The closing days of Autumn

Faced with a raw and elemental Cornwall, Olley has taken a wise option and selected a sunny window sill until conditions have improved to the extent to be suitable for a cat. Day after day recently the gales have torn at the land and tossed the sea into a foaming frenzy and day after day Olly has slept - contentedly soundly, dedicated - a one cat mission to shut out the world. A world that has not been our gently tranquil parish but a snarling moaning torrent of noise always at the edge of our hearing - the pulsating beat of the sea from below the village, the steady hum of the wind in the phone lines and the thrashing of a thousand branches dancing in the hedgerows.




Yet still we have constants in our days - the Robin that visited the stables throughout the summer bearing Oats and Barley carelessly discarded by the horses back to his brood conveniently positioned just beside the stable entrance gate. Day after day hour after hour - the frenzied workload of the tiny aviator flitting into the bay tree to be rewarded by a burst of cheeping that brought to mind the rapturous applause of a theatre audience. Now that Autumn is fading he still darts in and out of the stables on his own personal mission to populate the world with plump Christmas robins.



And in the house cocooned in the blissful silent peace of the three foot thick walls I cheered myself up within the first Hyacinths of spring on the stairs windows sill to sweetly perfume our journeys to and through without overpowering our consciousness.

And in the garden the Banana tree that was almost given up for dead after last winter when it was destroyed to the ground. Well today it has sprouted again after a cosseting mulch of Sooty's best discarded bedding and dose of extreme neglect for the Summer - so a gardeners hopes spring eternal and Olley is waiting until Spring!

The friendly moon

A friendly moon was sailing on its back just above the stables this evening, to welcome our new guests. Charles took this shot of the lights glowing in the stables by the car park just before we switched the flood lights on ready to guide our next guests in. Will we have a storm watch weekend after the gentle sunny day today - opinions vary and there is a tiny rumour that the sun will shine again tomorrow.............well we'll see!

The moon meeting the last of the sunset over our garden at ednovean farm tonight

and now because Christmas is coming - I've included this photo because it features a Christmas Tree! Taken of Charles and I long before we were married at St just Feast on Boxing Day, the two horses JR and Tigger are alas long gone although Tiggs is buried in a place of honor, under the statue of discus thrower in the Italian Garden...........a long ago memory of an old Christmas Tradition...........how many shopping days to go?

A sea of White horses

We woke up this morning to a sea of white horse - a churning, plunging, maelstrom of energy forcing its way across Mounts Bay and encircling St Micheal's Mount. Charles nobly set off up the field to try to capture the sea bracing himself against the gale leaving Sootty (the horse) watched dubiously from his stable at the gathering gale, that was whipping the date palms across the car park into a frenzy of activity. Poor Sooty hates the wind and obviously didn't want to go out this morning, thank you very much but he needn't have worried for today there was too much debris being carried around by the storm to risk the lanes and villages.
Instead we set of alone through the village to Perranuthnoe Beach with the camera, eager to get closer to the storm. We were not disappointed to find the usual balmy secluded sands covered by the relentless waves that traveled in pulses across the cove before the wind.



Waves breaking over Cudden Point from the beach slipway

The slip way down to the beach today, two hours off of high tide

The rolling waves

The cliffs to the east of Perran Beach that lead to Cudden Point - great for dramatic storm watching

Towards Mousehole from Perranuthnoe Beach

A view from Ednovean Farm

Storm casualties at Perranuthnoe Beach

We walked along the cliffs a little way towards Marazion and Charles took this last shot as the sky started to clear and now at last we have sparkling sunshine for the afternoon but still I'm glad i took the time to visit the sea and feel the energy and taste the fine salt again.

Mounts Bay this morning

The view over Mounts bay from Ednovean Farm this morning

St Micheal's Mount through the palm trees this morning

Mounts bay looked so dramatic this morning from our garden framed by a jumble of palms, that I couldn't resist another picture, as ST Micheal's Mount was cast into sharp relief by the liquid morning sunshine. Our first job of the morning is always to take the brood mares and foals out to the pastures and this morning I had time to climb the hillside armed with a camera as i had no pressing breakfast engagement with the Rayburn to meet. Instead i stalked little Archie across the dew laden grass in a bid to take his photo as he paused by patches of mud or ate dry looking twigs as little boys will if they think they are wanted by the camera. Still the view from the top of the hill was worth it high above Mounts Bay and of course the best photo of him was the first one I took beside the gate!

