October Visit to Herefordshire - Part 1 : Hatfield, Walk, Monkland Cheese Dairy

 

Last week we finally managed to get back to the caravan for four nights and D came with us which was great as it gave me the motivation to go out with him and enjoy his company.

There are definite signs of autumn tints appearing now in the leaves on the Herefordshire Oak.

The Octopus Tree

The Constable Tree(s)

The perennial wallflower is still flowering as is the rose in a pot.

This is the view from the lounge which we will lose should the proposed development be given permission and go ahead.

D went a walk to the Hen House one morning to buy some eggs and was lucky enough to see a Red Kite. I haven't seen one there for ages so it is good news they are still around.

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*D

We arrived on the Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday D and I went to Monkland Cheese Dairy to stock up on some of their delicious cheeses.

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*D

These were the purchases and in the box is a slice of their delicious Herefordshire Apple cake.  We do have a book of Monkland Dairy Recipes and the apple cake recipe is in there so one day I will try making one at home.

On the way back we stopped off at Morrisons to do a small food shop and D took some photos of leaves and berries in the car park.

*D

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Mistletoe growing on a tree by B and Q and a house decorated for Hallowe'en.

*D

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A view of the lane as we drove back and were nearing Hatfield. The lanes there are very narrow and I spend most of my time praying I won't meet a tractor coming the other way!

*D

I did use the bat detector most nights but I wasn't picking up any bats and we didn't see any. The house martins have departed for the winter although I did see a few on our last visit.

On the Thursday D and I went to a pumpkin farm and then we visited a new church which I will write about in the next few posts.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 and those marked *D were taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or one of my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks ).

Mid September Visit to Herefordshire

 

Last weekend we made a brief visit to Herefordshire just for 3 nights. The journey there was a bit of a nightmare as the M42 by Redditch was closed between two junctions due to an accident so we had to make a huge detour to travel across country! The journey ended up taking 3 hours rather than the usual 90 minutes!

There is not much change in the Herefordshire Trees although I think the leaves on the Octopus Tree may be starting to change colour very slightly?

Herefordshire Oak

Octopus Tree

Constable Tree(s)

The pink geranium is still flowering really well. I must remember to bring it home with us when we winterise the caravan.

There are about ten tomatoes on D's tomato plant.

D and I are beginning to think the chilli plant was mislabelled and it is actually a green pepper plant!

Teasel in the garden. Despite B's efforts to eradicate them they managed to self seed.  I am quite pleased as when they are in flower they attract pollinators and the seedheads are good for goldfinches in the winter.

The Hawthorn hedge is full of berries.

Apart from going to Tesco Tenbury Wells on the Saturday to do a food shop yet again we didn't go anywhere. I am still hoping D will come with us on one of our visits. E did plan to come with us last weekend but in the end she stayed at home as her friend who now lives in Blackpool was returning for the weekend and she wanted to see her.

There is not much other news. I am still not sleeping very well and continue to try and fend off cellulitis. It really is becoming rather wearing!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.  (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

Mid August Visit to Herefordshire

 

In between the medical appointments we managed to escape to Herefordshire just for two nights last weekend.  The main purpose of the visit was to water the plants! The journey there was a nightmare as the M42 was closed that weekend between several junctions due to perishing HS2 work :(  It took us 50 minutes to get to Solihull to join the motorway there (it normally takes 20 minutes!). Annoyingly, I think the M42 is going to be closed for several more weekends which will make journeys to and from Herefordshire far more lengthy.

It was noticeable on the journey how many trees were losing leaves or changing their leaf colour.  I think this is due to all the hot dry weather we have been having as the trees get stressed and  shut down early to try and conserve moisture.

This is the  lovely view from the kitchen table where I sit and read or use my laptop.

Interestingly the leaves on the Herefordshire trees were not changing colour.

Herefordshire Oak

Octopus Tree

Constable Tree(s)

It was a relief to see that most of the plants in the garden, borders and pots had survived our absence again!

The rose in the pot is looking particularly lovely at the moment.

I am so glad I bought this geranium as it is flowering profusely again.

Mini alliums have finally more or less come into flower.

Just one chilli and  one tomato on the plants

Apologies that so many of my photos are similar to other recent Herefordshire posts. I keep hoping D will come with us and motivate me to go out somewhere!

This is the lovely rose we inherited in the garden.

Timothy sat by the little jug I bought on the Isle of Wight. I will probably use it as a vase.

We returned home last Monday when the M42 had re-opened! Hopefully, soon we can return and stay for longer.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

Mid July Visit to Herefordshire

 

Inbetween medical appointments, family birthdays, car service and mot, gas boiler service etc., we managed to get away to Herefordshire the week before last for four nights.

We arrived on the Tuesday afternoon. First task was to water the pots and garden!  The plants had suffered yet again from the dry hot weather.  I've now lost the oldest lavender plant I had there but the rose in a pot, geranium, new lavender, houseleeks, herbs, tomato and chilli plants had managed to survive.  Most of the plants in the garden and border are still more or less ok.  If we continue to have hot dry summers I may have to have a re-think as to whether it is worth bothering having pots.

Cattle sheltering from the sun under the Herefordshire Oak

The Octopus Tree in the centre of the photo.

The Constable Tree(s)

As you can see there has not been much change in the Herefordshire Trees since the last visit.

Teasel in the garden

D's chilli plant has two flowers :)

On the Wednesday we went into Leominster to do a food shop at Morrisons. 

Thursday and Friday we just stayed at the caravan and yet again I spent a lot of time reading. If I am honest it really was too hot to go out visiting places and walking although I was tempted by the thought of a church visit as they are usually so cool inside.

On the Friday I went outside and counted butterflies for Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count.

I just counted the maximum number of butterflies seen at any one time in the 15 minutes of the count.

Meadow Brown x 1

Small White x 4

Gatekeeper x 4

Large White x 2

Holly Blue x 1

Sorry no photos - the butterflies were far too active!  No sign of the Red Admirals, Peacocks or Speckled Woods we had seen on other days!

Timothy was not enjoying the heat any more than me.

Early on the Friday morning before I had woken up B saw three Green Woodpeckers on the grass in front of the caravan. One of them was a juvenile being fed by the adults.  Later in the day we saw a Linnet feeding on seeds in the grass.  I was really pleased with this sighting as I haven't seen a Linnet for years and it was a new species for the caravan site.

Linnet

I used the bat detector most nights and it is good to know the bats are still around the caravan. They weren't appearing until about 10.30 pm so it wasn't easy to see them unless they were flying against the sky.

We left early Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we return and I hope it will be a bit cooler next time! Static caravans cool down quickly at night but they heat up in the sun very quickly in the daytime :(  I am very pleased we thought to buy a tower fan last year!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).