Winding down...slowly

October already! I can hardly believe it, but the weather has been soft & warm throughout this early part of Autumn so it's hardly surprising I suppose....



Alice is still able to enjoy the warm sunshine most afternoons! But the signs are all there...


I love the way that hydrangeas fade...so beautiful. And on our morning walks, the hedgerows and trees are full of Autumn fruits and berries...


Elderberries...


Blackberries, of course...so prolific and sweet this year...


and these are wild juniper berries, native to the chalky hills we walk on...so I can smell gin when I brush past! All gorgeous natural wonders in their small way.
We took a wonderful weekend trip to Ludlow in Shropshire recently...a town so full of beauty and history it's almost too much!
These are now almshouses, but were formerly part of an ancient college...



Traces of the past were preserved everywhere...some almost hidden..


and some impossible to miss...


We found the perfect type of antique shop...lots of corners and tiny rooms to poke about and find treasures in (& we did!)


And lots of walking in the September sunshine, soaking up the beauty...





Ludlow has a castle too..originally built to protect this part of England from the nearby marauders of Wales ( ultimately, it failed!)


I found a stunning house, that was being restored and so was covered in ugly scaffolding....but here is the plaque on the gate...


as the fourth series of Downton Abbey has just started here, I thought it was appropriate that the Knights of Downton had lived here once!

Isn't this a fabulous idea?


I'm trying to work out where we can put one, now!

The trip was a surprise one for me...my beloved knows I have always wanted to go there. Another way in which I am so lucky. I am counting my blessings at the moment, and I am finding so many....here are a few more...











I have nurtured this poinsettia since last Christmas, and it is paying off...


the harvest moon was amazing...


I have a new addiction to the sourdough crumpets that are made by Peter at his wonderful independent bakery, Price's,in Ludlow....


luckily, it is too far away to be able to eat them very often!
And lastly, of course...


one of the greatest blessings of all! How could I leave her out?

I hope that you are finding plenty of wonderful things too, this October...

Xx

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