All posts tagged: Autumn

Pumpkin spiced muffins with maple orange glaze

Published by

We have had a busy couple of months here, starting a new job, starting school, starting preschool and celebrating a 40th birthday.  Milestones all round.   Between all those things and the increased layers of organisation that they have entailed, the unfortunate blog has been rather neglected. But it feels like we’ve turned a bit of a corner after the half-term break.  We’re finally settling into the new routines, and finding time for more activities together.  Autumn is giving way to winter, but before all the christmassy stuff starts, we decided to have a go at an autumnal bake.  And with halloween just gone, I decided that meant pumpkin!  In truth, the pumpkin decision was mainly because I had added tinned pumpkin puree to my online grocery order on a whim a few weeks ago, and it was sitting in the cupboard begging to be put to good use. As usual, the recipe below is an amalgam and adaptation of various recipes, based mainly on what we had in the cupboard and what sounded simple enough for a two-year-old helper to assist with! Pumpkin spiced muffins with maple …

Autumn Leaf Wreath

Published by

Friday was one of those beautiful autumn days where it’s sunny and still warm enough to be outside in t-shirts.  Bird Girl and I made the most of the fabulous weather to spend some time in the park after pre-school before we had to go and collect Chief Stick Collector from school.  Our local playground is surrounded by huge mature oak, plane, sycamore and horse chestnut trees. The horse chestnuts, who seem to get their leaves first in spring are all looking a bit tired, brown and droopy already; whereas the oaks, who are late with their leaves, are still wearing their summer foliage proudly.  But the plane trees are offering some spectacular autumn foliage, and the grass in the playground was carpeted in a blanket of reds, oranges, and yellows from the fallen leaves. After some time on the play equipment, we decided to collect some leaves, but one quickly led to another, to another, and soon we had armfuls of foliage. But what to do with them all? During some after-school quiet time, …

Blackberry Oaty Cookies

Published by

I love this time of year when it’s still summer, but the early mornings hint at the changing season to come, with a chill in the air and wisps of mist clinging to the fields and woods in the valley below our house. It seems early this year, but the trees and hedgerows near us are starting to reveal their autumn goodies, with cob nuts everywhere and ripe blackberries on show already.  So, we took ourselves off blackberry picking, joined by Bird Girl and Chief Stick Collector’s cousins and my sister. As luck would have it, blackberry picking is another thing on our list of 50 Things to do before 11 3/4. So we were hoping to be able to tick off another challenge, which sounded like it would be an easy and risk-free one to complete! We did have to be careful to avoid stinging nettles and blackberry thorns, so it wasn’t entirely without an element of danger (as far as that term is understood by preschoolers!).  But it didn’t take us long to pick enough to take home. …