Wednesday 19 October 2016

Mish Mash


 Due to the quite sudden turn of the weather at the end of September, I haven't been out-and-about on many walks/drifts-
 Or partaken of many flights on Broom!
 - so I don't have many photos of the Norfolk countryside for you.
Did I hear someone breathe a sigh of relief?
Probably. Those same stretches of beach were getting a bit tiresome. And that Cormorant was getting ideas above his station what with getting an agent and appearing on other blogs!
 Yes, all right... So, anyway, this post is just going to be a mish-mash of the least boring stuff we've been up to.

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Saturday, 1st October


 First, some news from the garden: The passion flower that I bought last year and planted with a clematis behind the bench, has finally flowered! Yes, after two summers of not doing very much at all, it finally got its act together and started producing flowers at the beginning of October.
 Better late than never, I suppose.


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Monday, 3rd of October

 A bright, sunny day saw a walk on Cromer beach. I had intended to have a swim, but it was a bit windy with quite a lot of chop which put me off. Then I found a nice, large pool which had me tempted, but my plans were scuppered by a sudden influx of dog-walkers and people out-for-a-stroll-on-the-beach-as-it's-nice who would probably have wondered what the lanky, pasty berk was doing floundering around in a rock pool...

A nice pool ideal for swimming...

... if it weren't for the pesky walkers! (On the right there. See? And they weren't the only ones. Bah!)

So I plopped myself down in the dunes at the foot of the cliffs...

... and watched a skein of geese (probably? They could have been pteradactyls at that distance and no one would have known) about to be finely diced as they passed through Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm

Luckily, they pulled up just in time!

Oh, as well as the walkers, these two kept buzzing overhead. Yes, your bum does look big in that!

For Ms Scarlet

And, on my way home at the top of the cliff, a hawk was looking for a late lunch 

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Tuesday, 11th October

 Another walk on the beach - this time at my favourite haunt in Overstrand/Sidestrand.

This, as you should know by now, is Overstrand east beach looking west

Somewhere over the horizon is Scotland. Or the Arctic...

Hmmm... Must try to be more stealthy next time.

This fellow is obviously used to me by now.

End of the line!

Sidestrand beach looking back towards Overstrand

I wonder if that's one of the regulars?

Ah. It's smushed crab season again!

This is a BIG claw...

... as you can see in comparison to my hand

In the half an hour since I was last here (see the first photo from today), this washed up

Yes, I thought it was a jellyfish, too, but it's just a rather sad balloon.

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Tuesday, 18th October

 Yesterday morning, I (and the rest of Norwich, if they were looking) was treated to a marvellous sunrise as I walked into work. When I got to Westlegate, the sky looked like it was on fire as the rising sun had lit up all the wispy clouds a beautiful peachy-orange colour. It was only when I actually got to work that I thought to take a photo. Although, by that time and position, the sky was no longer as orange and the sun was only just peeking out over the top of the building opposite.


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Wednesday, 19th October

 As today was a miserable day outside, and another whole day slumped in front of the television wouldn't go down favourably, I decided to dust off one of my aprons and get on with some desperate housewifing.
 We have a glut of produce from the allotment: potatoes, butternut squashes, onions, apples, blackberries - plus a freezer full of rhubarb and raspberries from earlier in the year - so rather than letting it all turn to mush (as has been know to happen in previous years...), I hauled my Kenwood Chef and the biggest saucepan out of the cupboard and got to work.
 This is what I came up with:

Ten apple, blackberry & raspberry crumbles...

OK. Nine and a half. I had to try one to make sure I hadn't accidentally poisoned them

Winter vegetable soup (onion, potato, squash, carrot)

The blending is overseen by the kitchen cats

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 That's it, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear. As it's way past our bed time, I'll pop round to your blogs in the morning, as I can see many of you have been busy.

24 comments:

  1. That first picture of that flower is quite amazing.....have never seen that flower before. Passion flower. Is that a creation from one of your witch spells?

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    Replies
    1. I fear if I were to attempt to conjure up a passion flower, it would be encased in ice!

