Inspiration for Block Four
Alison Owens
This month our block is inspired by my first harvest from my new veg patch, my lovely dahlias and the beginnings of autumn.
So summer came and went and signs of autumn are suddenly appearing as if from nowhere. The combine harvesters are out day and night, I have picked our very own, home grown sweet corn and have savoured its sweet delights. I have loved the runner beans and tomatoes, made wild plum jam but, if I am honest, I am a bit sick of Swiss chard and should have grown more carrots! Our new veg patch has been a great success, even though I wouldn’t have been able to feed the five thousand, our family have had great fun with it and we are just loving the bunches of Dahlias we pick for indoors.
We discovered the ponies, Billy and Tinker, love corn flowers and sneak in a quick snack when we are not looking. Our swallows lost their first brood to the crows but managed to have another that have just fledged and are fattening up before their epic flight to warmer climates (no quarantine for them, lucky things).
Little towns and villages around where i live have scarecrow festivals and make life size scarecrows and display them in their front garden. Apparently, it turns out that scarecrows used to be actual boys who were tasked with the responsibility of scaring away the birds. However, in the 1300s the great plague wiped out half the population and that is when landowners took to making the scarecrows we know and love today! The stuffed sacks with straw, carved faced from turnips and made the scarecrows stand up by putting them.
As I write, I am making this year’s scarecrow. Not sure he will be seeing off any cheeky birds but he has been really fun to make and definitely better than putting a real child in a field!
I always find this time of year bitter sweet, summer is over but we have the glories of autumn to enjoy, Christmas to get excited about and of course those long, dark days which are ideal for stitching!