Sunday 27 January 2013

Lemons, Lacewings and Lacock

On Thursday, yesterday and a little bit today...we had sunshine!






I had wondered whether this good news was sufficiently exciting for a blog update on its own, but when has anyone ever known me to stop talking just because I could...or should???

Let me start with a 'thank you' or two and a question:

1) Thank you Toyota. My little Aygo blue slept under a thick blanket of snow for almost a week and still started first time!

2) Thank you Richard Carter. I had seen mention of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, but rather thought I had missed it and then saw Rich's reminder on Facebook yesterday and have spent a happy hour this morning counting the birds in our garden.

3) Question: Why am I such a softie (fool), that I am sitting on a hard wooden dining chair typing this, while Max dreams and snores on my nice comfortable work chair??? I know I should chuck him out to get some fresh air, but he looks so cute and cosy...

Goodbye snow!


The snow started disappearing a few days ago. Even the little bit of extra snow we had Tuesday evening didn't really impede its departure. The first sign it was on its way out was when I spotted that my snow cat had morphed in to Barbapapa!

snow cat becomes Barbapapa

This morning the rain and wind overnight had completely chased away the last patches of icy white and the world is again green (and somewhat soggy). All that is left to show that the snow cat was ever there is the lavender stem whiskers lying on the garden table...sniff, sniff.

WI Book Club

I think I mentioned before that I joined the Bath WI (first meeting of 2013 is the week after next) and I had an email about their book club (which, it turns out is organised by the nice lady who's garden backs on to ours) and I decided it would be nice to get to know some locals better and to be encouraged to read books I might not have thought of before. The next meeting is on 20th February and, anxious to be sure I had finished the book before then, I started reading Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child (snow seems to be a theme at the moment!). Oh my!! It's a wonderful book and I couldn't put it down - I had forgotten the luxury of putting on some music and just reading for a couple hours. So, not only have I finished the book weeks in advance of the meeting, but I so loved the story and the imagery I looked in to the books which inspired Eowyn Ivey to write it and I have downloaded Arthur Ransome's Old Peter's Russian Tales to my Kindle and ordered on eBay a copy of the original The Snow Child as retold by Freya Littledale (not sure what I will get as it was £143 on Amazon and £2.76 on eBay!). 

The added bonus of joining the book club is that it has prompted me to join the Bath library - who knew that these days you can download books from the library! (thanks for the tip-off Tamsin!) 


Aaarrrggghhhh...ooh, actually not so bad

You may have spotted in some of my photos my gorgeous blue and white cups, a gift from my friend Irene. I loved them so much that when I saw the same range in Shannon in Bath, I bought a couple of the larger size cups...and last week I dropped another mug on top of one and chipped the rim! I was gutted. However, it makes a lovely pot for the penstemon cuttings the old lady next door took for me, and not only did Mark buy me a replacement one, I also got a matching bowl and small plate! I am a big fan of breakfast and like to make it a bit of a starting the day ritual. I guess all's well that ends well!

new use for chipped favourite mug

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

The Big Garden Birdwatch is organised by the Royal Society of Protection of Birds and asks people to watch the birds in their garden for an hour and log on the website the largest number of the different species they saw at any one time (to avoid duplication). My results were:


  • 8 blackbirds
  • 2 magpies
  • 4 starlings
  • 16 house sparrows
  • 1 robin
  • 1 wood pigeon
  • 2 coal tits
  • 3 blue tits
  • 2 great tits
  • 2 crows
  • 2 chaffinches
  • 1 greenfinch
  • 3 goldfinches


I was surprised by how many blackbirds there were - and they were getting feisty over the rolled oats; I suspect they are also fighting over territory as we usually have blackbird nests in the hedges. There may well have been more sparrows than I recorded - it sounded as though there were hundreds - but I just included the ones I could see to count. I often see blackcaps and thrushes and sometimes a tree creeper, but not today.

Lemon and fig marmalade

As promised, I made a batch of lemon and fig marmalade using the recipe in Gloria Nicol's book 'Fruits of the Earth', she has a similar recipe on her Laundry Etc website.

