DECEMBER 2012

During the run up to Christmas I like to get away from all the commercial hype and visit our local woodland for some tranquillity.  This time we went to Macclesfield forest on a lovely frosty morning and the air was amazing, so cold, clean and refreshing. I took my camera as I wanted to photograph some landscapes for a series of paintings I’m working on, and couldn’t resist snapping this one of frosty pine trees in the forest. The only sound we heard was that of our boots crunching on the icy pathways and the gurgling of water in the brooks that run underneath and around the trees.

Later I was inspired to decorate some candles using some fallen pinecones and foliage I’d collected on our walk. Each winter I always buy a beautiful Amaryllis hoping it will bloom in time for Christmas; this year it flowered early so I’ve taken its picture and will now have to get another one for later in the month.

At this time of the year there’s always a need for recipes to use up turkey left-overs so do click here for my December recipe for one that’s different but quick and easy to make. If you have time you could make some hand-made felt decorations for the tree, click here to visit my Christmas Crafts page. Finally, for anyone feeling decidedly frazzled but who has no chance of going to visit a nearby peaceful frosty forest I can recommend a dose or two of Avena Sativa tincture to soothe shattered nerves - click here for my December remedy suggestion.

NOVEMBER 2012

November’s often a dreary month but it can have magic moments. Yesterday I was planting bulbs in the garden to brighten the early days of next spring when I noticed a Greater Spotted woodpecker pecking away at a fat ball we had hung from a branch of one of our apple trees. Woodpeckers are unusual visitors although we sometimes get fieldfares and even jays during the colder weather. We try to look after the birds who visit our garden as so many species are declining because of lack of appropriate habitat.

The bulbs I planted under my dogwood bush were Scilla Sibericus – a beautiful blue which look amazing contrasting with the deep lacquered red of the dogwood stems. Smoke drifted over from someone’s bonfire and overhead flocks of migrating birds speckled the cloudy sky; the season is definitely changing. Later we visited Alderley Edge woods to collect leaves to press for their autumn colour and to photograph and sketch the trees for some paintings I’m developing. The woods were full of different varieties of fungi climbing up damp tree stumps or poking through the fallen leaf-appliquéd forest floor.

This month click here for the Craft section where I’ve included instructions to make a sparkly hair bobble. I made one for my little granddaughter to wear on bonfire night – she likes her bling! Visit my recipe page where there’s warming orange and ginger parkin recipe, and as an antidote for the season’s crop of autumn coughs click here for my favourite cough remedy you can make at home: thyme tea.

As Christmas is fast approaching I’d like to recommend a wonderful little book of poetry: Songs from an Armchair compiled by Stephanie Smith which would make an inspiring gift for anyone interested in creative activities for older people. Stephanie has introduced a poetry group at Wisma Mulia, a residential retirement community in Gloucestershire and this book records the development of the group, their poetry and some of the fascinating life stories of everyone who participated. As someone who worked as a hospital-based creative therapist with older people for many years I can really recommend this book. It is £7.99 + £2 postage within the UK and can be ordered from www.songsfromanarmchair.co.uk

OCTOBER 2012

Knowing that the time for dahlias is fading fast, this month we took a trip to Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire to see them in all their glory in the dahlia walk before the frosts arrive. The day we visited the bees were buzzing all over them and I managed to take a photo of a bee-embellished red and yellow flower before these industrious insects buzzed off.  The dahlias also attracted Peacock butterflies in large numbers, so it was heartening to know that the efforts the National Trust makes to encourage wildlife is so successful here. Find out more about this amazing restored Victorian garden at Grange Road, Biddulph, Staffordshire, ST8 7SD, 01782 517999.

The dahlias inspired me to design a brooch to brighten up autumn outfits this month: click here to see how to make it. It matches the astonishing reds and golds that can be seen all around now the autumn leaves are beginning to turn.

On the way home to Cheshire I was astonished to notice a llama in a field at Overlands, Llama Land, in Cherry Lane, Congleton. I learned that Barbara McGarry breeds them and has some to sell. She can be contacted at 01260 281002. It was extraordinary to see them grazing in a Cheshire field in the autumn sunlight rather than the usual herd of black and white cattle.

