Monday 7 October 2019

Autumn

I had a lie-in yesterday. I'm usually an early riser but I've been waking in the night just recently with a bad back which is very tiring. Couple this with the darker mornings that autumn brings, I woke rather late, but decided to stay put and read my book for a while. Heavy rain was forecast for the whole day but, even though I'd heard the rain hammering against the window when I was awake in the early hours, it had stopped when I finally got out of bed. Not wanting to waste any bit of dry weather, we put Archie's lead on him and headed off to Lotherton.


There's no denying now that we're well and truly in to autumn. Leaves are turning colour and dropping from the trees and so is their bounty. We passed quite a few children collecting conkers, but there's plenty for everyone at Lotherton. The squirrels will be very happy too as there were lots of acorns underneath the oak trees.








We followed Archie's preferred walk, into the woods. Actually, you wouldn't know it was autumn looking at the trees here, still plenty of green around.




Usually, we turn around and retrace our steps through the woods because dogs can run free, off their leads here. Yesterday though, we decided to have a walk through the formal gardens. Archie was a bit put out having to go back on his lead but he did get to have another run before we headed for home.



I loved these little ferns growing out of an old wall.


There's still quite a bit of colour around, you don't have to look far.






They say that an abundance of berries is supposed to herald a harsh winter. Well, I think we should get our hats, scarves and gloves at the ready as there's lots of berries around at the moment.


We brought these little treasures home with us. Spider deterrents. Well, they're supposed to stop spiders from coming into the house if you lay them around doors and window frames but I'm not convinced they work. I still lay a few out each year though.


I'm so pleased that we got out when we did because the heavens opened when we got back into the car. It did stop again a while later only for the forecast rain to materialise later on in the day and it's here today too. I think we're going to have to get used to this soggy weather for a while now.

48 comments:

  1. It is a beautiful time of year, summer colour still about, with the oranages, rust and browns of the new season.

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    1. I do like the sunny autumn days, even when there's a chill in the air, it's the wet, soggy ones which I'm not really a fan of.

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  2. What a gorgeous array of autumnal colour. Autumn is my favourite season!

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    1. I must admit that I'm always sad when autumn comes around as it means that summer's over and winter's on the way.

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  3. My daughter has a conker tree at the bottom of her garden so we usually have plenty of conkers to put around the house, I'm skeptical too, but still do it. Although if you look at the ingredients on a bottle of 'Spider Stop' one of them is conker. It was quite sunny in our park of the UK yesterday, we didn't get any rain until it was getting dark, unlike today when it's grey. Dark mornings don't bother me, I much prefer getting ready for work without getting hot and sweaty before I've left the house, lol. I hope your back improves soon x

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    1. There was a spider crawling up Mick's neck when he got in the car on Saturday, it was huge. I couldn't get my seat belt off quick enough, I jumped out the car and left him to sort it out himself. Urgh! It's been dark all day here today, so much so that I've needed the light on. Thank you, I keep getting a bad back which is always worse at night, but it seems to come and go.

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  4. A lovely autumn walk. I do hope the problems with your back are nothing serious and that it eases for you soon. Sleepless nights are not much fun. X

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    1. Thank you. I really don't know the cause of my bad back, it comes and goes, just a case of waiting for it to disappear again I think.

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  5. I noticed that the holly trees are full to bursting with berried this year and thought the same as you. We'll see if its true.
    I love Autumn and spring but you can keep the summer, lol
    Briony
    x

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    1. I'm really hoping that we don't get harsh weather, I hate winter, I'm much more of a summer girl.

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  6. Lovely photos. We're very much into a cold and wet autumn here. My cold has stopped me sleeping well so I've been feeling pretty groggy ( luckily I've been able to use a week's holiday leave to have time off to rest and get a bit better ) I hope your back's soon feeling better. Best, Jane x

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    1. I hope you're feeling better soon, I don't think this kind of weather does anything for you when you're not feeling very well. Make the most of your time off and get plenty of rest. Thank you, I'm hoping that my back improves very soon.

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  7. A lovely lot of conkers! I remember you mentioned them being a spider deterrant and experimented last year at leaving them around. Archie had a good walk even if part of it was on a lead. Autumn sights are lovely although rain and damp not so welcome. Hope back problem is not too troubling.

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    1. There's always plenty of conkers to be found at Lotherton and Archie enjoys his walks there. Thank you, my back is much more trouble at night than it is during the day, I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

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  8. Nice post and pictures, but none of Archie. I like this time of year, providing it's not damp and dull.
    My sympathies re your bad back and hope you feel better soon. Take care. xx

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    1. I know, I did take quite a few but he's a pest and won't stand still long enough when we're out to get a decent photo. I don't mind the lovely sunny days of autumn but I'm like you and don't like the damp and dull ones. Thank you, I'm hoping this latest bout of back trouble doesn't last long.

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  9. I think those nuts at the end are what we call buckeyes. I don't know of any around me. But, I sure could use some. We have spiders!!!! LOL

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    1. I think you're right, they're from the horse chestnut tree. We get lots of spiders at this time of year, apparently it's their mating season and they're out looking for mates. Yikes!

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  10. We take Tivvy for walks in Rothwell Park and there’s lots of conker picking going on there too.

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    1. We sometimes visit Rothwell Park but we haven't been for quite a while now. It was a favourite when the kids were little.

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  11. Beautiful photos! This is normally our wettest season but here on the east coast of the US, it has only drizzled once in a little over 6 weeks. Everything is SO dry. The leaves are brown and dropping much sooner than normal. At least the crazy heat wave we were having has passed. Last Friday the temperatures dropped 30 degrees (without storming!) and it feels like fall now.

