Halloween!

Halloween went by in a blur! I knitted Maisie's witch's hat last year and knitted, then felted her witch's skirt for this year. When I find my scribbled notes, I'll stick them up.

She loved her costume and looked darned cute, might have to make her another, not black, one!

We had a fun day, dancing in the puddles, feeding the ponies down the road from my parents house and admiring the berries and litchens becoming visible on the trees. Then some last minute pumpkin carving happened followed by trick or treating with Maisie for the first time. Such fun!

puddle photos thanks to Hugh!



Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

It's the little things.....

• Beautiful handmade gift (my favorite sort!) for Maisie on her Birthday from my dear friend Rebekah of snap it stitch it stick it. Check out her lovely blog! 

• Exploring our new surroundings

 

•  New work on the needles for a new "little thing" arriving the end of Winter!

• Getting our toes into the (rare) sunlight whenever we can.

• Finding new favorite trees.

• Birthday celebrations that last a week and family-get-togethers.

Especially these days, still surrounded by boxes and the general chaos that moving house brings, it's the little things that are making my day!

Walk up the fields (or appreciating local biodiversity!)

Tremella mesenterica- Yellow Brain Fungus

When my sister and I were small we spent our days trampling through the fields and "jumping ditches". The fields in front of our house weren't just the grazing pastures of our local farmers livestock they were called "wonderland" and the fields to the back were "fairyland". These magical lands were filled with other worldly creatures and hidden treasures not to mention all the rabbits, badgers and foxes that did actually live there. Nature and our imaginations combined to create the perfect playground and hours would pass as we explored our environment. As I got older the fields were replaced with going into town but the influence of those days must have led to my decision to study to become a zoologist. Over the years I have gotten out of the habit of heading up the fields but now life's path has once again lead me back out. It's one of "my things" that Maisie can be connected to nature and enjoy the outdoors and so exploring the hillside around our house.

 It was with that in mind that we went for a little walk up our hill to see what we could see and wow...isn't there a lot to see when you start looking?

The "lazy beds", clearly visible now that most of the vegetation has died back. The beautiful Scots Pine that looks glorious from one end of the year the other.....and in typical Irish fashion, stone walls everywhere.

Looking forward to our next field trip already!