Autumn

 

Butterflies and bees,

Feeding on flowers —

Autumn’s bounty.

 

 

As I write this there are eight Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies feeding on the tall verbena plants (Verbena bonariensis) in the garden border.  It is a joy to watch them flit from one flower to another, as the plants sway in the gentle breeze.  Even as I look down to focus on the book where I write, their shadows dance gracefully across the page.

Autumn is harvest time; the gathering in of summer’s bounty.  Isn’t that what we should all be doing?

Today, a different type of outing for me, looking at a little history with a big story!

The Ballymartin River

The forge.

The workshop.

The millrace.

The turbine, which is still in use and in working order after nearly 150 years!

The walls of the original beetling mill.

A fascinating tour!  Well worth the visit!

Find out more at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/pattersons-spade-mill

 

 

 

 

The weather has been wet, windy and miserable recently so when the sun finally decided to come out from behind the clouds we jumped in the car and headed to a place we haven’t visited in a long time.  Rowallane!  One of the National Trust’s properties not too far from home.

Perfect!