Cucamelons, tomatoes coming out of our ears, day trips and butterflys

Wow ... snappy title.. not!

Well as you can guess the veg plot is the gift that keeps giving, our baby corn is starting to ripen, we still have lettuce, spinach, chard, rhubarb, beetroot, pak-choi, wriggly carrots, stunted parsnips and pumpkins to eat but the new house hold favourite are the cucamelons.

Anyone who knows Mr W well will have heard him say such things as "salad eurgh" and "salad, never touch the stuff" and other variations on the theme.. this is nonsense.. he eats what he is given but even so I do try and jazz up the old salad with bits and pieces (though not chips as he would like).
My latest jazzing up technique is that of the Cucamelon.. another James Wong seed wonder.. described by the man himself as..
 "Doll’s house-sized ‘watermelons’ that taste of pure cucumber with a tinge of lime. These little guys are officially the cutest food known to man"
http://homegrown-revolution.co.uk

Well cute or not they get the salad dodger to eat the salad :-) I did however giggle the other day when I asked him, whilst I was cooking, if he could go and scoop some cucamelons and lettuce from the garden.. he returned with a paw full of the cucamelons and 4 of the smallest lettuce leaves you have ever seen.. so I tripled the tomato volume .. that'll teach him :-)

dolls house size watermelons.. AKA cucamelons

We are taking every opportunity to eat tomatoes, we have zillions of them .. so I have made yet MORE chutney!! I have made 3 different types now I have jars of chutney everywhere... not to mention the vast amount of Jam.. I started with Rhubarb jam (3 different types) and then on Sunday I pottered off with Winnie to gather brambles .. or blackberries if you are posher than I.  

2 hours later I had to call Mr W to come and pick me up from the bottom of the village where we found ourselves because I had picked 10 pounds of brambles.. and now have 18 jars of bramble jam.. I am getting Christmas read, they are now carefully stored with their little fabric hats on waiting to go into the Hampers.. I still however need to get my fingers back to the correct colour.. I currently look like I have no circulation in my hands from all the washing of brambles.. hey ho. 

The weather here is still lovely and bright but its getting a bit nippy at night and autumn is definitely in the air, as such we thought we would have a blast out on Mr W's motorbike whilst we still can.. so on Saturday morning we set off to Aberystwyth, the coast, for breakfast.

Mr W had the plan so I dutifully hopped on the bike and off we went.. by the time we landed.. even though I had serious layers on including my wicking , (those who walked Ben Nevis in 2011 will understand). And guess what.. breakfast was OUTSIDE!!!! Nicely done Mr W!

safety equipment .. check. 

Bike Check. 

We are here.. and look at the view

Our Breakfast venue - BRRRRRR

 Now if I thought I was cold.. spare a thought for these nutjobs I mean young men who went swimming.. I turned a bit onto my Mam rattling on about how they didn't have anything on their feet and they would freeze.

Looking a bit worried.. they stood on the side quite a while

and then off they went.. swimming

Sunday it was back to chores and house lawns were us.. Mr W strimmed and I mowed.. aaahhh team work. And when we got to the chair lawn (they all have names) we found our Buddleja Bush in full bloom (amazing given the hair cut I gave it in February) and living up to its 'Butterfly Bush' reputation. There were cabbage whites, red admirals and another first for me .. a painted lady butterfly. It was yet another moment when I remembered that I am one seriously lucky lady to live here :-)