Halloween

Our home grown pumpkin has been hollowed out, candled and sits in our dining room. Last year's was only about six inches across, so this is a big improvement!

The Halloween Pumpkin 

October Cycle Ride

Three of us met up at York Minster this morning, Ted, David and I. Not a bad place to meet up, with the bells striking nine as we headed off through early shoppers. Our ride took us to Castle Howard http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/ via the vicious Bulmer Bank. Very steep but not too long. By the time we got to Castle Howard we needed the cup of tea in the café. A bit of moisture in the air but a good day as we came back across Strensall Common http://www.jncc.gov.uk/ProtectedSites/SACselection/SAC.asp?EUCode=UK0030284 which looked beautiful in the autumn sunshine. As I came back home over Hob Moor I was met by Rowan, her friend Lilly and Danielle en-route to the swimming baths across the moor. Now it’s time for a bath…

Do the Locomotion

Rowan and I went today to Sheldon in County Durham to see the new Locomotion museum which is an outlier of the National Rail Museum. http://www.nrm.org.uk/html/locomotion_pb/main.asp We cycled to the station [Rowan on her bike] The train journey - changing at Darlington - was good fun, the museum was full and OK [I think we have been a bit spoilt by the York museum]. Rowan found a good place to make into an impromptu slide and had great fun there.

Hob Moor Sculpture Trail #2

The Hob Stone -

The effigy of a knight of the Roos family sculpted in about 1315. Placed here in 1717, the inscription on the back read:
"This image Long Hob's name has bore. Who was a knight in time of yore and gave this common to ye poor"
We pass it every day on the way to school

The Hob Stone 

Thinking about friends

The fact is, much of my communication with my friends is by email. It is a reflection of the age, but I also think this is a result of my tendency to continuously move away from them - from the PA to Iowa (I keep that quiet), from Iowa to PA, from the States to London, from London to York...

Luckily, most of my friends and friendships seem to be robust enough to cope with all this nomadic behaviour and I have quite animated conversations with them pretty often. In fact, email is sufficiently abstract yet quick enough to make saying very personal things about love, life, sex and family easier than saying them in person.

About a year ago, a friend of mine from the States that I have known since she was about 7 and I about 11, told me she felt really well but was actually very sick. She had a rare and very serious form of breast cancer for which the prognosis was not good. Over the course of the last year, we talked about her illness and wellness, her daughter who played with mine, her husband, her adoptive mom and dad. We also traded jokes and gossip and dodgy email circulars.

Last week I emailed her. She didn't email back, but I was used to it: she's a busy woman despite the chemo. But she had died - her funeral was yesterday. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/222-10252004-389021.html

Email isn't so good for that.

Danielle

Sun comes up, its Monday morning...

Apologies to the Cowboy Junkies.....

Last night there were gales, so I turned over in my bed, safe in the knowledge that I could have a good lie-in in the morning with no twinges of concience about exercising - I was positive it would be pouring. However, the morning dawned clean and shining, so I hauled myself into my trainers and out armed with Radio 1 (yes that's right, Radio 1) on my headphones.

Autumn morning on Hob Moor, York, 8:00am on first day of half term: The sun was shining but was clearly having trouble managing the climb into the sky. Running/ shambling on the moor was a damp business; I kept off the paths to avoid intermittant swamps that appeared from time to time. This earned me dirty stares from the cattle that clearly had the same idea - I suppose someone running across your breakfast isn't a welcome development. They got their own back as a didn't always manage to avoid the freshly reconstituted cowpats that dot the moor, returned to a cold and sloppy version of their former glory. I did manage to stay upright, but my trainers will never be the same.

A Sunday in York

Just another nice Sunday in York.

Rowan: We went to the Big Draw and drew somethings like fish. I went with Aled, Lilly and Chris [Alled's brother]

Danielle: checked the bees - still alive. Cooked a meal made totally out of our veg from the garden, squash, spinach, potatoes

Simon: had flu. Got ready for the great half term ritual of traveling down to Grannys. Rowan very excited,we usually leave about 8 and get there for 11pm. Gin and Tonic for the driver, bed for Rowan

New bird in the garden

Saw a goldcrest http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/g/goldcrest/index.asp this afternoon as I was planting some broad beans. Beautiful little thing hopping around the plum tree. Simon

The Bike Group

I have never felt particularly comfortable in cycle clubs or organised rides. I would rather cycle with friends. So I started an informal cycle group here in York. Each year I e-mail round a list of dates [generally the last Saturday of the month] and whoever is around will come on the ride. So far eight people have joined me at one time or another and we have had some great rides. It’s a nice way to do it, very informal and plenty of time to chat to friends. Last year I made the mistake of trumpeting the fact we had no rain on any of the rides. This year of course it has rained just about every month! Simon

Being Self Employed

I love being employed. It is great being able to give each project your total attention, instead of indulging in the usual juggling act. It is great not having staff to manage, and great not having to waste time and energy on organisational politics.

