Take 5 pears

Take 5 pears, British conference pears that cost just £1 for 6 at Booths. This BTW was the smallest of the 6.

Add a chunk of freshly grated ginger, some local honey and a little local orange marmalade

Top with a crumble made from flour , butter , barley flakes, dark brown sugar , allspice and a few left over pecan nuts. 

Bake in oven until golden and you see pear juices caramelising on top of crumble.

Serve it with fresh live yoghurt

Delicious taste of Autumn.

I've been chatting to a friend about colour and its effect on  our spirits, especially during the dark half of the year. I mentioned some merino silk I had dyed and how I was trying it out on a spindle. TBH once I started to spin it I realised I wanted to use a wheel not the spindle as it just felt so gorgeous and was so bright. As its getting quite late in the day the full glory of the yellow doesn't show, its almost fluorescent 

As you can see and for some reason this photo has turned sideways. Very weird. The fibre is 70% merino and 30% tussah silk from Adelaide Walker and I dyed it with procion acid dyes.

Equinox

Equinox already and the year is flying by fast.

Seems only yesterday it was Spring Equinox and now Autumn is here

 Everywhere I look the colours have changed. The food available on the market has also changed.there is far more home grown fruit and veg to be seen. It is far easier to eat locally not globally. There are lots of different apples and plums.

 The last of the summer's tomatoes at a bargain price. We have turned 12 pounds of local tomatoes into soup this past week and frozen it to give us a taste of Summer throughout Winter's dark days.

 An easy recipe that doesn't tax brain or strength. Roast tomatoes with garlic cloves still in the skin. Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or syrup and a slug of oil. When they start to caramelise and release their juice they are ready. Gently cook a diced onion, stick of celery and a carrot with a little oil or butter. When they are softened combine everything in a liquidiser with a couple of jar peppers from Lidl and a handful of basil leaves.Removing the garlic skin first. When cool freeze. The peppers from Lidl have a sweet/sour taste and lift the soup.

We also have blackberries sitting in the freezer ready to turn into fools or crumble. Will they fool us when we are eating Autumn harvest at midwinter? Probably not but sweet none the less.

At times like these I am glad that I am pagan. Not witch or shaman or heathen even.
But Pagan. Pagan for me means living the wheel of the year.Its highs and lows and  turns from dark to light and back once more. Not just giving it lip service.
I am glad of the moons influence on my moods and emotions, the suns also.
Some people seem to play at Paganism. I'm a witch, a shaman or this that and the other. They love the trappings, the spells, the rituals.the candles and incense. The trappings are all to them.
But, Know thyself. This is part of my belief, my creed if you like.
My path is a journey through who and what I am. Making sense of it, working with my strengths and weaknesses.
Yes there is ritual, candles and smells. But as part of honouring the wheel, the Lord and Lady in all their aspects. It isn't something I can pick up and drop as the mood takes me.
It is who and what I am every day, all day.
The first time I realised the path I was on I didn't think of where it would take me or that it is a lifetimes work. Even beyond.
When I accepted this road I accepted all of it. Not snippets or moments of it.
I can't turn off the path I chose and most of the time I wouldn't want to.
But we are human after all and sometimes I rail at what befalls.
Sometimes I think there is no easy answer.
We can't pick and chose the bits to enjoy or to live. A spell here, a potion there.
Its all or nothing, warts and all.
And I am glad for all its meanderings.
It is who and what I am, who I want to be.
I do this for me, not to make friends or influence people.
Not to get rich or any such foolishness
But to be me

Welcoming Autumn's beauty

The fading of the leaves and a change in the light of a morning and evening.
The brilliance of the sunsets, such vivid colours seem as if a child had painted the sky with their impressions of a sunset.
The balance that appears more noticeable at this turn of the wheel. Fading glory but ripe luscious fruit on all the boughs.

It is sometimes hard to accept the move towards winter, the short , short days but balanced by longer nights. The colder spells.
Look at it another way. cold helps to kill off all the germs my nanny always said. Nature's way of spring cleaning.
I never understood it for a long while but it is true. Her spring cleaning starts early. By cleansing she makes room for new growth.

The longer nights are a nurturing healing time after all the energy we use during the long days of summer.
In these modern times we aren't able to live as the old ones did. After all we have electric lighting when it goes dark.

But we can spiritually and mentally. We can turn inward, have quiet times to recharge our spiritual bodies and our batteries.

It is also a good time to reflect on the things we have achieved. What is our harvest?
What dreams have we made real?

Dreams = seeds into fruit.

I woke this morning with the knowledge that my harvest doesn't have to be a huge crop.
Look at nature, one fruit is to be celebrated.
It can be something as simple as a realisation of my place on the wheel of life.
It can be a real "thing" such as learning to spin or knitting a large item that actually fits me perfectly. Made to measure in fact.

All our triumphs are to be honoured and given thanks for.
Not just major achievements.


Autumn always affects me strongly. The beauty of the colours strikes deep within my soul. A chord of recognition that we are all part of that same marvellous journey around this wheel of life.




The symbol of which, the tree, is prevalent in many faiths.


And what grows on trees? Fruit of course:)

Some fibre and some berries

Some colour to brighten up this dull day here in Moggieland.
I decided to have a go at dyeing some fibre for spinning. I read up on the hows and whys of doing so and asked some very knowledgeable friends because I'd read that if you aren't careful it is very easy to felt unspun fibre. I didn't want that to happen, not unless I wanted felt for my femmes.
I soaked the fibre in a mix of citric acid and washing up liquid for a couple of hours. At this time the sun was shining and it was fairly breezy which are ideal conditions for drying fibre.
Did it stay like that? Did it heck as like.
Undeterred I assembled all the ingredients, plastic cover for table? Check
Cling film for wrapping fibre? Check
Dyes? check
Rubber gloves? Check
Steamer? Check
Laid out the fibre on the cling film, a rough S shape, splodged the colours I wanted along the fibre, wrapped up in the cling film and steamed for 25 minutes. Left too cool a little, couldn't wait til it was fully cool I was way too excited to see if it had worked.
Rinsed, fluffed out slightly and Mr Mog put out on line.
Weather changed, grey sky and dull, very cold and moisture in the air. Oh rats, would I end up trying to dry it inside?
As you can see I didn't:)


This was a mixture of red, earthy yellow and dark green. I love the finished fibre and can't wait to try spinning it up.
But this, ah this , it is the bees knees:) My most favourite colours and they blended perfectly. What do you think? It is a mix of electric blue and vivid violet.
The fibre is BFL, my favourite of all to knit with.
Then I did promise you a picture of current progress on my very berry elsewhere jacket so here you go.
Doesn't it remind you of berry feasts, crumbles and fruit fools? Purple stained lips and hands from picking nature's bounty that she gives us at this time of year.
Dark dark purples and plums demanding we try a taste, just one that all too soon becomes dozens. Do you remember stumbling home under large baskets of brambles and elderberries? Do you remember the satisfaction of tasting the crumble your mum, or in my case Nan, made and saying "I picked these"?
I can remember days lying in woodland watching the fruit ripen or so it seemed. Waiting for the first dark berry, eager to taste. Then what seemed the very next day a positive abundance weighing down the branches.
I love the perfumed taste that blackberries give when you simmer them to extract the juice. Well you have to taste it don't you to ensure there is enough sugar?