Freezing Frost

The first hoar frost arrived on Monday morning. All the ground was white crystals of frost. This meant that the bedding plants and all fleshy plants like to courgettes went very soft and sqidgy. We have also had a lot of very heavy rain so the ground is extremely wet. I have managed to get a few bulbs planted and I have started to clear the beds of the dead flowers.

Nasturtiums before the frost

A fushia before the frost

On Wednesday I picked my last punnet of Autumn raspberries, they were not very big so I made them into fruit cordial. I have been doing this with the windfall apples.

Fruit Cordial
Originally I followed a recipe but I now wash the fruit for apples cut into quarters (no need to peel or core) add water to cover the fruit and cook until soft. Let the juice drain through a sieve lined with muslin over a large bowl. Put the drained juice into a saucepan add sugar to taste depending on the tartness of the fruit and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let the fruit juice boil.

Meanwhile put some clean sterilised bottles into the oven at 150C to warm. When the juice is ready pour into the screwcap bottles. Sometimes I use a fine strainer to pour the juice through if there is the likelihood a sugar scum. It should keep for several months.

Trollus one of the few flowers to survive the frost.

Golden waxy yellow trollus

This is a dub stone at Melmerby. It was used for the washing of sheep.

A dub stone

A lovely pile of horseshoes outside a former blacksmiths house in Melmerby.

A tangle of horseshoes