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  2. 'Tis amazing how despite the sudden change from "Indian Summer" to full-blown apocalyptic Autumn, how many things have decided it;' "their time" to flourish - salvias, heliotrope (second flush), dahlias, cobaea and fuchsias are all performing beautifully! I've never tried passion flower - but up the road there's one with full fruit and new flowers at the moment, and some lovely clematis that should have been gone a month ago... Jx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the dahlias, salvias and passiflora here are certainly in no doubt as to this being their time. However, I didn't get the seconf flush from the heliotropes, and my agapanthus didn't flower at all!
      There's a garden I walk past on my way to walk which is full of flowering passiflora and morning glory. It's a delight to the eyes!

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    2. Apparently agapanthus are a bit masochistic - if their roots are not tightly bound they tend not to flourish... Jx

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    3. Right. That's it! I'm digging them up from the border (I only put them in because I felt sorry for them having been cooped up in pots for a couple of years) and squeezing them back into pots!

      Delete
  3. Ahhh...I love your seaside jaunts-and-photos! I went to the seaside yesterday, too...walked with a friend along one of the beaches across town.
    Got two rubbish photos and a very burnt face!

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  4. That is one scary jellyfish/balloon! Either way.

    PS: Any crumble and soup left? Hint. Hint.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I must admit to being a little perturbed before realising the balloon wasn't a jellyfish. I thought it was a Portuguese Man-o-War that had washed up!

      If you can get yourself here (I would send Broom for you, but it refuses to fly in the high winds and rain we have at the mo), I have a freezer full of crumble, and a fridge full of soup!

      Delete
  5. Is there any other flower as va-va-va-voom as Passion Flower? I have beautiful coral one that has colonised the woods behind me 70 or 80 feet from where I planted it.

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    Replies
    1. Va-va-va-voom is an excellent term to decribe them, Peenee, both in terms of looks and growth! I had one at my old house planted under the bathroom window, and it ended up taking over the patio and half the house!

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  6. Been lovely here in the west.... which makes a change! And I did go out, but forgot my camera.
    Thank you for the uplifting plane pic.... and I'm very pleased the geese didn't get spliced and diced. That would've been upsetting..... and possibly a curse from the cormorants.
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Curse of the Cormorant - the latest novel from Agafa Crispi!

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  7. My dear, the early pictures in this post are rather like one of those 1950s Creature Features where the normal all-American reality gives way to the incredible. Lucky you did it the other way.
    Can you tell I was watching The Fiend Without a Face in bed last night???
    What that beach needs is a nuclear reactor, methinks. Can you believe Zippy and her 'husband' went to Dungeness to Derek Jarman's house and didn't have the guided tour?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Fiend Without A Face - one of the most horrific British B-movies of all time. I hope you didn't have nightmares?
      Sounds like Derek Jarman's house was spared a nightmare, too...

      Delete
  8. What a gorgeous passion flower! Such a dazzling appearance & vivid colors!

    That is a huge crab claw! And if that's any indication of the size of crabs in your area, talk about a seafood bonanza!!! Hold the balloon. Any freshly diced goose on the menu?

    Beach fotos are captivating as usual. But the crumbles & soup are definitely the most delectable & tempting! Very nice use of extra food. I also have days where I cook huge amounts of food to freeze & eat for the next week or more.

    I wonder if the parachutists are as nimble as geese should they encounter the windmills... Windmills could do with some bright colors or neat designs. Then they can be both utilitarian & art at the same time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, plenty of edibles here. Although, I doubt I'll get any passion fruit now as the bloody thing is flowering far too late in the season!

      Perhaps the balloon came from the wind farm - a failed attempt to brighten it up a bit?

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  9. Oh wow. I love your pix.

    We've been spending time walking along the beach (or wall) at Walcott, something about the sea was so soothing.

    You're so organised with your cooking too. I'm impressed. All my good intentions to do similar went out the window this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Roses. But don't think that my organisation is consistent - this is one day out of ten months!

      And, after Dave's fantastic health news, it sounds like many more beach walks are on the cards!

      Delete
  10. You have almost as many lines in your palm as I do!

    It's like a grid-work. The palm reader could charge us extra.

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    Replies
    1. We obviously have complicated and fascinating lives!

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  11. Days late, but what a visual delight, sweetpea! xoxoxo

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Tickle my fancy, why don't you?