes me want to dance. Nostalgia is a strange feeling isn’t it – half happy, half painful. Mendham is a very pretty village but it’s very small – only a few houses and the restaurant. The mill where Munnings was born and grew up is on the edge of the village next to the river Waveney. I hope you have a good week too.
Clare
LikeLiked by 1 person
beckarooney said:
Stunning autumn colour, what beautiful tree specimens. Lovely sunsets too 🙂 x
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Becky! 🙂 xx
LikeLike
Draws Shoots and Leaves said:
Lovely photos as usual, I saw a bit on Countryfile a couple of weeks ago about autumn colour and it seems we have had a perfect growing season to get great colour. The leaves are still mostly in place in Christchurch Park and it is a joy to see them every day. And as I type the sun has just come out an illuminated the trees that I can see from my window. I’m listening to your audio link – just wish I could understand the words, but it feels very uplifting. Sue
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Sue! The wind this evening is bringing a lot of leaves down.
The words of the song aren’t quite as uplifting as the music I’m afraid. I don’t speak Greek but the short translation I got says – ‘Speak to me lovingly my darling, Just two words before we depart, The night was like a stab in my heart, And the way ahead has no return, All the difficulties we went through together, Yet we are to lose each other at the best moment’. Not very cheerful! Clare
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charlotte Hoather said:
Is the music Spanish or Portuguese? I must explore singing with guitar 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
It’s Greek. I don’t speak or understand Greek but I like the tune and the way she sings. The song is quite sad about the breaking-up of a relationship. Singing with a guitar might be very interesting – you could then sing at venues without a piano! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charlotte Hoather said:
Yes easier for transport 👍🏻 Greek! I really need to expand my knowledge
LikeLiked by 1 person
clarepooley33 said:
😀 It is often difficult to recognise a language when it is being sung!
LikeLiked by 1 person
wholelottarosie said:
Dear Clare, your atmospheric photos are wonderful. Here in Germany we have recently been spoiled by wonderfully bright autumn sunshine with unusually mild temperatures. Even today a gentle sun shines from the blue sky. Days like these give me a very special joy in life and make me smile. On days like this I want to run around the forest like a little girl, ride a bike or fly a kite. Days like these remind me of my childhood, when I would run around with my friends in the crackling leaves or collect chestnuts. Days like these inspire me to write, read or dream.
Have a nice day, Clare! 🐿️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Clare Pooley said:
How lovely! Thank you so much, dear Rosie xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
wholelottarosie said:
🌻
LikeLiked by 1 person