As the sun was shining on the last bits of snow as I sliced lemons, I thought it was an opportunity to practise photographing food and took my bowl of lemons outside to catch the sunlight reflected off the snow.

lemons in the snow

It was a good idea, until Rio decided to see what was going on! (It's ok, I moved him quickly so the marmalade is free of cat hair)

Rio the cat investigates lemons

I was quite happy with the results - despite my furry helper.

lemon slices in the sunlight

lemons and figs soaking

 The finished marmalade is totally lush (as they say in these parts) - tart and sweet at the same time.

lemon and fig marmalade in the snow

Illuminated Lacock Abbey


 Now I had every intention to stop here for the week. However, as I was finishing up, Mark appeared (we may live in the same house but still manage to occupy different time zones), so we went out to make the most of the sun - just as well as it is now blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs. Apologies if this entry is too long, but Lacock was lovely (as always) and I have to share! The exhibition at the Fox Talbot Museum was Jo Whaley's Theatre of Insects - and I cannot resist photos of bugs! I had never seen photos quite like them...have a look at the link. It was also the final day of Illuminating Lacock Abbey; the beautiful mediaeval cloisters were subtly lit and were totally stunning. I am not sure the photos do it justice, but I tried...

illuminated stone floor
Some of the lights were like stars or snowflakes; quite magical (appropriate as some Harry Potter scenes were filmed here).
daytime starlight 

ghostly footsteps moving as you watch

colour-changing cloisters

now it's green!
Lacock Abbey Cloisters

My favourite was this wall - so atmospheric; a place of calm and tranquility.

words of peace

 One little girl was as mesmerised as I was, and added her shadow to the shadow words on the wall.

shadows

We also went in to the old brewery, no longer brewing but beautifully lit, partly by sunlight and partly artificially.

old brewery, Lacock
The lights looked so much like fire and water.

brewery lights

Outside, snowdrops were harbingers of Spring.

snow drops

carpet of snowdrops

That really is it for this week - all that's left to do today is to enjoy the boeuf bourguignon bubbling away in the slow cooker.






Sunday 20 January 2013

Snow...the British way.

Snow, snow, snow...!
Being lucky enough to have friends in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, not to mention some of the chillier US states, I feel a little silly making a big deal over a bit of snow, but for us it is not a regular occurence. Some years we have no snow at all and mostly when we do it is not deep and only lasts a few days. So, when on Friday we had 15cm of snow, I'm sorry but it was a big deal. It was the deepest snow Mark had seen in his life (I saw more in Chamonix, but that's in the world that lives with snow, without grinding to a halt). 

I don't work Fridays (thank goodness) but Mark does and could not get in to work. We could not have got out of our road, the A46 was barely passable and the M4 slip road at Bath was closed. There were no trains running from Templemeads, so even walking the two miles to the station and getting a train was out of the equation - and if he had got in, there was no guarantee he would have got home. The Met Office has been saying that global warming is actually likely to make our climate more Scandinavian than Mediterranean - if that's true, we are going to have to learn to live with snow! Maybe one day our transport systems will become snow-tolerant and Winter tyres and snow chains will be de rigueur - but not by Monday, when I have to get to work!!

Actually there was some melt yesterday and if I'm really lucky the snow forecasted for today and tomorrow will not amount to much. I am keeping everything crossed for blazing sunshine today and clear roads in the morning!

However, before the snow disappears, I would just like to appreciate the fun, pretty side of snow. I woke on Friday to a garden reminiscent of Narnia.

our garden in the snow

snowy trees in the garden

our Bath garden in the snow

Anne and John's garden over the fence

snow on the sycamore tree

the driveway

the gargoyle that was meant to go to Sweden but was too heavy for the baggage allowance
red car in the snow

I am sure the neighbours think I am mad (and not just because I spent much time on Thursday out with the cat-tracker-thingy tracking down the collar Max wriggled out of) as I was out before daylight yesterday, practising low-light photos with a tripod...

our road

It always feels like a sign of hope when I see tiny, delicate flowers surviving the snow - a reminder that this is just a seasonal blip and Spring is just round the corner.

Winter jasmine in the snow











Cats in the snow

The cats are not sure about snow. Rio gives it a go; dashing from dry spot to dry spot until his paws get too cold, at which point he runs hell for leather for the cat flap.

Rio hides from the snow


cold paws!



black and white camouflaged cat


Max in the meantime decided there was only one place he wanted to be!