But there are still things to worry about. You never know whether the work will keep flowing in. Being part time [and having to take two months off in the summer when school is out, to look after Rowan] means that I need flexible clients. And sometimes I have to say “no” to work. This causes anxiety –“Will they ask me again?” - “Will more work come along when I need it?” So far after 6 ½ years so good. I have never had less work than I can manage. Just this week I was starting to begin to think about worrying with a long term commitment about to end. Sure enough a call came out of the blue and things are looking good. One day there will be a gap, but in the meantime I just try not to worry each time another D Day approaches. Simon

Coincidence #2

1990. My friend Paul and I were on a cycling tour in Ireland. We had taken a friend’s 11 year old son, Ricki, with us. On the third day we were in a café in a damp one-horse town in the Irish midlands. Totally off the tourist trail. We were all three of us enjoying tea and cake after a good morning’s ride when Ricki started to shyly smile at the table next to ours. “What you doing Ricki?” Paul asked. Ricki whispered “I know those people on the next table”. “What do you mean?” Paul replied, “They live next door to us” said Ricki. And sure enough Ricki’s next door neighbours from Edmonton, North London were next to us totally by chance. Now how likely is that?

By the way, I should stress that all this took place before any Guinness had been drunk for the day. Simon

York Minster 

Rowan's visit to York Minster

Rowan Palmour. I went to York Minster on Tuesday. Our guide was Mr. Little. He showed us round. When we got back we went home again. On Friday the 15th of October 2004.

Coincidence #1

December 1979 Top Floor Flat, Princes Drive Liverpool 8.
The three flat-mates wake up on the Sunday morning after a pretty wild party the night before. We emerge to find that someone has kicked in the front door and stolen a few things including our TV. We had all slept blissfully unaware. We are not too bothered, and decide to go and get some breakfast: only we can’t secure the smashed-in front door. I work out that we need a two foot piece of wood to make it secure. We have a piece that is perfect... except it is three feet long. Of course we have no saw: we are students after all. I look out of the window, high above a cold, damp, snow-smudged, urban landscape. Very few people about, but there is a small old man sitting alone on that wall down beneath the tenement. In his hand is a saw. I run down the five flights of stairs, brandishing the wood. “Can I borrow your saw?” “Sure” he says without batting an eye-lash. Bracing the wood against the wall I quickly saw it to the required length and run back. When the rest look out of the window the old man has gone. But I have the proof in my hand, a two foot piece of wood. We go out for breakfast.

Pancakes, Birds, Bikes and Swimming

After our usual Saturday Family Breakfast of American Pancakes we set off for an RSPB reserve at Blacktoft Sands http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/blacktoftsands/index.asp on the Humber near Goole. Rowan is a junior RSPB member and loves going to new reserves [primarily, it has to be said, to look round the shop] we went into some hides and saw waders and Shelduck and a Peregrine Falcon. It was a beautiful sunny autumn morning, even Goole looked nice. Simon cycled back, a great ride along the Ouse, through Skipwith Common and along the Selby cycle track to York. Very Muddy. Rowan and Danielle had an equally great time swimming. Rowan can now swim underwater.

The Vegetable Garden 1

This year we grew:
Tomatoes – poor
Potatoes – ok
Spinach – great
Leeks – good
Beetroot – good
Cavallo Nero – great
Onions – good
Lettuce – too much
Courgettes – poor
Pumpkin – great
Artichokes – not yet harvested
Rocket – great
French Beans – great
Broad Beans – ok
It all looks a bit damp at the moment, but hope to get some winter onions in soon.

Bee Urban

I am avoiding my bees. I am not sure why, but I have realised that whenever there is a big job to do, I find about 10 other things to do. My current task is to combine my two colonies together. Ideally, one would find the queen you want to get rid of, get rid of her and then combine them. In this case, after much discussion with a retired beekeeper, going into the hives so late in the season would risk chilling the little brood that's there and really making a mess. So I am going to combine them with no regicide - my the best queen win!

Although I am dragging my feet, I better do it soon - the football has started and no one will want fed up bees flying over and attacking players. But.... the car does need cleaning....

The Bear of Hob Moor 

The Hob Moor Sculpture Trail 1

It is not official, and it is not up to the standard of the Henry Moore sculpture park down the road in Wakefield. But…we do have our own ad-hoc collection of sculptures around Hob Moor. Firstly we have The Bear. This is a beautiful sculpture in the middle of a small 70s housing estate just off the moor.

The Birds of Hob Moor

After the excitement of the Kingfisher, here is a list of birds seen on Hob Moor and in the garden.

