April is:
Quinces - stewing delicious quinces "which they ate with a runcible spoon". Autumn is the time when the quinces ripen and are available in our local farmer's market. Have you tasted them? You can't eat them raw, but cooked they are delicious! We have just planted a quince tree, and I am so looking forward to picking my own quinces in the future! The quince is an old orchard variety that is making a comeback.
I've blogged about them before here - The quince, the symbol of love in ancient Greece and Rome and And slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon
Lillypillys - Lilly Pillys are a native evergreen rain forest Australian plant. There are several varieties. Early inhabitants used them as a food source. We have one growing in our front yard, and it was only a year or so ago that I made Lilly Pilly jam for the first time. Delicious! Making Lilly Pilly jam, an Australian bush tucker delight
As autumn creeps in
And as the result of a writer's group homework topic I delighted in returning to a book I loved as a child - Milly Molly Mandy
Back in the early 1960s, I think the Milly Molly Mandy books lead me into loving reading. Oh how I wanted to climb into that hand-drawn map at the beginning of the book and have adventures with MMM, her little friend Susan, and Billy Blunt. MMM lived in an English village with her mother, father, grand-mother, grand-father, aunt and uncle in a "nice white cottage with a thatched roof". Their adventures were much more exciting than mine ever were. In one particular book they even held a tea party and camped out in the Meadow and found a baby hedgehog in the Woods! (amongst other amazing adventures) Things I could never imagine doing in my suburban house in the city.
First appearing in 1925 this delightful series of books were written and illustrated by Joyce Lankester Brisley
Mum had a travelling library van visit, and in the school holidays we could borrow a book. Oh the excitement I felt as the man opened the back door to reveal the books for my age group. What book made you fall in love with reading? I found this related post about MMM at Books are my favourite and best
In April I went to see at the cinema the newly released movie: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. Written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, it is one of my favourite books, so I was very excited to go and see the movie with some ladies from my writer's group. The movie was every bit as good as the book is and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I must now reread the book!
It is written as a series of letters in 1946 between a London-based writer and the residents of the island of Guernsey, which was German-occupied during WWII. If you have never read it I can highly recommend you do.
Autumn is a beautiful weather to go walking
Although these young guys preferred to be surfing on the backwash at the rocks - Adrenalin rush versus madness?
This last weekend has been busy for sport in our town with a week long Australian beach volley ball competition, a 2 day running and sprints competition, parcor competition and display, and an outrigger ocean racing competition. Making the most of the autumn weather.
I also had a stall at an art fair at the Stirling Street Arts Centre. It was a quiet day for all the stall holders, but still it was good to be able to promote my work. Below here you can see the leaf prints I've been doing lately. One lady bought two! Thank you!
And practiced my castanet playing!
Thank you so much for stopping by. What have you being doing in April? Perhaps you'd like to tell us in your comments.
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
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Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
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Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday
Life in Reflection
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Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
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That is a very cool photo of the surfers. You got great action. I've never seen or tasted a lillypilly, but I sure like saying that word aloud. Lillypilly.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know a movie was made out of The Guernsey Literary etc. I'm glad to hear you liked it as much as the book. I wonder when the movie will show in California. April has been a month of gardening, drawing, reading, volunteering at the local museum, and repurposing stuff into garden art.
The View from the Top of the Ladder
I hope you get to see the movie Su-sieee. Yes, I love that would Lilly Pilly too. Thanks for visiting :)
DeleteSo glad I found your blog through Maggie from Normandy Life. I loved the MMM stories too and loved looking at the map of the village. Memory time. Beautiful photos of your Autumn. I will be back. B x
ReplyDeleteDear Jill, I have to tell you how much I enjoy visiting your blog each week, I slowly read the post admiring your amazing photos and then slowly scroll back up again to study the photos more closely. Your images always tell a story in their own right as well as enhancing whatever your topic is that day, thank you for being such a great participant in Mosaic Monday every week.
ReplyDeleteI got so enthralled by your photos that I forgot to say that Enid Blyton was my favourite author as a child, The Wishing Chair and all the Famous Five books were the ones which I read and reread over again and I still have them.
ReplyDeleteI think Enid Blyton was a favourite with many of "our" generation!
DeleteOh my, you've had a very busy month - exciting and beautiful too. I would have loved those MMM books when I was a kid, such adventures. Your photos are grand, and congrats on selling some of your prints.
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy! Autumn is my favorite season -- not too hot or too cold here. We had an unusually wonderful spring. Normally we move straight from winter to summer! May 1 is tomorrow and summer starts. UGH!!!
