Clocks back, first frost.

Well, it seems winter is well and truly on the way, yesterday the clocks went back an hour (giving us an extra hour in bed) and the weather is definitely getting chilly. We went out last night as we usually do on a Sunday, and when we walked home at around 10.30, it was freezing...literally. Frost- the first of this autumn - was coating everything in sparkles, and it was a beautiful, clear night with stars glinting overhead. luckily the central heating was on when we opened the front door, and we warmed up very quickly...brrr.

On getting out of bed this morning at 6am, the frost was still there, and it was getting light. Last week it was still dark at that time with no birds singing, what a difference an hour makes! Although it will be dark at 5pm, that early morning bit of light helps the day get going!

Blimey Doris!

With reports all over Twitter and Facebook of trees down, injuries caused and roads closed it seems Doris has hit with a vengeance today. I was woken by rain and wind during the night, and although it makes a warm bed seem extra cosy with a storm raging outside, my poor husband had to go out in it to work at 5.30am! The cat however has had a lovely morning sitting in the kitchen window watching leaves blowing around, one happy customer for Doris at least.

Stay safe everyone!

Shift work.

My husband works shifts, so as a result my own daily routine adjusts according to his schedule. For example this week he is on late shift, so I begin working when he goes to work, I actually quite enjoy this as it means every other week has a different feel to it, especially now the darkness of winter is looming. I will work, make things and write until the small hours, then start to cook so we can eat when he gets home, a bit of t.v to unwind before bed at some point during the early hours. We obviously do not get up early during late weeks, sometimes seen as lazy by some who have never had the pleasure of shift work! A certain number of hours sleep is vital, whenever they may fall, we are still working while these folks are snoring away in their beds. Lucky to be a natural night owl I guess...different story during his early shift weeks though ;)

Clear stars, snowy trees.

This evening we had our first real snow of this winter, huge flakes falling and covering everything with a quiet, snow-lit blanket. Within the space of a couple of hours, even though it is cold outside, the snow has started to melt, and the sky has cleared to reveal a beautiful display of twinkling stars - Orion shining over the snow dusted trees is a truly remarkable sight which I feel very lucky to have seen.

Festive Lights.

Hello all, and a happy December to you! We had a good weekend, doing the first of our Christmas Fayres at a local school, even though the festive season still seems a long way off, the feelings of winter and everything it brings are well upon us. On Saturday the town Christmas lights were turned on and we went up to see the big event, it was surprisingly warm weather-wise but with a cup of mulled wine in hand out in the dark town square it felt very festive. Now it is December, preparations will be happening all over the place, we have another Christmas Fayre in the lovely town of Much Wenlock this coming Saturday - an early start, set up at 6.30am! I will be looking forward to chatting with customers, drinking hot chocolate and generally felling the glow of Yule approaching.

Foggy Nights.

It has got a lot colder here the last two nights, followed by lovely frosty mornings. Last night and this evening have been particularly foggy, and actually very nice - although a bit of a pain for driving anywhere. I passed through my home town last night, and although damp and cold, the fog made for a very atmospheric time. The church tower was illuminated, and even though the outline was shrouded in fog, the light gave a glow which made the surrounding rooftops into an amazing silhouette which was very eerie. The other thing I noticed was the dampening effect the fog had on sound, much like when it snows, town was quiet and calm with only the occasional passing person or car to lift the silence - I do like winter!

Nearly Halloween!

Hi all, I am hoping for a dry, slightly chilly night tomorrow for Halloween - nice to be outside under the moon with something comforting to eat whilst I think about the stories, legends and myths that go hand in hand with Samhain. You can keep your pumpkins and trick or treating - that's not it for me, spirits, ancestors and that slightly spooked feeling is what its all about!
Have fun folks.

Dark evenings, dark mornings!

Autumn is well and truly with us it would seem, last night, it was pretty much dark at 7pm, and this morning it doesn't look like it will get properly light all day. It is no secret to those who know me that I quite like this though. I walked into the supermarket last night and saw piles of pumpkins, and I immediately thought of warm soup, halloween, cosy jumpers and bonfires...all favourites!
So, I think it may be time to put the summer clothes away, dig out the winter woolies and settle into the season, enjoy everyone!

Night owl...not a lark!

Its no secret that I am a night person, I stay up late and work better then...however this week I have also had early (for me) mornings! Burning the candle at both ends as it were, not good for my mood or looks, talk about bags under the eyes, here's hoping for a lie-in at the weekend :-)

Tonight is sorted!

The latest edition of Fortean Times landed on my doormat yesterday, and it has been tempting me since then...still in it's wrapper. My treat, if I do enough work today is to sit with it tonight and go through cover to cover...happy!

Jack the Ripper revealed?

See this post from our sister-blog :)

http://moonlitmyths.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/jack-ripper-identity-revealed.html

Milky way.

After a lovely evening out with friends last night, we returned home slowly whilst staring at the sky, it was an amazing display of stars on a relatively chilly August night, and the milky way was showing up beautifully. It was only just gone midnight, and usually when I see it in all it's glory it is around 3 or 4 am, so this was a real treat, the only thing stopping me looking for hours was a crick in the neck and tiredness - a truly wondrous sight.

Dramatic night for this owl!

Hi folks, I was at the fab Festival at the Edge again this year, camping on the beautiful Wenlock Edge as usual, and on Friday night we were all in for a real treat - although not all would say so! We had just been to see the last gig of the night by Blackbeard's Tea Party who are a brilliant rock/folk band ( listening to everything they have ever done on spotify as I type btw) the stars above were stunning, and in the distance we could see flashes..were they photos being taken at the beer tent? No, it was lightening in the distance, fork lightening to be exact of the most dramatic proportions...and they got closer, and closer. We zipped up the tent, settled down, and then about half an hour later the most almighty storm hit, thunder, rain, the works. It was nice to feel so cosy, but the thought of the tent being hit was a tad worrying!
Anyway, we survived the night and had another great 2 days of merriment - phew!