There will be, I’m sure, be as many suggestions as there are people in the world for top festive food treats, so let me say right now you’re all wrong and I’m right which I’m sure is how you all feel about your preference. Thankfully this is not a vote, it’s an assertion.

Raw cake mixture. Out of the bowl, off the stirring spoon even from between the spiny things that I cannot at the moment name but, that’s the thing.

Never mind the Christmas pud or the cakes of various flavour, never mind the experts chocolates in their fancy boxes, all very nice I can confirm but not a patch on a drop of ‘the mixture’.

Of course the reality is that it’s got absolutely nothing to do with how good the cake might end up being or how good it might look, could be a complete dogs breakfast when it comes to the presentation- don’t care, and that’s because when you have a homemade cake and the maker of that cake invites you, you personally to enjoy that mix, well…

Yes it’s memory of people and place, warmth and happiness but it’s really about love isn’t it.

Happy are those who are offered the raw cake mixture for they know true love.

Merry Christmas everybody.

There’s something slightly sad about a outdoor swimming pool in December. This year there’s been a conscious decision not to cover its big blue winter coat but to leave it open and this comes with good and bad consequence.

On the positive side there’s just the relief of not going through the rigmarole of closing the pool up, it’s not like we get really cold weather in southern France and looking at the expanse of plastic cover and tripping over the ropes that hold it in place is a pain and that’s before you get to the physical pains of actually getting the cover on and off, so from that point of view as a person who does not have the benefit of an electrical retracting covering don’t miss it.

However as is ever in life missing out on one chore only means that other chores spring to life, all those leaves that previously landed on the cover now have to be fished out, all the dirt associated with winter storms well that’s straight in and straight to the bottom and that means you’d better get handy with the pool cleaning equipment because that lovely blue pool isn’t so lovely when it’s pea green.

I’d left ours and that’s where it had arrived when I realised my mistake.

The backwash of the filter system was the first job, I should have emptied the actual filters first but that didn’t occur to me until I was watching the continuing black swirl of water in the filtered – oops. Still both Jones got done and the leaves and dead mice that I found in the basket were ejected and the pulsing green soup was a smart at least.

Green. Not supposed to be green is it. New chemicals please.

An expedition to the shops that at this time of year has reduced its holdings of the required chemicals to a little above none at all got me the necessary and into the basket they went, I’d like to say with a fizz but the water at about the temperature of the North Sea precluded any such activity, still more stirring led to a slightly lesser green something a little less dense, something several grades up the tonal register what you might describe as progress.

So, more fishing for leaves in a storm and wet weather gear, more filtering and the path becomes clear it’s going to be a lot more work.

Stage 2 plus :

If you are the owner of an outdoor pool I’m sure you too have come across ‘the pool cleaner’ they are a joy and thoroughly life affirming experience to work with, ours is a Polaris – not the missile system just the in pool cleaning system or robot as we call it, although if the missile system is as temperamental as the robot then the UK défense system has a major problem. We’ve spent many happy hours making the most minute changes to this water powered contraption in a bid to have it travel the base of the pool cleaning for all its worth but what we more often end up with is the dance of a thousand coils as it spins round and round half way down the water column cleaning absolutely nothing but occasionally spraying us with water from its rear end. I think you can equate working with this device as playing the flute with one hand behind your back and some wit has put cello tape over the mouth piece.

But not anymore! Tada, with a single bound a new comer has entered the fray and electronics has hit winter pool life. Throw in, sorry, place the new pool cleaner in the water watch as it disappears into the gloom and be amazed as clean stripes start to appear on the pool bottom – its thrilling, really it is.

What not quite so thrilling is hauling it out and cleaning it up after the first foray, green gelatinous ooze and detritus whilst the rain continues to fall, still more steps in the right direction. More filtering, cleaning, chemicals please.

