Thursday, September 30, 2010

Autumn begins

It’s a little bit like leaving the birthday cards out when you leave the post about your birthday at the top for a few days, isn’t it?

We had a lovely weekend, I am now a fan of tiramisu. By the time we got back from taking Dom and J-M to the station on Sunday, Olivier had left too. So all that was left were the empty rooms and the washing.

I don’t know how it is where you come from, but all of a sudden the leaves have changed colour and are falling off the trees. It’s quite cold in the mornings, though still sunny during the day. I’ve had lots of big spiders to vacuum up before I go to bed.

This year we don’t seem to have seen so many insects. I think it’s got something to do with the hundreds of butterflies I saw last summer. The village was sprayed with something by a helicopter in the spring. I’ve seen a few butterflies but only really during the month of September. One stick insect, no praying mantises or ladybirds, very few bees, one queen wasp and a few wood lice. I was a bit silly, I sprayed the woodlice with insecticide, by an open window and couldn’t breathe properly myself for a few minutes. (now I know what it feels like). I hope that they come back next year –but not the woodlice.

7 comments:

Caroline said...

Cold and wet so I don't think we shall be having a good display of colour this autumn.

Sparse picking of blackberries and much of the veg garden is just waiting to be wiped out by a frost. Apples and pears have been picked and stored and will soon be filling the house with the ripening aroma. A small consolation prize as the evenings get darker, we did not even get a good summer to look back on. Only seven months till May!

Caroline xxx

Anna said...

Yeah, I don't like to smile, I look wired then! I don't like tiramiso, I'm a bit weird, I don't like chocolate!

cassie-b said...

Our trees are just starting to turn now. We had some heavy rains and wind the past couple of days, and it didn't help our autumn display. There are a lot of leaves on the streets.

Nice that you get to see your kids. That empty nesting thing takes a bit of getting used to. And seeing them regularly helps a lot.

Véro B said...

This was your first tiramisú? I can certainly understand you becoming a fan. :) I love both kinds -- the cake and the parfait. Love the flavour!

I hope your village is not killing off good insects!

Anonymous said...

You have to love tiramisu. We're just seeing the leaves turn colour now. It's rained all day today so there are few insects about. Thousands of spiders though. I found one under the oven the other night & he must have been a good 2 inches across. A handsome beast.

Alex said...

I love tiramisu! :) Too bad it only comes in a box, here. I suppose I could be super industrious and make it myself, but...it makes me tired just thinking about it!

Anji said...

Caroline: In the few places that there atre blackberries now there are plenty. Pity we can't reach them... Our summer wasn't really memorable.

Anna: I didn't think I'd like it as there is coffee in it (though I drink strong coffee).

Cas: Very quiet weekend this weekend. We've got wind and rain today, I wonder what will be left tomorrow.

Veronica: I think whatever they sprayed killed whatever got in the way. Hopefully next spring the insects will be back.

Graham: I don't measure our spiders, but some of them are rather large. As long as you don't find them inside the oven I suppose.

Alex: I was out of the kitchen while it was being made. J-M couldn't find my electric whisk so he whisked it manually and was very pleased with the result