NOVEMBER - "Said Hamlet to Ophelia..."

 

Judith catches the moon (picture by Ginny)

To start off the blog for November - something to make you smile:

A Silly Poem

Said Hamlet to Ophelia,

I'll draw a sketch of thee,

What kind of pencil shall I use?

2B or not 2B?

Spike Milligan

Today is Evolution Day. It's not an exclusively secular thing, there is much about Darwin's theory that explains holy books too. Many Christians, for example, take on board his work as essential to the understanding of how God created the earth and everything in it. 

Coral rose above honesty

People want answers. Science provides us with lots of those but there are still many mysteries in the natural world and in our relationships with it - and with each other - that can't be explained.

Some early human tribes developed faster than others. Those who ate mammoth meat did better than their mainly veggie contemporaries and yet, today, many of us refuse meat. Although I eat fish and poultry, I can't enjoy the meat of mammals. This isn't a fad - it's something I feel very deeply. Sometimes, when I have cooked a meat dish for the family, I need to check that it's ready so I take a morsel and then I'm reminded of how good it tastes! But that's as far as it goes - something inside me needs to stop there! It's a mystery! 

Science doesn't answer the feelings I have. 

Our bonfire in the orchard (the Saturday before Bonfire Night) - picture by Judith

We thought, when we set up our trail cameras, that we would have all the answers - that we would have a clear picture of who shares our plot with us. Although we have some pictures and videos, there are many observations made, within and around the garden, which can't be explained by the cameras. Perhaps we need to shin up a few trees? Or lure visitors to a specific spot with food?

Barn owl on the trail camera earlier this month

One night, in the middle of this month, Orlando was very disturbed, wanting to go outside - and then barking - a lot!! Jess was oblivious - she needed her beauty sleep! I noticed the herbage had been flattened behind the pond and, at lunchtime, Orlando became very agitated again, keenly following scent trails in the front garden. It was close to a full moon and Orlando was sure there was magic! We never did find a reason. It's a mystery!

The moon when we were driving home from Culbokie last weekend (picture by Judith)

Something else happened at that time - we heard foxes barking - I don't remember hearing them in November - it's usually at the start of the year. Another mystery?

Nasturtium

Bloomin' Dahlias

It's been quite a month internationally. Cop 29 in Baku has been fairly contentious with many poorer countries feeling out on a limb. Donald Trump was re-elected in the US. An arrest warrant was issued, by the ICC, to bring to justice those men who have no regard for human suffering in the Middle East. I'm not sure where we go from here but I'm certain I won't miss an opportunity to enjoy the garden and the countryside.

November flowers in the Courtyard Garden

We're heading towards Christmas now - Stir-Up Sunday! I've already made the cake so I'll be making the Christmas pud today and letting it stand overnight before steaming it. There may be mulled wine involved!!!!

First snow (picture by Ginny)

Yet, November isn't just the month before Christmas. It has its own silvery tint to crown it. There has been ice and snow - and wind and rain - but we also had some unusually warm days earlier in the month. When the swans were flying northwards on the Lythmore hill, wrens galore were popping in and out of gaps in the wall of the cottage garden and late summer flowers competed with the colourful leaves that remained on the trees and shrubs. There were hydrangeas in flower - lots of different dahlias too - and one hollyhock flowering close by the "Tottering By Gently" rose. Poppies, marigolds and other roses plodded on towards winter - brave little things! As Dot and I were saying goodbye on the drive, a wren shot under her car, right between the two of us and into the creeper. It was joined by a coal tit, a sparrow and a chaffinch. They all danced in and out of the creeper and the shrubs on the driveway, then up into the Sitka spruce - where the chaffinch started to sing his little heart out. Defying Winter!

Bob Robin snacking! (Picture by Ginny)

Walking through the little wood, it may be necessary to take in a deep breath and pull your hood over your head!  A small army of pheasants roosts in there and is too silly to keep still and quiet. If they did this then no one would know they were there at all. Instead, they get into a proper flap, flying low from the shelter of the trees and out into the open field across the lane while making such a racket you couldn't possibly miss them!

Not the sharpest tools in the shed!!!!

