Happy Halloween....

I've got a bag of Cadbury Twirls ready for "Trick or Treaters", which I can safely eat tomorrow, because we don't get "Trick or Treaters down our road, and it would be a shame to waste good chocolates!

We have had a wonderful afternoon.....

.....celebrating Anita and Cliff's wedding at the Moor Hall Hotel....

......there was quite a crowd of us, and it was certainly very cosy....

....but it was really lovely, I was sat next to the same couple I sat with at the Ruby wedding, 10 years ago.

     

Our park is just so beautiful.....

          .....and I think that a crisp bright Autumn morning is the best time to appreciate it....

     We had to keep a sharp lookout for the ponies as we were in their enclosure, in a bit of the park I've never walked before, and I don't think that I would if I were on my own, as it was very isolated and mine isn't the greatest guard dog you've ever seen.  However dad was with us yesterday so we were a bit braver.  We didn't see any ponies-the only time I've seen them is way over the other side by the water. 

      Joe was shattered afterwards and didn't hear much from him for the rest of the day, while I spent the afternoon sweeping and tidying the back yard, ready to plant a few pansies and bulbs in my now empty bedding plant pots today and so it rains- rethink my plans. 

     Have found us a good fire work display for next Friday Sara.  It is in the village, and so we can walk there via the Hardwick Arms, and enjoy their fireworks and BBQ.  Maybe a bag of chips on the way back?  Or another stop at the Hardwick all depending on how cold it is.  John's Wellies are under the stairs ready for him, and I've made space for us to sit out and let off fireworks in the garden on Saturday.  I just need to get some sausages for our hot-dogs.

     Selina and Pete should be busy this weekend, if they can dodge the raindrops.  When we went over last weekend dad helped them build a summer house...

...the planning....

  
                                                ....and the roofing.

      It looked really good when we finished, but now they need to fasten on all the trims and the edges to hold the felt tighter, draught excluders round the dooors and windows etc.   And then, possibly in the spring, plan what to do with that mud bath in front and around said shed!

I've started......

     .....my christmas shopping today.....

.....took a trip into Sutton to get someone's birthday present, and something new for me to wear at a special Sunday lunch this weekend.

But there was so much good Christmassy stuff....so I decided to make a start.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, so Joe and I went for an early morning walk in the park beforehand.

.....so many crab apples sparkling with dew against a bright sky.

Joe barked himself stupid at the base of the trees....

...there was a couple of squirrels jumping about way up there...

I love the way he barks like fury and then glances over at me....what is he expecting?

  Am I supposed to join in...or just go up and get those squirrels for him?

Bringing a little bit of summer in from the cold...

....it seemed a shame to leave these pretty little Geraniums outside at the mercy of the weather....

.....and cold is certainly what it has been....

So my little teapot has also been very grateful for it's new cosy....

Alan gave it to me, it was one that belonged to his mother, a proper piece of vintage.

Thanks Alan.

The last of the....

....Carrots!

      ...A beautiful sunny morning, so headed into the greenhouse for a tidy and to bring the last bits indoors  There could be a frost any time now.

Set Darsh on - to get the last corriander seeds offthe plants to take inside to dry.

"No Joe no", I heard him shout, followed by "Oh he's ate the bloody lot"  Darsh pulled his seeds off and dropped them into a cereal bowl, on the floor.  Now Joe works on 2 theories-anything on the table is ours, anything on the floor- that's his.

If it happens to be in a human bowl, then you eat it first, (and work out what it actually was later) and be quick about it before someone has chance to stop you.

Faced with that doggy logic, those carefully picked seeds of Darsh's never really stood a chance.... 

Yet another good weekend....

       ...so Saturday morning we decided at the last minute to head out yet again.  Irene and Rob joined us for an impromptu supper last night, so we threw all the left-overs and a prime packet of chops in the caravan and headed off over to Hanbury Hall near Worcester.  They were celebrating a Golden wedding from 100 years ago.  The staff were dressed up in costumes of 1911, a string quartet was playing, the dining table was laid for the reception and there were flowers and ribbons everywhere.

  It was lovely, but very busy, and despite there been signs all over asking people not to use flash cameras, staff were struggling trying to stop flashes going off every few minutes-the bright lights damage the old fabrics, and beautiful painted ceilings.  "My flash is automatic and I can't turn it off, so what do you expect me to do?"  I could hear an aggresive lump telling one lady.  How about putting the darned camera in your pocket and just enjoy looking at whats around you?  Isn't it more important that we preserve these beautiful items for everyone, rather than an arrogant few having pictures to store on their computers?