Max keeps warm

Maybe Max had the right idea - a little cat doesn't want to sit still too long in the snow, or who knows what could happen!

snow kitty

Wildlife

It may be a good thing that the cats want to stay out of the snow, as the birds need as much help as possible when the weather is bad. We have been filling the bird-feeders every day for them.

robin on the bird table


we put out meal worms for the robin


next year's Christmas card?

well squirrels need to eat too!
We have a wonderful sparrow-hedge in the garden and it is always filled with squabbling sparrows - rather like the birds in the 'Rhubarb and Custard' cartoon!

sparrow in the snow

sparrow in the snow

I know starlings are not always very popular, but I think their markings are beautiful!

starling on the bird table

starling in the snow


There was also a fox in the garden (Mark saw the fox but I just saw the tracks), and I spotted this animal track in the snow. At first I was convinced it was a muntjac deer, until I realised it was not a single hoven print, but the print of four small squirrel paws leaping through the snow.

grey squirrel tracks in the snow


Of course, when it comes to wildlife, nothing can quite compare with the neighbourhood kids! They have all been having a whale of a time, having snowball fights and tobogganing down the road and in the park round the corner - and to top it all the schools were closed on Friday!

Bath wildlife

Warming up

hot chocolate


All the playing in the snow felt like justification for a big mug of hot chocolate.

hot chocolate with marshmallows

marmalade

My other indoor, warming activity has been marmalade making. Homemade marmalade tastes so much better than store bought - and I am not a fan of the tins of prepared oranges for marmalade making; I mean, what's the point? Last week I shared photos of my seville orange marmalade, and I thought perhaps I should share my favourite recipe (although I confess, I added too much water and it was too runny, so yesterday I boiled it up again with some extra pectin - now it's perfect).

I have several preserving books, but my absolute favourite is Fruits of the Earth by Gloria Nicol. My mum bought me the book (signed) at The Laundry at Taurus Crafts in the Forest of Dean - which sadly is no longer there (although there are still lots of other lovely artisan shops there). Gloria Nicol has written a load of books about all sorts of crafts and writes a lovely blog - very clever lady! Anyway, here is her marmalade recipe (also published in her column in the Guardian):

Seville Orange Marmalade (makes about 2kg)
1 kg Seville oranges
1 lemon
1.5 kg sugar
1.25 litres water
Wash the whole fruits and place in a heavy lidded casserole or a preserving pan that will fit in the oven. Pour in the water and bring to simmering point on the hob. Cover or if using a preserving pan make a lid to cover the top with tin foil before placing in a 180 C, Mk4 oven. Poach the fruit for two-and-a-half to three hours, by which time the skins will be softened.
Using a spoon, lift the fruit out of the liquid into a colander over a bowl and leave to drain. When the fruit is cool enough to handle, cut each in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon to leave just the peel, placing all the flesh, pith and pips in a muslin bag or a large piece of muslin over a bowl which you can gather into a bag. Collect all the juice as you go and add it to the poaching liquid.
Measure the poaching liquid and make up to 1 litre with water if necessary. Place the muslin bag in a preserving pan with the poaching liquid and bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Leave till cool enough to handle then squeeze the bag to get as much of the liquid as possible from the pulp. Discard the bag and its contents.
Chop the peel into thin strips and add to the preserving liquid. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. Turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil until it reaches setting point. (Setting point is when a dollop of the syrup on a cold plate, readily forms a skin when you push your finger across the surface. This takes me around 15 to 25 minutes.)
Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes then stir to distribute the peel. Pour into hot, clean sterilised jars, put waxed paper circles wax side down on each one and seal immediately. Label when cool and store in the larder.
When I follow the recipe properly, this works every time - I only had to add pectin this time because I thought I knew it all and added too much water!

As Ocado had ruby grapefruit on offer, I also tried making grapefruit marmalade  - as one of my old school friends mentioned her difficulty finding it (I will post a couple of jars to her when the snow clears, and hope they get there safely!). I tried the other method of marmalade making (paring the zest from the fruit before cooking):

Grapefruit marmalade (fills 6 or 7 small jars)
6 Grapefruit (pink, ruby or ordinary)
1 kg granulated sugar approx
Wash the grapefruit under a cold tap and dry. Use a potato peeler to remove the zest in strips. Cut the zest strips into match stick size pieces, either with a knife or kitchen scissors. Use a sharp knife to cut off the remaining pith - it's easiest to take a slice of the top and bottom first so it sits flat on the chopping board, and use as sharp a knife as possible.

Finely chop the grapefruit flesh, removing any pips, or blitz in a food processor. Measure the flesh and juice and add to a preserving pan with the same volume of sugar and the prepared pieces of zest. Bring slowly to the boil until the sugar has dissolved (liquid will be clear). Boil rapidly for 15 to 25 minutes until it reaches setting point (use a cold plate like the recipe above).