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    1. We get such drastic changes in the weather these days, and totally out of season too. I don't mind quite so much when we get a mild winter, though I know we should be thankful for some freezing temperatures, I just don't like the cold.

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  12. I am sorry to hear that you have had back problems and that it is stopping you sleeping properly, that must be so tiring. I hope your walk was good and restoring despite all this rain we are having.

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    1. Thank you, it wasn't quite so bad last night, but it comes and goes. I love to get out in the fresh air, especially at this time of year. The rain keeps me inside so it's good to get out as much as we can in between the showers.

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    1. It's one we take often, we really enjoy it at Lotherton.

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  14. Fall is right upon us now too, which is just fine by me. I quite enjoy the cooler weather - working in the garden has been a treat lately. I had to look up conkers - had no idea what that was - lol.

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    1. I forget that so many things are called different things in different countries. Conkers come from the horse chestnut tree. I'm really sad that autumn is here because it means that summer is over for another year.

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  15. beautiful photos. I read yesterday that the UK is supposed to get the coldest winter in 60 years. We've had to go and buy winter jackets and waterproof shoes for our Christmas visit to the UK and Europe - luckily heading into spring so decent $500 jackets were down to $150!

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    1. Don't say that! I hate cold winters, I don't do very well in the cold weather. How exciting, Christmas in the UK and Europe, it will be very different to how you usually spend Christmas. I can't imagine it being warm weather at Christmas time. You got some bargains on your jackets. I hope you're going to blog about your trip, I'd love to hear all about it.

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  16. What a great Autumnal walk, I bet Archie loved it!

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    1. I think Lotherton is Archie's favourite place out of everywhere we take him, he, like us, loves it there.

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  17. I enjoyed seeing the conkers in their rich brown covers! May I mention that when we were having troubles sleeping (back, shoulders, hips were aching) we decided to get a new mattress? Turns out that was the problem. We hadn't had a new mattress in about 10 years. Thanks for your fern-in-the-wall picture. I make birthday cards for my kids and grandkids and now I will remember how to draw that fern.

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    1. I can't resist picking up conkers when I see them, they're so tactile. I did wonder about my mattress when my back started hurting but it's only four years old and I turn it regularly so I don't think that's the problem. I love seeing plants growing in places they shouldn't ought to, it just shows that they have a will to survive.

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  18. I was supposed to be giving Marjorie a spin around the garden this weekend but it was just too wet. I think we can definitely say with certainty that autumn is with us and Winter is coming....

    Mx

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    1. I think you're right. Our grass is in need of cutting but unless this rain stops there isn't a chance.

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  19. Wonderful that you got in a lovely ramble, between the rains. Yesterday, here, it was 100% rain all day. Ugh... :-)

    Really wondering about all this abundance of natural nature food. Isn't it folk lore, that this means a hard winter? We humans should take note, as you say. Be prepared.

    I have to look up the difference between conkers and acorns. Is it conkers, which are said to deter spiders? It would be worth a try.

    🍂🍁🎃🍁🍂

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    1. I was expecting 100% rain here too so I was really pleased that we managed to get a walk. I think it will be a hard winter this year, it was quite mild last year so I doubt it will be the same two years running. Conkers come from horse chestnut trees and acorns from oak trees, I'm definitely trying to stop as many spiders as I can coming into the house.

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  20. Autumn is definitely here! I have not quite made peace with it but sooner or later, I'll have to. It was well and truly miserable today. The younger two and I got thoroughly drenched when out running. I can't believe running club was not cancelled! I hope you are able to sleep better tonight x

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    1. I'm exactly the same, I hate to see summer end. I think we'll have to get used to more and more miserable days now, it was raining here when I got up this morning but it does look as though it might clear up, fingers crossed.

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  21. Sorry to hear about your back, hopefully you're on the mend now. I didn't know conkers were deemed to be spider deterrents..we are plagued by them so may give that a whirl. I'm always fascinated by plants growing in old walls too, always a lovely sight. I do hope we don't get a harsh winter, but it seems to be on the cards! Glad you enjoyed such a lovely walk and dodged the rain.xxx

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    1. Thank you, I'm hoping that my bad back doesn't hang around too long. I'm not so sure that conkers do deter spiders, just another old wives tale I think, but I still have them around the house in autumn. I still see lots of spiders though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get a harsh winter but I'm not very hopeful.

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  22. Hope your back is feeling better, that looks like a super walk. You made me alugh saying how difficult it is to get a nice picture of Archie, been there . . . deleted the awful images!

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    1. I slept a little better last night, I'm hoping that my back's on the mend. We love this walk, it's not far from home so it's one we take regularly. Every single photo I took of Archie on Sunday was blurry, he just won't pose for me when we're out and about.

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  23. Great photos, I love the first one. I like the beginning of autumn and love to see the trees in their new colours but still with plenty of green, sadly round here it's been so wet for the last two weeks that I've not been able to get out for a decent walk :(

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    1. I'm always sad when autumn set in properly as I hate saying goodbye to summer, but I don't mind the sunny autumn days. The beginning of autumn has been so wet this year though, I'm trying to get out whenever the weather will let me.

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  24. Sorry you are sometimes having problems with your back … hope things improve for you.

    That was such a lovely walk, I did enjoy your photographs.
    I think this time of year we have to get out and about whenever we get the opportunity.

    All the best Jan

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    1. My back's much better again now, thank you. You're right, we have to take the opportunity to get out and about when we can at this time of year.

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