     Afterwards we drove to a little campsite just outside Worcester for the night.  We cooked and ate a 3 course meal in the van and watched a DVD on our new player.  It was a really cold night and I nearly froze running across to the loo before bedtime.  Joe had his hair cut on Thursday and was shivering and shaking all night, but once in bed we were fine, we had loads of bedding and Joe had his own duvet and two pillows under the bed.  

 Sunday started misty, but cleared into a beautifully warm day, we didn't do a deal, lazed, read, walked through the fields and ate toasted sandwiches and potato salad in the sunshine.  People around us were packing up for the winter, and it grew quieter and quieter as they all started to drift home.  We finally left around 4 o'clock and after a walk in Worcester, we came home.    

Whatever could have caused.....

         .....this mad explosion of barking at 8.30 on a Monday morning?

           ......a rather fat wood pidgeon landing on the caravan roof.....

........that's what!

A weekend in Attingham Park....

     ....set off on Saturday, took the camper van, loads of food and bedding and plenty of warm clothes.  Unfortunately Darsh forgot the extension lead, so we couldn't cook or put our heating on.  However it was very windy, but definately not cold.
      Spent most of the weekend drifting in and out of the park.  Saturday we walked in the deer park and through the woods....

We were lucky enough to get tickets on the last ride of the day, in a trailer, up through the deer reserve, where you are not able to go on foot.

The big bucks were not worried by us getting so close to take pictures, but the does and fawns stayed away.  Joe was left in the van, but he was exhausted from his long walk anyway.

We stayed 2 nights at Oxon park, a camp site a few miles away...and then went back to Attingham on Sunday....

....to walk the orchards and admire the chickens....

             .....and their old-fashioned coop.....

                          ....which was very well guarded!

                 I loved the old walled gardens and greenhouses with the last of the summer flowers and late tomatoes and Basil....

                    But Joe?... well.. he just wanted to go and have another look at those chickens.....

The highlight of Joe's weekend?.....

....a whole army of ducks...HEADING HIS WAY....

     ...the two peacocks that also lived on the site?....they were a bit too large..... so he simply pretended not to see them.

        Darsh enjoyed frying, and eating, the bacon outside, as we watched everyone else packing up to go  home, we were staying another night. 

Took Joe along the dog walking track and around the park.  Picking up conkers and cones, watching ducks,

and admiring the trees.

These enormous old trees were actually soft when you touched their huge trunks

Most of Sunday was spent looking around the lower part of Bridgnorth...

    

We walked along the river banks, watching folk out and about in the sunshine,

then went for an Indian "eat as much as you possibly can" buffet.

Drove back to an almost empty site and really enjoyed the quiet and calm after the earlier bustle.

     Monday morning, we packed and moved off, back into Bridgnorth to explore the upper town, and to buy ourselves a picnic.  Selina would have loved the vintage shop, full of fabric and pots, and so many pretty things.

We were planning a trip to the local National Trust property, but didn't realise they had gone over to Winter opening hours, it was so hot we decided against having a picnic in the car park as there was no shade, and we hadn't brought our sun canopy with us-in October.

Carried on into Wolverhampton to picnic on the grass under the shade of another huge old tree.

A day in Stone....

        ...this strange seat stands by the edge of the canal as you enter the town....We spent the morning wandering, or eating, our way around the packed Farmers market in the town centre.  It was very warm and we were pleased that we decided to leave Joe at home.  There is a beautiful flower/home shop that sells all sorts of old household treasures.

The show was much smaller than we had expected, but they had crammed a lot into a small space and still left room to sit outside and watch the crowds....

     Although there were loads of people there when we arrived, it dwindled down early in the afternoon as it was so hot, but we took the time to sit around and enjoy the sunshine.

     Next morning we were up,and packed, dropped Sukhpal at the train and headed over to Stanmore Hall, a caravan park just outside Bridgnorth in Shropshire.

      I woke up early Sunday morning, just as the sun was rising over the campsite.  I could see the sky through the sunroof, which we had  to leave open over-night as it was so hot the night before-it was only October after all.  I crept out in my nightie, trying not to crunch on the gravel floor, as everyone around us had dogs asleep in their tents.

          ....the smallest, and scruffiest vehicle on the whole estate...

    
     ....despite the pink start, it was still a beautiful day-so much for the shepherd's warning..