Leaves And Berries

We picked sloes this morning up above the other side of town, ready for this year's sloe gin. I can see this becoming a birthday tradition. We made it for the first time last year, and have just bottled and started drinking it. It's like delicious warming cough medicine! And the colour of a rich rose wine.

We found a lovely path we'd never been on before, beside a small stream, in a tiny wooded side valley, of the kind we have so many of round here, and spotted several holly trees with tons of berries. We shall return when the time comes to deck the halls! Despite the weather forecast, the day was dry and slowly the cloud broke up, and we sat on a bench and looked into the valley for a while at the end of our walk, wishing we'd taken the camera. These shots are from this afternoon, when I decided to go out again, just up our lane.

We had lunch in town and then came home to chocolate birthday cake and coffee!