vanilla cake with cream and buttons

creamovita and chocolate buttons - recipe for sponge on this page 

colours from the garden – a smoothie to be (added avo, banana, and OJ)

moth

check out VegaNation, a new vegan online shop! 

boy by sea

Pennan

girlish toes in the sea

salad

cauldron

sequins

Books of the moment:

Ecstatic Beings - Shazzie and Kate Magic

The Brightest Star in the Sky - Marian Keyes

Balletboyz - Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt

Waldon and Other Writings - Henry David Thoreau

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We have a beautiful paperback copy of Lynne Rickard’s new book , I Do Not Eat the Colour Green to give away. A lovely title which encourages healthy eating for kids. See our review of it up here

To enter just comment on this post and tell us what your favourite green thing is. Interpret the word green in any way you like We only have one copy so Charlotte will pick the entry that appeals most to her this time – the names will be removed before she judges so feel free to enter if we know you personally or if you’ve never set eyes on this blog before – it won’t affect your chances

Competition now closed: Congratulations to Wendy

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This is a site we used quite a bit back at the more curriculified beginning of home education – a quick blog search reveals the first mention of it almost exactly 5 years ago! From the Guardian, it covers the whole national curriculum, primary and secondary and does have some really interesting bits and ways of presenting things. The Barbican Library are now paying the (somewhat hefty I seem to remember) subscription for all home educated children  

Learn Premium 

username: barbican

password: guardian

a picture from around that time, 2005

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The equinox occurs at 4.03am tomorrow morning. A time of balance and harvest. Here we have broccoli, kale, leeks, carrots, apples and even finally courgettes in great abundance. The peas and beans are still producing though more slowly and it’s time for brambles in the smoothies.

I love how the sunflower heads get bigger and bigger, filling up with seeds:

like a great dinner plate

intend doing a bit of hulling... fun or tedious? we shall see

Going to save some of them for planting next year, a habit were getting better at, broad beans drying nicely on a windowsill too

big autumn leaves

Reading in front of the log fire has replaced swimming as the favourite leisure pastime of the moment. Phil Rickman books are still being delved into. The Bones of Avalon is a new style for him, a historical novel and wonderful Glastonbury mystery set in the times of Elizabeth 1st, seen through the eyes of John Dee. He also writes for children and young people as Thom Madley – Marco’s Pendulum is gripping some here, apparently well diffused with humour throughout

The very old and crumbling plum tree has given us 2 beautifully ripe fruits today:

purple and sweet

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sunflower so tall I had to hold the camera up high and click!

setting the above as my desktop (click for bigger image – creative commons so anyone can download)

doing: 5 Tibetans

listening: Gregorian Chant (CD bought on our visit to Pluscarden Abbey a couple of years ago)

reading: The Abundance Book and The Wine of Angels

off to pick almost the last of the blackcurrants for a smoothie

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Listening to an audiobook of The Silmarillion just now while browsing the Atlas of Middle Earth. This follows on from our epic watching of the extended versions of all three Lord of the Rings films in preparation and inspiration for our own mountain quest. Nice to be back in Middle Earth

other jewels: smoothie and brambles. Todays smoothie consisted of LOTS of kale and leaves from the overwintered cabbages which are now huge, LOTS of borage flowers, cleavers, a few black and red currants that are just starting to ripen, bananas, brazil nuts and an apple.

a contrived pic of a smoothie with bramble flowers and honeysuckle

The brambles (blackberries) are growing all through the honeysuckle and produce wonderful big juicy berries in autumn so there is no thought of ‘weeding’… the flowers are very beautiful:

bramble flowers and buds

pink

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pea

It’s wonderfully warm here just now. In between all the cycling, walking, climbing and meeting badgers in the woods were loving the cool of the pool and reading in the sun

Fiction being perused: Mariana, a gentle tale of reincarnation and time slipping and the latest Sophie Hannah, A Room Swept White – very impressed with this author’s progression. Non fiction-wise: The Moneyless Man, a guy who lived without money for a year (and continues to do so – see his blog), quite mind blowing, lots of info about the financial system as he was an economist and The Age of Absurdity, a great antidote to, well, total nonsense and status quo worship and it’s very funny too!

Jodie Picoult’s House Rules is also well worth a mention, though I read it a while back, as the main character has aspergers syndrome. He may have been given almost every trait going but he does come over as an authentic aspergian person and Picoult makes so many good points and references much current research, I feel it’s a valuable title to have in the mainstream.

borage

grapes

toms

red peppers, just watered

parsley, getting ready to self seed

melon

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Four of us girls (Charlotte, me and Lucy and Eleanor from moonrabbits) are doing a sponsored climb to raise money for trees for life, the wonderful charity that is replanting the Caledonian Forest. We intend climbing Bennachie 3 times in one day, taking all three routes to the Mither Tap in about a months time. Trees for life is not a member of just giving or any such online fundraiser but please feel free to donate directly on link above if you wish For every £5 raised a tree will be planted.

A favourite of our kids years ago, the lorax speaks for the trees. Richard St. Barbe Baker “the man of the trees“ who inspired Trees for Life, was sometimes fondly known as the lorax

(lorax on amazon) Buy UK or Buy US

A nice tree filled place we cycled round recently, thanks to a neighbour telling us the best way to get in there:

rhododendron way into the woods

more rhoddies

a little loch

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iris by pond, cleavers among

 a very mellow listen: Deltadream - based on the ancient lost Solfeggio frequency “Ut”, a tone linked with releasing guilt and fear, the shorter track there is a free download.  

mellow and cooling eat: minted noodle soup

books weve been mellowing out to in the sun: Named of the Dragon, a gentle mystery, writers, Arthurian and Tudor themes; The Other Half Lives, from Sophie Hannah, the best of her psychological thrillers I’ve read so far and Ask Mother Nature, another nature spirity book responsible for me feeling happy about all the chickweed growing in with the lettuce now

chickweed helps retain water in the soil and is a nice inclusion in salads

bridge over totally calm waters

 Had a nice time with some more pilgrims to the house, this time the grandson of the man who built it. We all learned much from each other – apparently the roof used to be covered in solar panels, was the first house up here to have them…  no trace of them now… hopefully one day we’ll have them again

borage buds, soon time for blue stars and berries in the smoothies

fully open

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the borders

highly perfumed bluebells, wild garlic in back

on the faery path

path

flowers

These cards remind me of the woods – a lovely story telling tool

story telling cards

 Other faery places:

gorse blooms

pink snow is falling in the garden

CD of ROC’s lectures UK and US,  there is deep wisdom within, much before it’s time as concerns the environment.

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