Great Spotted Woodpecker – Kestrel – Sparrowhawk
Grey Wagtail – Common Gull – Black Headed Gull
Redwing – Mallard – Pheasant - Kingfisher
Skylark – Meadow Pippit - Swift

Bullfinch – Chaffinch – Greenfinch - Goldfinch
Blue Tit – Great Tit – Long Tailed Tit – Coal Tit
Dunnock – Wren – Robin – Song Thrush – Mistle Thrush
Starling – Blackbird – House Sparrow - Jackdaw
Wood Pigeon – Collared Dove – Magpie – Carrion Crow

Kingfisher at last!

Ever since we moved into Hob Moor Drive people have told us that there are Kingfishers in the beck. Up to now we had never seen one, then this morning as I walked back from dropping Rowan off at school, a flash of electric blue, and there was a Kingfisher speeding down the beck. It was a beautiful sight. The reason I spotted it, was that the beck banks have been trimmed by tractor over the last week. This happens every year, but was done with more care and rigour this time. Consequently it is easier to see what is going on in the becks. A great way to start the week.

The Spiral Takes Shape

Today was the day when the herb spiral took shape. It was a family effort, with Rowan shovelling, stamping and lifting stones, and Danielle and Simon making it into a spiral. It seems to have worked so far...Next stage is to plant the herbs.

The Spiral takes shape 

The Joy of Rail

Both Danielle and I are frequent users of the excellent GNER rail service from York to London. It takes under 2 hours and makes day-trips for work do-able. Here is a typology of the trains we get.

Early morning York to London “The Mobile Office”
Laptops whirr [over 200 on Wednesday when I travelled down] mobiles bleep, coffee is sipped. Very civilized.

Mid-morning. “The Luggaged Granny”
A totally different vibe. Many, many senior citizens with bags and cases making use of “saver” fares.

Afternoon. “The Walkmaned Student”
Travelling back from a weekend off [Monday to Wednesday] or travelling early for a weekend away [Thursday to Friday] Walkmans and railcards are essential.

Evening. London to York “The Happy Geordie”
Usually a train full of satisfied shoppers or liggers returning to Newcastle. Two opposite me are exhausted from a day shopping and attending a fashion show.

Then there are seasonal variations. Every June there is the “Wimbledon Disappointment”; on its way down to London it is full of expectation. For the return, the rain and/or Greg Rusedski’s surprising departure dampen the spirits.

Rowan and Ivan Osokin

Not for the first time, Rowan raised a major philosophical issue with me just before bedtime (extreme stalling tactics to be sure) - "Sometimes I wonder if I am really real. Am I real Mummy? How do you know?".
It so happens that I am also reading "The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin" by PD Ouspensky. The self-same question is at the heart of it - what is real? what is life? how do you know you are living it? Unluckily for Ivan Osokin, he doesn't have his mother to tell him that that is a very big question which has puzzled many people throughout the history of man. But its STILL time for bed so shhhhhh.
Sorts out all kinds of difficulties - try it.

The Herb Spiral

The Herb Spiral

Our latest family garden project is to produce a herb spiral [or an herb spiral for US readers]. This is a permaculture concept whereby you build a pyramid / cone of earth up to one metre high and then construct a spiral bed up from the bottom to the top to plant your herbs in. It’s one of those things that looks simple, elegant and obvious in the nice line drawings you find in the books….

So far we have a herb heap. Sods of turf have formed the base of the hill, these were coated with some woodchips and then some topsoil. Rowan then did a lot of stamping and jumping off the top to firm it up. The next stage is to use stones to build the spiral bed. It is hard to imagine it working at this stage, but we will keep you posted.

Look at http://www.mitra.biz/howto_herbspiral.htm or http://www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/selwyn/herbspiral.htm to see how it should look. When ours is complete, we’ll show you how they really look.

Cycling to School

Rowan is now cycling to school most days. With a panting father running alongside, she negotiates the dogs and cowpats of Hob Moor before tackling the "col de Hob Stone". After the hill it is downhill alongside Tadcaster Road before the absurd procession of lumbering SUVs that is the Tregelles school run. We both enjoy it, Rowan seems to particularly enjoy arriving in style in the playground.

News from the Hive

Good news - bees aren't dead. Bad news - not sure how to keep them that way.

Quick catch up: 2 Colonies; 2 Queens - Queen Margarita (gentle, fun-loving, heavy on the propolis) and the much nastier Queen Latifa II. Queen Latifa's colony is much more aggressive and irritable. Queen Latifa II was born when I accidentally squashed Queen Latifa 1. A long story which I will spare you (unless you are desperate).

So that's it. Mouseguards on. Feeding underway.

May try a complicated maneuver this weekend involving intentional Queen squashing (you can guess who) - see if my nerve and the weather holds.

How we look 2004 

Early Days

This is an attempt at a Palmour blog. We'll see how it goes. Future excitements promised include, "Bee Urban" a look at the urban bee keeper. Contributors include the three Palmour family members, Danielle, Simon and their daughter Rowan