I think the resident pheasants were taken by surprise by the later opening time. The sound of the males calling filled the park. There were literally hundreds of them. Some were content to hide away in the shrubbery but others gathered on the grass, challenging one another which at times led to some flapping and scuffling. The females seemed to be keeping well away.
At dusk the homecoming geese added to the chorus.
After some initial interest, Ruby ignored them all, having more interesting things to sniff and occupy her mind.
As darkness fell we headed back towards the abbey. As we walked closer to the ruins the calls of the pheasants were replaced by the atmospheric sound of monks singing.
It was also possible to wander about amongst the ruins and view the effects of the lighting. We were lucky in that as we headed to the car park the rain, which had managed to hold off for our visit, was just starting to fall.
As we knew that we would be arriving home for a late dinner, I had prepared a turkey cottage pie ready to go straight in the oven. I'd frozen the turkey mixture when we last had this dish as I made enough for using twice. Last time the base was topped with a sweet potato and potato mash but this time I made the mash from a mixture of our potatoes and carrots.
We only visited the allotment twice last week. During our visits we managed to clear a few more beds and remove the climbing bean supports. The canes were bundled up and popped in the greenhouse for winter.
It's starting to look rather bare although some beds are still planted up.
Our trial of two ways of growing overwintering onions is now at the stage where there is no noticeable difference between the onions planted as seed-sown plantlets and the ones planted as sets. Our afternoon on Sunday was shorter than usual due to the clocks being put back an hour but we left time to gather together a small harvest before heading home.  |
25 October - Flakee carrots, Clapton cauliflowers, Safari French beans, Mixed tomatoes and a few peas.
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Our cauliflowers look as though they are all going to produce heads at once. At the moment the heads are quite small so we are hoping that they will do a bit more growing. I needed some cauliflower for a meal, that I have planned for this week, so we brought home a couple in spite of their diminutive size. Other than the carrots the rest of the harvest was made up of odds and ends from plants still hanging on. The few peas combined with some Uchiki Kuri squash, onions and sweetcorn to make a risotto which we had for Sunday's dinner.
We are harvesting some fresh produce from our garden greenhouse. In there we have tubs of lettuce and herbs which we harvest as and when we need them
Another of our vegetable based meals last week was bean and vegetable curry. Into this went some of our potatoes and carrots along with sweet corn and peas from the freezer. I replaced the spices in the recipe with a tablespoon of Rogan Josh curry paste. I made enough of this for two meals and our second helping was accompanied by one of Martyn's home made naans. He hadn't tried making them before but they turned out well. We enjoyed them more than the shop bought version shown in the photo above. Next time I'll remember to take a photo of them. That's all for this week - will next week be the week that we enter tier three, whatever that will mean.
As always Stay safe and well
As usual, I'm linking to Harvest Monday on Dave's blog
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Good to hear from you and how you are doing amid this lockdown stuff. The abbey trip looks well worth it at least the pictures you took are. Imagining hearing the monks chanting gives me thrills. Just yesterday I was wondering how I could celebrate fall in food. A mixed mash over shepherd's pie sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pity that the music was recorded, Jane. It would have added to the atmosphere op have had a choir dressed as real monks but I guess they couldn't have kept up the chanting for that length of time.
DeleteAlthough I couldn't eat it, your pie looks delicious. The Abbey looks so serene at dusk, all lit up. However, I point and say, "look, people!". Spent the morning, unexpectedly, gardening as the weather turned out better than expected. H**sew**k can wait!
ReplyDeleteYes that type of work can definitely wait, Deborah. The people kept wll aeay from each other - often it was avoiding getting close to another torch.
DeleteNice pictures Sue and a lot of news in your blog better than the doom and gloom of main news.
ReplyDeleteThe news is depressing isn't it, David? In the daylight the conditions were rather gloomy but that gloom disappeared as night fell. At least I bettered, Martyn's iphone in that he couldn't zoom in to the window.
DeleteGlad you've avoided lockdown. The Abbey looks amazing, and it must have been wonderful to hear the singing at the same time. Nice to see you still have flowers as well as veg. Dahlias are still going strong here. The curry looks delicious and I like the idea of homemade naan bread.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure how much longer we’ll duck the bullet, CJ. The abbey visits was definitely a different experience. We weren’t sure how Ruby would cope will all the torches in the pitch black but she didn’t bat an eyelid. I kept her under our torchlight so no-one accidentally trod on her though.
DeletePoking my head out of a snowbank to admire your beautiful abbey visit and food.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, tepals snow! Is that usual for you at this time of year,
DeleteNormally it would fall and melt in a day or so. Horribly cold so it piles up instead.
DeleteYour beds certainly look more tidy than mine. I have clearing to be done but not much motivation to get out there and do it. I'll have to give that naan recipe a try. We've been buying them instead of making them, but I have wanted to give them a go for some time now. They look like the ideal bread to go with that curry!
ReplyDeleteMartyn used a frying pan to cook the naans, Dave and he was a bit concerned how hot it needed to be. Now we know the naans work out we need to consider something more suitable.
DeleteWhat a lovely outing. Hearing pheasants calling and then the gorgeous lit abbey with monks chanting. Wow. Your meals look delicious too. The names of your vegetables make them sound so friendly.
ReplyDeleteThey’re even more friendly when they are sitting on our plates, Lisa
DeleteLovely photos, especially of the lit abbey and I love the look of your mixed mash toppings, very tasty I’m sure.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed re tier 3. I think it’s time for us all to lockdown actually but we’ll see...
You’re probably right, Belinda but I guess this means that the people who are already being careful have to be even more restricted whilst those who ignore the rules just carry on ignoring them.
DeleteI love the Abbey, the lights, birdsong and chanting must have been wonderfully atmospheric! Glad the rain held off. I always make enough to freeze a batch, it's good not having to cook every day. I must try carrot and potato mash, it looks lovely as does that risotto. Good to see you still have tomatoes and salad crops.xxx
ReplyDeleteIt is good to have a day off cooking, Dina. Martyn cooks too so we each usually have some days when someone else cooks our meal.
DeleteEven on a gloomy day the park looks lovely, I guess I'm craving the sight of some green since things are so very very brown here at this time of year. But the abbey lit up must be a real treat to see!
ReplyDeleteIt’s certainly very green, Michelle although very soggy too.
DeleteFountains Abbey looks very atmospheric in the dark. Cottage pie is a good meal to prepare in advance, it's something I often make if I want something quick to just pop in the oven. We've been wondering when we'll be in Tier 3 too, though I think they should just put the whole country in lockdown again otherwise we're going to be in a right state by Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIt was atmospheric, Jo. It was an even quicker meal as the ‘filling’ just needed defrosting.
DeleteWell we all have lockdown now - sort of.
Hi again Sue, still on catch up here 😊 delighted to see views of Fountains Abbey again, especially with the evening lighting. Yes, I agree the soundtrack in the background must have made your visit enchanting. Sorry to hear of you awaiting the news of lockdown getting closer again. Your meals look great again and its good you got sorted a bit at the allotment too.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very different atmosphere, Shirley. Lockdown is now a reality
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