Archie planning his day with the sun shining through his magnificent whiskers

Catching up with the girls before they move on to the next field

The private life of Archie - climbing on to a spoil heap from a badger set/fox earth - all the better to see across the fields ( the hole is safely under the Cornish bank)

oops sorry read Annie as Archie - this autumn break is doing me no good at all!

A visit from the blacksmith

Remember little Annie when she was born in May?



Our Blacksmith Nigel Stevens, came to Ednovean Farm today to renew Sooty and Danni's shoes and when he had finished - he and Charles set off up to the top of the farm to check the brood mares and foals feet. I followed a few minutes and circled through several fields before finding the group just behind the house. Dolly spotted me first and abandoned her efforts to supervise the inspection of Annie's feet in favour of pushing her nose towards the camera - come to think of it, she is such a curious filly we only seem to get photos of her nose!




Sneaking up on Charles and Nigel from behind the mine - that's Archie diligently following his mum April and Belle right ( due to foal in February) "hedging and ditching" for the best herbs

and finally I found them with half sisters Annie and Amie

Diva on the left

The evening sky above a mine spoil heap that was part of the workings of Wheal Neptune

All the horses came in to their nice warm stables as the sky started to look ominously dark but after a balmy day they were all content to eat their supper and retire to nibbling their haynets.

Annie with her Mum Lizzie tucking into their evening haynet as you can see Lizzie has applied a mega mud pack against the weather.

The November lottery

The view from the garden over Perranuthnoe last night



The sunset reflected in the french doors of the Blue room



..........but was this one better?




Dusk over the village from Ednovean Farm



The garden Rabbit ( no 328)



Rabbit spotting in the Italian Garden



View across the field in front of Ednovean Farm to St Micheal's Mount




Perranuthnoe this morning

The weather is always a lottery in the Autumn - general dry but this year horribly wet. Yesterday for instance was bitingly cold but a garden seat usually favoured by the cats in our little herb garden, proved to be the perfect place for our morning coffee. A surprisingly warm interlude that reminded us of those summer days not so long ago and gave us hope for the shorter days ahead. Our day slid towards a quiet sunset -golden and discreet, it was reflected in the French doors of the Blue room that has hosted so many guest for "the sunset" this year but now lays quietly empty...........until the next time of course.

A doorway to Autumn

I opened the front door to find Autumn today touching the fig trees that line the side of the courtyard with a mellow dusky hue as they gently fade towards their winters sleep. We hacked out earlier than usual this morning around the lanes passed hedgerows still spangled with berries in exquisite brightly coloured garlands, now reflected in an unconscious, mocking parody by local shops, as the Christmas decorations move from discreet half glimpsed corners to centre stage to steal our attention. And yet no artful Christmas garland can compete with the clean simplicity of the shiny swags of the brightest berries stretched across the hedgerows best admired from the steady progress of a horse back.

Today the sun swore brightly at the camera lens, confusing it into over exposed images as i laboured with the camera to capture some essence of the day. Ah well tomorrow is another day and perhaps I'll try again!



The sun looked enchanting reflecting the pump shadow on the courtyard wall - alas too bright for the camera today

The constant weather fronts this week have brought heavy rain mostly over night with the horses leaving muddy footprints as they tread reluctantly out into the fields, only to stay within reach of the sheltering hedgerows, before pleading to come back in earlier and earlier. In fact they are now gathering by 3.00 o' clock in an orderly line beside the gate, each mare with her foal positioned beside her waiting patiently according to their order of seniority Only the local surfers have enjoyed the Atlantic low that brought the rolling restless waves that have crashed in to Perranuthnoe beach below the village. Each day they can be seen winding down the tarmaced road towards the beach in a succession of vehicles, some battered some not, with their surf boards wedged beside them or mounted on roof racks, yet all with their eyes gleaming in anticipation of the seas power. Brrrrrrrrrrr!




One of the foals baby footprints in the gooey mud