SEPTEMBER 2012

September is the time for the beginning of the apple harvest, and this year my three apple trees are laden. However, there are no fruit at all on my plum and pear tree although earlier in the year their blossom and the bees were plentiful. This is apparently due to the cold wet weather; after they had been pollinated it seems it was too cold for the fruit to set.

I console myself that this is also the time of the year to gather fruits from the hedgerow and here at least elderberries and blackberries abound. We collect them from the banks of canals where there is no pollution so the fruit cannot be spoiled by petrol fumes from passing cars. See how I use them this month in my September recipe and remedy. Remember to gather blackberries before September 10th when according to country lore the Devil is reputed to spit on them! Certainly mildew can appear on them later in the month so they are best collected on a warm early September day. I freeze those I’m not using immediately.

During the last days of their summer holidays two of my grandchildren came to stay and were vastly entertained to hear of the existence of the Derbyshire Peak Cavern in Castleton named The Devil’s Arse! In the end we decided to visit nearby Speedwell Cavern allured by the attraction of an underground journey by boat to visit an old lead mine and a deep cave called The Bottomless Pit. I would certainly recommend both venues as fascinating places to take children to, as even if the weather is rainy this doesn’t matter underground. Visit www.speedwellcavern.co.uk to learn more.

AUGUST 2012

In the hot weather I love walking by canals, watching the narrowboats glide leisurely by on the cool water. When my children were small we used to occupy them in the long summer holidays by exploring the tow paths and watching the local wild life.  Today at Poynton Canal we saw a heron flapping its elegant wings at a flock of squawking Canada geese as it rose high in the cloudless early morning sky. Along the canal banks white trumpets of convolvulus, purple thistles, pink geraniums, blue vetch and spires of rose bay willow herb were framed by feathery fronds of flowering grasses. They reminded me to begin pressing some of the lovely plants in my own garden in preparation for my September craft-of-the-month when I’ll be showing you how to decorate candles as gifts, reminders of summer in the darker nights to come.

The inland waterways have recently been handed over to safekeeping of the new charity the Canal and River Trust: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk Visit this site to learn more about their plans. My own friend Chris Leah has spent years of his life working for The Wooden Canal Boat Society dedicated to rescuing and restoring historic canal boats to save them from disintegration at the bottom of silted up waterways. You can learn more about this valuable contribution to preserving our rural heritage at www.wcbs.org.uk who are always on the look-out for new volunteers.

This month click here to see my recipe to use up any gluts of tomatoes and courgettes you may be wondering what to do with, and click here for a remedy for indigestion using apple-mint. Click here to view my craft-of- the-month which features an appliquéd sunflower-decorated little purse made from left-over odds and ends of fabric and beading.

Rohana

JULY 2012

This month I visited Bakewell in the Derbyshire Peaks to see their decorated wells.The custom of Well Dressing, adorning them with intricate designs made from thousands of flower petals embedded into clay has survived since ancient times. It’s a beautiful and delicate folk-art unique to the Peak District and the surrounding areas of South Yorkshire and East Staffordshire. The practice, to seek blessings on the wells, may date back to prehistoric spring fertility festivals. It was certainly known in the days of the Black Death in 1348 when clean water was essential to keep infection at bay.

Well Dressing continues in a succession of different Peak District limestone villages throughout the summer until September. Visit www.peakdistrictinformation.com for more details.

The picture of Jesus in a boat calming stormy waters was made by Bakewell C of E Infant School at All Saint’s Church Explorers Well. Dramatic weather is not unknown to Peak District dwellers and although the damp atmosphere on the day we visited kept the petals looking fresh, we were glad to decamp to one of Bakewell’s many restaurants for shelter and a splendid lunch. Nor could we resist buying one of the famous Bakewell Puddings.

Our journey home through the hills featured acrobatic swifts swooping on tumultuous gusts of air just above our windscreen and reckless lambs perched over precipices seeking the choicest tufts of grass. It was a relief to return to the peace of my garden where the lavender is now at its best. Click here to see my Recipe of the Month to make Lavender Shortbread Biscuits or click here for the Craft of the Month - Heart-shaped Lavender Sachets to make good use of their flowers. And click here for Remedy of the Month to learn how to make a soothing Marigold Lotion, invaluable for sultry weather or midge bites.

Have you any thoughts about recipes, remedies or craft items you’d like to see in my future monthly blog pages? If so, do Contact Us to let me know.

Rohana