ReplyDeleteAs ever, your photos are beautiful, Jill!
ReplyDeleteLast year I was given bags of Quince and baked them and stewed them and enjoyed them thoroughly. Our small garden won't accommodate too many plants so there was a toss up between Quince and Fig, with Fig winning. I will have to depend on my friend for Quince!
I adore quinces and I have wondered why it has taken me so long to plant a quince tree in my yard. I'm looking forward to it bearing fruit. Lovely to hear from you at Pondside!
DeleteI had not heard of a couple of those fruits. Guess not grown here in Oregon. If you play castanets you could probably play the finger thimbles used in belly dancing!
ReplyDeletewell...learning to play castanets - a long way from being proficient!
DeleteI loved that book too but didn't know there was a movie based on it. Something to look forward to! Love your art! Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will love the movie. They did a great job transferring it from the written word to the screen.
DeleteYou've had a great month. I've eaten (and enjoyed) quince, but have never heard of the Lilly Pilly berries, nor the Milly Molly Mandy books. I fell in love reading the Bobbsey Twins series and gobbled them up as fast as I could. I do hope the Guernsey movie makes it to Canada, I re-read that book at least once a year. Your leaf art is so pretty. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a very old copy of the Bobbsey Twins here. I loved them too.
DeleteYou take the most amazing photos! I enjoy my visits! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletethanks so much Sarah.
DeleteWhat an abundance of fruit! Quince jelly is delicious. And thanks for your lovely shots.
ReplyDeleteyeap, end of April (well today 1st of May chez moi), hard to believe. mmm - quince - yummy. my friend actually eats them raw, I just steam them shortly. your april sounds very active and fun.
ReplyDeleteeats them raw! my goodness. They are so hard! But the perfume of them cooking is devine isn't it!
DeleteI've never heard of Milly Molly Mandy books, Jill, but you've made me want to read them. Perhaps (and hopefully) when I have grandchildren I'll have to source them! The Famous Five books by Enid Blyton were my favourites, so too books by Josephine Pullein Thompson which were mostly about ponies!
ReplyDeleteWhat! You grew up in England and have never heard of Milly Molly Mandy! Oh no! You really missed out on a delightful series of books. Not sure if they are still in print, and probably way outdated for children of today.
DeleteYour Lillypilly looks like a fruit we here in Trinidad and Tobago call Pomerac.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with a tree in our yard
Have a good week
much love...
I looked up your Pomerac. Yes they do look like our Lilly Pilly.
DeleteYou are the third person to recommend that book - I'll add it to my list.
ReplyDeleteYou must!
DeleteLovely photography and post ~ Congrats on your art show and that water shot is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I've never tasted a quince. Maybe I should try one. - Margy
ReplyDeleteI'm sure yo will love them. Just don't try to eat them raw....
DeleteLovely photos, Jill. Autumn is my favorite season so even though spring is arriving in my hemisphere it was nice to see your fall photos.
ReplyDeleteJill, Sounds like a good life. The movie is intriguing. As always wonderful post. Have a good week. Sylvia D.
ReplyDeleteAll the fruits look so fresh :)
ReplyDeleteI have never had quince! I loved that book and look forward to the seeing the movie. It hasnt made it to our theater yet. I never understood why the Brits never help those on the island until I was looking at the map the other day and realized it was off the coast of France.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book too, but haven't had a chance to see the movie yet. Autumn is a lovely time of year. We are just starting to feel a bit of a chill in the air here in Queensland and I'm so glad to see the end of the humidity. #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteRecently, I made my first ever batch of jam. I chose to make lilly pilly jam! Such a unique taste. It's always nice to make something you can't just buy at a supermarket.
ReplyDeleteI've never had quince, or even heard of Lilly Pilly's but I did read Milly, Molly, Mandy books when I was young. They were some of my favorites, too! Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of Lilly Pilly! I mean, I've heard of the coastal town of Lilly Pilly but never knew it was a fruit. Love the colours in this post. #teamlovinlife
ReplyDeleteThis is my first visit to your site, Jill, and your photos are absolutely gorgeous! I love the vibrant colors and the details in all of your photos. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMilly Molly Mandy brings back some memories!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've heard of Lilly Pillies I didn't know you could make jam from them and thought they were just flowers (flowers I like incidentally!). #teamlovinlife
Oh I've never seen or heard of Lilly Pillies before - what a wonderful post!!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful Autumn fruits. :-) I love lillypilly - so tart and good - and quinces are wonderfully fragrant when they're simmering away. :-) April for me was a month of adventures with a dear friend from the States. :-)
ReplyDelete