Toad in Toad Hall

The mice and voles are active in the garden - and not very shy at all! I shall keep an eye open in the house too. I still wipe down surfaces every morning. This started when we moved in and the house had been empty for a while. There were so many droppings. Once they'd been moved and the house had been thoroughly cleaned - empty houses are soon colonised by little things - we had to dissuade them from returning. With the use of humane traps, we seemed to make our point but we still get the occasional visitor - hence the morning clean-up! 

Tottering by Gently in the snow

There have been some magnificent displays of aurora this month. I don't think we've been alone - there have been lovely pictures online from all over the country and beyond. It's something that has been going on forever but I was quite grown-up when I first saw them. There's science to explain them of course - now - but imagine how strange they must have seemed to people in days gone by - how frightening perhaps. In Scottish folklore, they are said to be the depiction of an ongoing war amongst the fairy folk. They're known as the "Merry Dancers". Well, Aurora Borealis is a bit of a mouthful!!! 

November Aurora show! Pictures by Judith

My much treasured diary which covers the rural Lincolnshire life of George North, from 1886 to 1896 gives a clear picture of how people lived their lives back then. George isn't related to me - as far as I know - but my daughter bought the fascinating little collection of years, tied together with yarn and without a cover, as a gift for me. My family come from Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Suffolk and Scotland mainly. My mother's Emerson branch and my father's Temperton branch have been in the Isle of Axholme for many years. George North's notes give me insight into their world in Victorian times. It doesn't vary too much from what my grandfather (Reuben George ROBERT Cecil Temperton) told me about his life from January 1900. 

Sunflower before it snowed

In November 1893, George's jobs on the farm included chopping oats, wicking and dyking in the warps, getting swedes up, earthing potatoes in the warps, drilling wheat and leading manure. He was also dressing the hedge sides in the Ings, This was in the days when hedges were a proper barrier and so well tended that they could hold back the stock. 

George had other jobs too. He was a sexton and buried his deceased friends and neighbours - particularly at this time of year and going through winter. He also started to ring the church bells in November 1893.

I still have things to do in the garden before winter. I need to plant bulbs - with an eye to SPRING. The earth is so much colder now after the snow - wish I'd done the planting before the snow came! Two pairs of gloves I think!

There are already tiny spears pushing through from previous years' bulbs left in the soil. Spring isn't so far away!

The holly has berries! (Picture by Ginny)

No skating!

Recently I've been making a little study of graces. As a family, we say grace before the main meal of the day. Saying grace isn't exclusively Christian. As a Christian family, our graces are focussed on God and Jesus Christ but we welcome friends of other religious persuasions and none. My view is a simple one. Lots of human beings worship a god. There are various paths one can take but, whether we worship a god or not, it's an uplifting element of a meal to be thankful. It aids digestion too!!!!! 

Because of the terrible situation in the Middle East at present, I offer here three graces - one Jewish, one Muslim and one which is a personal favourite. Who doesn't need the blessing of Peace right now?  I hope you enjoy the run-up to Christmas. There are lots of good people and many acts of dedication and kindness which go unrecorded.

A JEWISH GRACE                                       

For the food we are about to eat,

and for all that sustains us,

we give thanks to the Creator

and Sustainer of life.

A GRACE FROM THE BOOK OF MUSLIM PRAYERS

O ALLAH! Bless them in that which You have provided for them and forgive them and have mercy upon them.

A PRAYER FROM THE EAST

I pray the Prayer the Easterns do

May the peace of Allah abide with you.

Wherever you stay or wherever you go

May the beautiful Palms of Allah grow.

In your days of labour and nights of rest

May the Peace of Allah still keep you blest. 

And I touch my heart as the Easterns do

May the peace of Allah abide with you.

Brave roses!

 

"The Elm Hunters" by Dr. Euan Bowditch will soon be available to buy. It tells the story of two little girls who are learning about trees. I'm more than moderately proud of my son-in-law!   My own recently published book is "The Big Suck" and is ideal for children who love tiny creatures as well as for those who may be a little uncertain of them! It's a story about The Spurt Family and the vacuum cleaner!