Stage- next:

At this point with a break in the rain and Christmas approaching I decided to take out the Polaris pipe, this means stick your hand in the cold water and unscrew from the wall, and what we find is its bloody cold and my hand at least achieves the blue that we’re looking for from the rest of the pool, certainly I think the Christmas Day swim is off my agenda.

I haven’t worked out how to get the old rattlebag out yet but it can definitely wait for another day.

Review;

Mmm, a kind of watery green with a view down to an increasingly cleaner bottom after repeated sessions with Dr electric. There’s a kind of floating miasma that the filter systems working on, let’s call it ‘tinted’, better than soup not quite transparent.

Is it worth it, not putting the cover on? Well, i suppose we would have had to do what we’re doing now but in spring so it’s not extra work it’s more bringing it forward, although the joy of pool work in December is a mixed blessing. Still no ropes stakes and covers to contend with and that is a major plus.

Sad, did I say sad, perhaps not sad just a tinge depressing with the occasional uplift as we are delivered from greenness.

Right then: more filtering, cleaning and chemicals please, where did I put the pool scoop?

Here we are again, bulb planting time, so it’s out with the bulb planting kit and find out wether the recent rains have softened the soil any, answer: a bit.

The first hole we tried resulted in a near hospitalisation as the cutter penetrated about a centimetre before coming to a halt, extra depth was only managed by me jumping into the air and onto the side bars numerous times, it was definitely one-nil to the garden and a sinking feeling as we surveyed the amount of bulbs that needed planting.

Still, nil desperandum, next hole please. A better result, thankfully and the thought that maybe we’d been to close to the big walnut tree with our first attempt.

In reality I think that since the garden exits on a base of clay and short of monsoon like rains for several weeks nothing softens it much below the very top few centimetres we really should have expected what we got. And we we got was some hard work.

All in all results for the hole digging have been a little mixed in the field or areas that haven’t seen much work it’s like a pan of concrete elsewhere not quite as bad.

We tend to the throw them out and plant them where they land methodology for siting our bulbs which can lead to some interesting results for the more ‘lusty’ throwers even leading to recalls from time to time but it’s been great to get out on on with the job for a few reasons, first the summers heat is gone and it’s a whole lot more liveable in the garden and second and maybe more importantly it’s the dream of seeing them next spring.

Anyway back to the throwing!

Ttfn

Great Autumn colour is one thing that makes these days such a wonder our iron wood is everything I mean from green to red with burnt oranges and wonder all the way

If like us you’re drowning in one our two specific veg – great i’n it !

I confess that as usual we planted far to many tomato plant , didn’t keep on top of the them as any decent and even half educated growers would and have still ended up with too much for the freezer.

This year we got it down to less than 60 tomato plants, has it helped – no. Have we (almost) to many to deal with – mehhh.

I have 20+ squash in the summer kitchen and more on the potager. The allotted shelves are full as is the freezer and my suggestion of squash pate did not go down well.

What to do.

To be sure I don’t want to waste the autumnal bounty that’s all around me, I’m storing rosehips that I collect everyday from my dog walks for later processing, squash are hardy enough as long as still on the plant so they can wait and although the temperatures are falling it’s not a disaster, so it’s triage. What needs to be done now.

The tomatoes the ripe one use or store, I’m hitting green tomato recipes hard and I have to say the hot green tomato salsa is pretty good straight off with time in the jar I expect great things. The hedgerow brambles I’ve taken as much as I think I can deal with whilst storing the rosehips in the freezer ( actually I read that a spell in the freezer after minimal prep will help the breakdown when I get back to them).

Apples are in ( well mine are but I’ve noticed other going begging so expect midnight raids). Pêche de vin: small red fleshed peaches in the vineyards – no one uses them – get in and help yourself. They take a little time to breakdown but I’ve got jars of jam already.

It’s a busy time and it’s hard to keep going but remember it doesn’t last for ever and this is the time to capitalise on all that hard work from early in the year – make hay while that autumn sun still shines. Ttfn