Lammas: Day 2

It's the second day of our Lammas week. Today was a work day - and not an easy one in the slightest - so it was all about remembering that it's the start of harvest season.

Blueberry Smoothie

I made a smoothie for breakfast on the way to work today. If I'm honest, I should've blended it for longer, but I didn't want to be late for my tram!

Cauliflower Steak

For dinner tonight, Rob made purple cauliflower steak with red wine sauce. And yes, it was amazing! The purple cauliflower was from our recent Groobarbs veg box, by the way.

Lammas: Day 1

It's the first day of this year's Lammas celebrations. We've not got a lot of huge celebrations planned, but we have some nice little treats lined up to celebrate the high point of summer and the start of harvest season.

Walk in the Park

I took one of the residents of the care home where I volunteer for a walk in Heaton Park today. We saw beech nuts, bindweed and balsam, plus ripening rosehips and holly berries. But my absolute highlight was when my companion pointed out a family of swans, including cygnets who haven't got their grown-up feathers yet.

Summerween Picnic

Yesterday, I celebrated Summerween (for no real reason, except I thought it would be fun). The resident I took to the park asked if we could have a Summerween picnic, because he really liked the Halloween picnic we had last October. I did my best with what I could find!

Blackberries

Brambling season has begun! I made sure I had a box with me so I could pick some blackberries while we were in the park.

Corn on the Cob

First of the season, from our recent Groobarbs veg box.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1

It's the first day of Halloween month! Once again, we're celebrating for all of October. I'm not sure about everything the month will bring, but I imagine it will include pumpkins and horror films.

Walk and Talk in the Woods

And mushrooms, of course! Today started off with a Walk and Talk session for Friends of Bailey's Wood, and the number of mushrooms we spotted (including fairy rings) was incredible. We ended the session with a nice seasonal treat of apple pies and squash.

Fiendish Fancies

It's the season for Mr Kipling Halloween cakes! We had a Fiendish Fancy when I got in from the woods, and I imagine we'll have another one before the end of the month.

Mushrooms at Castlerea Care Home

I was volunteering at Castlerea Care Home this afternoon, and I couldn't help noticing a rather eye-catching display of mushrooms in the garden when I arrived.

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue

I always like making sure I watch The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue at some point every October. Tonight, we went to see it at Cultplex (who also like to show it every October). It was a fun trip, because this was the first film at Cultplex after they've been closed for a big refurbishment, taking over the whole of the building and installing new seats and a new projector. It was really nice to be there for the reopening.

Autumn Equinox: Day 7

It's the final day of our Autumn Equinox celebrations! And it's the Autumn Equinox, so the first day of autumn! Rob was at work today, so I just had a few nice, lowkey things planned to celebrate the start of the new season.

Autumn Walk

Okay, maybe this wasn't the most dramatic nature walk ever, as I was only going to the supermarket. But I got to see plenty of little seasonal things along the way, not least the incredible amount of acorns on the oak trees.

Maple Hazel Hot Chocolate

Popped into Costa before tackling the supermarket. I don't normally like hot chocolate, but I felt obliged to have the most autumnal drink on the menu today.

Apple Crumble Cake

The rest of the day was mostly spent cooking and baking with things from our most recent Groobarbs veg box. First up was an apple crumble cake.

Banana Bread

I know I make banana bread all year round, but I'm calling this an autumnal recipe because I added blueberries to it!

Leek, Potato and Fennel Soup

I made a leek, potato and fennel soup today, which definitely tasted very seasonal. I served it with a bit of crumbled blue cheese (which you can't see in the picture) and some walnuts.


And so the wheel of the year turns... We'll be celebrating again at Halloween. And as we're doing 31 Days of Halloween again (starting on 1st October)... the wheel is turning pretty quickly this time.

Autumn Equinox: Day 6

The sixth day of our Autumn Equinox festivities... and time for a picnic!

Turton and Entwistle Reservoir

We went for a picnic today at Turton and Entwistle Reservoir today. It was so sunny!

Colourful Forest Tea

We took a moment to enjoy the season with Colourful Forest tea. I can't remember where I got the tea from, but it was nice to just pause, sip the tea, and let the season and the forest wash over us.

Autumn Equinox: Day 5

It's the fifth day of our Autumn Equinox festivities, and we had quite a lot planned for today. It's nice to be off work, so we can have a bit of seasonal fun today.

Autumn Equinox Walk in the Park

This morning, I led a seasonal walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park. To be honest, it just descended into a mushroom hunt, but there were some beautiful specimens to be found.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special

Then this afternoon it was my annual Hannah's Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special on North Manchester FM, where I played seasonal flash fiction from 15 writers, played some seasonal music, and ate some apple pies with the volunteers at the community centre where the radio station is based.

Autumn Equinox Dinner

We had our traditional Autumn Equinox dinner of vegetarian meatloaf and root vegetable & saffron rice tonight.

Autumn Equinox Gifts

And after dinner we exchanged our traditional gifts and cards. These whiskies will go into the tasting set that we'll enjoy in December.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

We rounded off the evening with the traditional Autumn Equinox film... Dark Night of the Scarecrow.

Autumn Equinox: Day 4

It's the start of squash season! Hooray! We didn't have any time for festivities today (work), but we did have time for squash.

Spaghetti Squash

We got a spaghetti squash in this week's Groobox delivery, so we had it for tea, baked with cheese and truffle oil. 'Tis the season!