Ladle into warm, sterilised jars. Label when cool.



I have to say, I prefer the first method (cooking the fruit first), as the zest in the second method is not as soft and yummy - and I think it is also easier to cut the peel when it's soft. My next marmalade making is going to be Gloria Nicol's lemon and fig marmalade, so I will let you know how I get on with that one!
















Sunday 13 January 2013

Photography: Bath, trees, marmalade and a pincushion-topped jar

Photography

Digital filters

Prior to starting a photography course, I was messing about with some of the digital filters around - colour splash, antiquing, 1970s etc. I know it's not proper photography, but it's good fun!

colour splash:

Christmas leftovers

cows at Westonbirt


in and around Bath:




St Swithins, Bath


marmalade making:

marmalade bubbling in the preserving pan

jars of homemade seville orange marmalade


Evening classes

So on Tuesday I went to my first photography evening class at City of Bath College - my only wish is that I had signed up for this sort of class when I first got my digital SLR. I have always felt that setting the camera to automatic is cheating. I know that it still needs a creative eye to compose a picture, but still I felt like I was cheating. Part of my problem is that I have very poor near vision. To spot a photo I need to not wear my glasses (distance vision becomes very burry when I wear my glasses), but to be able to see through the viewfinder, I need my glasses. It's a faff, but I do now accept that I must get on with looking silly as I take my glasses on and off when out and about, if I am to take photos and be able to control the result.

Clearly, my eyes are not the light-meter I hoped they were and in most cases my instinct for shutter speed is too fast and images were too dark. It is a little like starting afresh and I clearly need lots of practice, but it is very exciting as I start to see the images that - if I work hard - I hope could be at my finger tips. Bear with me if my camera control is not quite of the standard of the camera's own automatic controls!

Trees at Westonbirt Arboretum

Friday was a beautifully sunny day - and a day when I was not in the office - so I put my 'to do' list on hold and headed to Westonbirt Arboretum to play with depth of focus and shutter speed. I tried to capture the Winter light and shade and atmospheric mists. I am not sure how well I have done, but I have only had one lesson!



 This one is a little dark, but I prefer the reflection in the water drop to the following one, which has a slower shutter speed.

water drop number 1


water drop number 2

 In this one, I think I actually prefer the burry background to the subject of the photo...go figure!...as Americans say (or at least they do on tv).

sycamore keys

I spotted mist rising from this ha-ha (ditch to stop cows getting in to the arboretum) and set out to try to capture it - photographically speaking

mist rising from the ha-ha

 Water drops on leaves and needles was a definite theme for the day.

water droplets (again)
I have a love of benches - both photographs of them and watching the world pass by from them (when they are not too damp)
bench in the mist
 I also love paths - they always seem so full of possibilities; not knowing what lies around the next bend or in the misty distance.
pathway through the trees


dappled sunlight

reflections in the puddles

another bench

Westonbirt Arboretum

mist and sunlight number 1


mist and sunlight number 2

the long shadows of trees in Winter

experimenting with a light tent

Part of the reason for the evening class is that I will have to photograph the items I want to sell, and the photos make all the difference (at least they do to me when I am a buyer). I rarely take 'proper' photos inside, and have asked my tutor if - later in the course - he could give some guidance on lighting etc. Never one to wait patiently, I ordered myself a small light tent and just had to try it out. I made a pin cushion in the top of a screw top preserving jar, with the intention of keeping a small sewing kit in the jar - the first being for me for when I take my quilt to work to stitch on wet lunchtimes, and maybe I will make more when I open my Etsy shop after Easter, when I am made redundant. The pins came from Rubina Kadir on Etsy, and I love them...and am not sure I will ever be able to part with any!

The light tent folds up in to a small pouch and comes with a selection of backdrops. I am not sure I like the texture of the backdrops, but it all works well and I can always use one of the backdrops as a pattern to make my own selection - I think velvet would be nice and, for shabby chic items, perhaps a cotton with a pattern of faded roses.

I think the tent will be large enough for most cakes too - and you can close the front and photograph through a slot to avoid reflections, if necessary.

my new light tent

I think, because the glass jar is clear, the white background works better than the black.

pin-cushion topped preserving jar


kilner jar pincushion

However, the pins on their own really stand out against the black.

beautiful pins from Rubina Kadir on Etsy.com



My next task is to be brave, set the shutter speed to sensor cleaning mode and use the special puffer thingy to get the dust specks off the sensor. Courage mon brave...!