Autumn Sunshine, Blue Skies and Steam Trains

Thankfully we are enjoying a week of lovely sunny autumnal weather which really enhances the colours on the trees. The sun and blue skies really are a tonic and it's even quite warm in the sun. I do like those cold sunny autumn mornings though, with the smell of leaves on the ground and wood smoke from other peoples wood burning stoves. The storms of the previous week or too have taken a lot of the leaves off already but there is still enough to enjoy as I drive back and forwards to the nursery.

Autumn colour on the farm at Whitmuir

My main tasks in the nursery this week is starting to put everything away for winter and finish the last of the propagation. Now that David has built his new workshop / man shed I have all of the wee tunnel to fill with propagated plants and some that need a wee bit shelter over the winter. This is not because they aren't hardy but more because being in pots, their roots are more susceptible to frost damage. A lot of the decoarative planters and pots I have on display go in the wee tunnel too, more to protect the pots than anything. Potted bulbs also go in here, elevated off the ground so that (hopefully) the mice won't eat them!

Read more about preparing for winter in my blog here:

Preparing the Garden for winter


Who'd have thought you would get a
Quirky Bird coloured gardening bucket!

We are now only 10 days away from closing the nursery for winter, which I can't believe. Where has this year gone? I still feel like I'm back in July, lol. We are looking forward to having some time off and relaxing, catching up with family and friends and tasks needing done at home. It's been a full on year with the nursery getting busier (which is great) and coping with the deaths of family members. It's been quite exhausting so we will cosy down and take the first couple of weeks off then we'll be out and about and back and forward to the nursery doing winter tasks and preparing for next year.

There are still pops of colour in the garden, this holly hock
 is lovely at the entrance to the nursery

It's all looking very autumnal as you enter the nursery

Looking along the stock beds

On Tuesday we loaded up the trailer with a lovely big order and headed towards Selkirk to deliver it. The tree colour along the Tweed Valley was lovely and it was another nice day to be out and about. Another happy customer and some shopping done on the way home too.

Loading up the trailer

Driving back home along the Tweed Valley

On Monday, sinse Dan was on holiday we asked him what he wanted to do and we ended up going to the Ravenglass Railway down near the Cumbrian coast. It's a bit of a trek but the weather was beautiful and it made a great day out. 

Dogs go to!

It's quite a few years since I visited this railway, the first time was as a 5 year old with my parents when we stayed in one of the camping coaches (that was 44 years ago!) I was last there about there about 18 years ago, so well past time for a visit. We were lucky with the weather, perfect blue skies and sun so it was very pleasant travelling in one of the open coaches. All the staff were excellent, very friendly and helpful and the lunch we had in the station cafe was good too. We took take away coffee and biscuits to have on the train after which was nice to be able to do. The railways is also dog friendly, always a big plus for us and Bracken enjoyed travelling on yet another railway! When we bought the tickets we were given a wee back with dog biscuits and a poo bag, a really nice touch. 



The train staff were fantastic when my Dan lost his go pro camera out the train on the way up the line. When we spoke to them at Dalegarth Station, they couldn't have been more helpful. The driver and the two guards said they would look out for it on the way back and got my son to sit up beside them near the guards van so they could watch for it together. When they spotted it on the way back they stopped the train and retrieved the camera from the track side for my son. We have great trackside footage of all the trains going past from a rail eye view!















We had some lovely skies and sunset on the way home, stopping for pies at Tebay services farm shop and then for dinner later on, a long but lovely day out.













#autumn #ravenglassrailway #daysout #preparingforwinter #autumncolour




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