Apologies, I couldn’t resist re-using last week’s title. Blue skies and and a gentle breeze are lifting the soul. In between last week’s post and this, I snuck away for a few days to Cornwall. I tipped my hat to Jim, host of this meme, and to Hey Jude, fellow SOSer, en route. They live in a beautiful part of the country and during our stay the sun shone. Perfect. Back home the garden is… well, is what it is. An autumn garden settling down for the winter. So my SOS this week is part holiday, part garden.
One
As part of the short break a night was spent at one of those hotels that curate a lifestyle that one is meant to aspire to. Of course it was wonderful. This is the view from the front door of our ‘cottage’ room. I am envious because it has that gardening symmetry with the grasses that I aspired to in my garden. Here, you may remember, one side flourishes and the other sulks. Hey ho!
Two
Next on the envy list was the immaculately tended walled kitchen garden. Row upon row of plumptious crops: Leeks, Kale, Chard, Radishes, Parsnips with no sign of slugs. They must have teams of under-gardeners whose sole job is to pick them off. But I think I did spot some woody swedes!
Three
Lastly, and I’m pleasantly envious of this, the mushroomery. I’ve made that up. The room devoted to growing mushrooms. Very lovely.
Four
Ah well, back home again. The last of the chillies were picked. Three. But they look good.
Five
Most of our apples were picked in September, producing 53 bottles of apple juice. These braeburns grow in shade of the fig tree and are a little later to ripen. The fig dominates but the apples get to a reasonable size and will be checked over this weekend to see if they are ready for picking.
Six
My flowers have all but finished. But I was dazzled by the sight of new blooms on the hydrangeas. Gloriously white in the sunshine. Yes. It’s a beautiful day again.
SOS starts to get serious now. Join in again next week to see what on earth can be found to keep us going through autumn. All this mindfulness will be very good for us.
n20gardener 
You must be extremely righteous! I am envious of your trip to Cornwall, your hotel looks wonderful. Mind you, your home produce looks pretty good too. Have a good one x
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53 bottles of apple juice! wow ! You have enough to last all winter… The chilies are very beautiful and look tasty . Mine are still turning red for some. So I’m waiting a little longer.
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The juice is a weekend high point, just enough to get us through to the next batch!
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That looked like a beautiful place to stay. 53 bottles of apple juice is impressive.
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It was something of a relief to find somewhere who could juice for us. We couldn’t cope with eating that many apples!
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I can quite understand your envy of those grasses and the walled garden looks amazing. You timed your break well weather wise.
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One of the unusual means with which the unhoused here earn a bit of money is to collect chanterelles from nearby oak forests for local restaurants. They also bring in any unidentified mushroom for those who purchase to investigate. Some are worthless, but some are salable, and a few are strangely worth quite a bit. Those who use them for culinary application know what they are.
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Sounds like a good idea all round.
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Yes; although, I would be hesitant to eat at the restaurants that purchase mushrooms from some of my friends, since I know what some of those mushrooms go through to get there.
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😂best to be careful!
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Beautiful pictures from your trip. A mushroomery! Couldn’t that be made from just a normal plastic-lined mini-greenhouse, come to think of it? Not that we need more mushrooms here, but it sounds like a rather fun project. Congratulations on an excellent apple year!
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Thank you. I often wonder about growing mushrooms but never get any further!
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