Branton is beautiful year round but there is something amazing about it when the first frosts come, the bull rushes are all brown, bright red berries burst from skeleton bushes and seed heads become frozen in time. With the sun low in the sky, and the sound of migrating birds breaking the silence, there’s a wonderful calm as you walk around the lakes. And then comes rain! We have had a lot of it, so the paths have been extra muddy, plenty of ‘squelch squirch’ for Bear Hunt fans! Hence we have a boat load of wellington boots in various adult and child sizes, in the shed for any visitors to borrow. Isla, our Labradorable, LOVES the mud, but has been very good about not leaping into the lake, even though she is a champion sea swimmer. She has learned that this is not the place, and that she has to stay away from the geese, swans, ducks and other birds, as well as sheep and cows.
We are in the process of building a second log store so that we know we won’t run out of logs for the lovely stove in the sitting room. I’ll be asking Bill, chief fire starter, to write a little piece on his top tips for lighting the stove, keeping the glass clean and what his favourite logs look like. Our kids once wrapped up a log for him as a Christmas present, knowing it was a particularly ‘good one’ with plenty of cracks, nice weight and good provenance. It went down very well!
