November blues

I realised this morning that we have hardly been anywhere as a family for ages...maybe a day at the seaside over the summer....but since we moved into our house, we have rarely set off in the car all together.

So today, we decided to 'go out' for the morning. We didn't need to go too far to find a picturesque spot.

The reservoir near Colomera - just twenty minutes drive away

Created between 1982 and 1989 and now offers fishing, water sports and swimming.

Can you see the heron centre left? I just managed to catch it as it flew off...

 

At the chiringito by the lake...perfectly placed chairs!

November....23 degrees and all is well.

Time for a drink...

Yes, seeing the tapas before we ate them would have been slightly more photogenic...we had five drinks, three plates of fish, some aubergine slices, a big mixed salad and a basket of bread...for 10euros.

Exploring the reservoir

 

Creating some amazing and comical echoes and sound effects....

Hugely peaceful

We came home a couple of hours later, stopping off to buy a panettone from the supermarket...delicious with coffee. My thoughts feel a long way from bonfires and toffee just now!

My November blues....what colour are yours?

In lieu of autumn...

I may have mentioned how cold I felt whilst I was back in England in my last post, but I was conscious (when the mist and fog lifted) of a wealth of beautiful autumnal colours in the surrounding countryside. Being back home again (said so easily - this really is my home now) the weather has definitely changed from successive warm and sunny days to a noticeable nip in the air from early evening through until the sun is fully risen. We've had a few days of damp drizzle too. The colours are different though.

Surrounded as we are by olive groves, whose colour - a lovely soft, silvery green - is pretty constant all year round, I have already realised in previous years, that autumn is not much more than the name of the season - it doesn't conjure up rich reds, yellows and oranges, nor crispy piles of fallen leaves (there are some...don't let me overstate this) nor the promise of Bonfire Night coming soon. And whilst the schools do now talk about Halloween and the shops are trying to make us buy costumes, maps and bags of sweets, here, it's All Saints' Day that is really celebrated and florists work hard to supply bouquets for families to take to their dear departed ones.

Having a place on the land this year, we might be tempted to have a bonfire on 5th November with some homemade toffee, some parkin  (a traditional Yorkshire cake made with ginger and treacle...) and maybe baked potatoes - and marshmallows to roast. It won't be the same without sparklers and Roman Candles and Catherine Wheels....I used to so love Bonfire - or Plot - Night as we used to call it. Anyone not entirely familiar with this will have to wait til next week when I shall write a bit more about it all. (You'll have to wait because I shall have to check out a few facts before I start with 'A few hundred years or so ago...')

This week has seen me walking more. I used to walk a good hour and a half a day - though not all in one go - when we lived in the Calle Bolivia. Now, I hardly walk anywhere even though I rarely sit down. It's obviously not quite the same and my waistline - well, it's disappeared is what it's done! So, whilst at my sister's, I plotted a couple of circular walks that I can do. So far, when I have taken Darwin out for a walk, we've gone for about 20 minutes or so in one direction, then turned round and come back and I don't like doing that. On Monday, we did a 5.8km route along the river towards La Pedriza, across the bridge before arriving home on the other side of the river. And we did it again today.
And today, it was really hot! I was quite sweaty when I returned and really felt as though I'd been exercising - Darwin made a dash for his water as I opened the gate! I only had my phone with me, but want to share some of my photos of Andalucia in the autumn.

A bit blurry, but blue skies and empty fields

Trees following the river and a big, ploughed empty field in front

Lots of green still...and blue...
and the blurry bit in the foreground is yellowy, frondy asparagus

Again, rather blurred...but this may just shows signs of autumn next time I pass...

I have noticed some lovely posts on some of my favourite blogs about autumn - how is it looking where you are?

The sudden onset of Autumn

We've spent the first summer here in our new house and although we knew we were enjoying it at the time, this morning, we realised again just how lovely it was to have a garden with a little pool and a nice cool house to escape the fierce Andalucian sun. Today, for the third day in a row, we have woken up to fog and low clouds creeping over the surrounding hilltops and in addition to the general dampness this creates, this morning we have had quite a heavy rainfall. The children have gone off to school in sensible footwear and raincoats - though Mateo chose to take an umbrella rather than a coat. I suspect we might not see that one again unless it's still raining at 3pm...it's hereditary, I always leave umbrellas around.

I don't mind too much - as Janice said before she arrived, she wasn't coming for the weather, she was coming to see me. However, my mum arrives tomorrow evening and I really want it to be pleasant weather for her. I know it's been a lovely summer in England this year and that she too is coming to see me and the children first and foremost, but really - she should be able to expect a little (heart) warming sunshine too. Last night, we lit our wood-burning stove, we'd been so damp and chilly all day. (Later on, we wished we hadn't as it did get a tad too hot!)

I am so hoping that these clouds will drop what they have to and then move on. I am so looking forward to Mum's visit - her second this year - and this time, as I'm not teaching in the afternoons, we will have the opportunity to perhaps visit Cordoba or one or two other lovely places a little further afield. That is, if I can prise her out of the garden!

And as the weather has turned chilly, my thoughts are turning to chocolate. I don't mind the cooler weather and shorter days at all really - it is 'making' time! I have an order currently making its way back from the UK. There are a couple of people around here who make their living by tripping backwards and forwards to the UK taking and collecting things for people, so as it works out cheaper and easier than any other option, I shall have all my usual stock here within the week! 

It really doesn't seem a moment since we were fending off the strong Andalucian sunshine and taking full advantage of the splash pool and enjoying long, long days....and I was eagerly counting the weeks, then the days until Janice arrived. And whoosh!! All good fun whilst it lasted but suddenly, she's been and gone. Gosh, is all I can say!! Thank goodness for blogging as it will be such fun to piece it all together again and see it from the outside too - making something tangible from our shared memories of the few days we had together. I am looking forward to that.

And now, I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening and hoping time doesn't rush by quite so quickly, though she's staying a bit longer that Janice and Mark did. Plus, I have a little surprise for her at the end of her time here - but hush, don't say a word just yet!

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods. Are you all mellow fruitfulness, or just damp and chilly - or are you gearing up to summer and sunshine?

(Fingers crossed my camera will be fixed very soon! Can't bear not being able to share photos!)

Have a misty old olive tree taken from Wikipedia for now...getting ready for harvest by the looks of it.