Tag Archives: brambles

Autumn art and another walk in the woods

After our successful Leaf Hunt on Sunday, and outdoor Leaf Art on Monday,  we were feeling inspired and in the mood for a bit more Autumn Art on Tuesday morning.  Monkey was unwell, but the other three drew pictures of their Autumn treasures, and then we did some leaf rubbings.  I say “we” because I did it as well – and it was very satisfying and therapeutic!

Leaf drawings and rubbings 1

The yellow, green and blue leaves in the picture above were drawn by Tiddler.  In the photo collage, they rather blend in with the leaf rubbings, but I was very proud of his observational drawing skills – well, they are a good leaf shape, even if the colour is not so accurate – we did not discover any rare blue leaves!

leaf drawings and rubbings 2

On Tuesday afternoon, we wanted to take the three children who were well enough out for some fresh air, but Monkey needed to stay inside and rest as he was very poorly.  So first of all, Tiddler and Rabbit went with Granny to pick some apples in her friend’s garden.  Later on, I asked Owl to come and pick some berries with me in the woods, and Rabbit decided to come too.

Berry walk 1

We set off through the village, and as I turned to take a photograph of Rabbit I noticed that Owl had brought one of Daddy’s old phones with him so that he could take some pictures of his own.  Rabbit, therefore, featured in quite a few photos, but I don’t think she minded the attention!  We walked up to the green, and then across to the woods, past the allotments where we admired someone’s amazing pumpkin and squash harvest.

berry walk 2

We had a lovely walk, and managed to pick plenty of berries.  There were a lot of rosehips, and we were surprised (and pleased) to find a reasonable number of brambles too.

berry walk 3

After being out for quite a while, we reluctantly turned back as the afternoon was almost over.  It was beautiful and peaceful, and we could have stayed longer, but it was nearly supper time.

berry walk 4

The children enjoyed squelching in the mud with their wellies, so we paused for a little while in a particularly good muddy patch.  Rabbit took a turn with the phone camera, and thought it was very funny to take a picture of me taking a picture of her.

berry walk 5

As we left the woods, we picked some haw berries and a few more brambles at the roadside, and then went back across the green.  After a very quick play on the roundabout, we walked back to Granny’s house, stopping to pick some elderberries on the way.

berry walk 6

We arrived back in time for supper, and had stewed apple and bramble for pudding.  I brought the rest of the berries home with me, and made another batch of elderberry, rosehip and haw berry syrup.  It was a lovely walk on a beautiful Autumn day, and it’s nice to have something to show for it too.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

An afternoon with the cousins

After our morning at Junior Scholars on Saturday, we spent the rest of the day with our cousins in Watford.

watford 1

After lunch, the children played together in the garden for a while, and then we went out to the park.

watford 2

The children played really well together with their three cousins, and it was lovely to watch.

watford 3

On the way back, we indulged in a bit more impromptu foraging!

watford 6

After a quick dash back into town to visit the Lego shop (and Junior Scholars again) we went back to their house for supper (and baths!) and the children played together while the adults chatted until it was time to come home.

watford 7

We came home with just enough brambles to add to some apples from our garden to make a crumble for Sunday evening…

watford 8

…and elderberries, rosehips and haws which I have finally made into syrup this evening.  Tiddler was very proud of his acorn collection so I have to mention that too!

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Odds and ends

I’ve lost track of the many things I’ve been meaning to blog but haven’t had time recently, and I’m feeling the need of a random post to download stuff from my brain (and camera), so here it is.

Sunday 16th

The children made pizzas for lunch after church.

Afternoon tea and trains in the garden of a church family.

Monday 17th

Quiet day at home.  Children very busy and creative.  Owl did some measuring with water, and then Monkey decided to do some floating and sinking, and Rabbit and Tiddler joined in.

 

Tuesday 18th

Granny (my mum) here, children had lots of attention, nice peaceful day.  Owl and Monkey had swimming lessons.

Wednesday 19th

Our home ed group’s “Not back to school picnic.”  Perfect weather, happy children, a lovely day.  Monkey went to Beavers in the evening.

Thursday 20th

The arrival of Supergirl (see my last post.)

Friday 21st – Saturday 22nd

Owl, Monkey and I went on a sleepover for Beavers and Cubs, and we had a really good time.  On Friday we went on a night hike and some of us saw bats (unfortunately Owl and Monkey didn’t and were quite disappointed, so I had to play down the fact that I had seen two!)  We also saw rabbits, beetles, spiders, slugs, snails and some very interesting fungi.  On Saturday we went pond dipping and identified trees.

   

      

After the sleepover, we visited a market stall outside the local deli.  We bought chutney, olives, spiced sausage and smoked garlic.  In the evening we picked some of our apples.

 

Sunday 23rd

After church, a very wet walk to pick brambles, and bizarrely some tomatoes which appeared to be growing in the wild.

And in the evening, a visit from a lovely family with their beautiful new baby boy.

Monday 24th

Monkey and Owl had piano lessons, some friends came over later, and in the evening, thanks to Supergirl babysitting, Suburban Dad and I were able to go to choir together for the first time in a long time.

Tuesday 25th

In the morning I took Rabbit and Tiddler to Toddler Group, while the big boys stayed at home with Supergirl.  This afternoon we had lots of fun with Fimo.  This was the first time we have tried it, and we love it.  It deserves a separate blog post I think, so I will try to do that tomorrow.  Have a look here if you want to buy some!  After that, I took Owl and Monkey to their swimming lessons, while Supergirl took Rabbit to Dramabuds with Tiddler in tow.  The crazy schedule is much more manageable with an extra person around, and Supergirl is certainly living up to her nickname.