# I love this time of year...



## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Things are now settling down into their routine with the kids back at school. The mornings are crisper and cooler - the mist on the distant hills and mountains slowly dissolves in the sun to reveal the changing colours of the landscape. Autumn is here. Time to sort out the wood for the fireplace and look forward to a roaring log fire shortly in the evenings. Weekend walks on the beach, in the forests collecting pine cones and chestnuts. Or maybe I'm just rushing it along a bit, because although it's still fairly early, I just love this time of year. Looking forward, dare I say it, to the garden clearance over at my mother-in-law's later today, stacking up the bonfires ready for when we get the licence to burn from the ayuntamiento....meaning an evening fire with all the kids outside standing around, bbq, marshmallows on sticks and a hot toddy! After all the excesses of the summer and the initial rush around in early September with the "vuelta al cole", it's time to batten down the hatches and return to a simpler, quieter life. My favourite time of year.

Tallulah.x


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Hi Tally

I love this time of year too!

Estepona has been cleansed of tourists  we have it back to ourselves .... and the static population continues in going about its business .... a nice atmosphere in town, in the bars, in the shops etc

The weather is perfect ... sunny clear skies, just under 30 and comfortable to be outside ...

The beaches are empty and the strolls we take with our dog on the beach are fabulous now! just after 7 am this morning on the beach, no one else around, sun coming up over the sea ... beautiful colours, silence ....... fantastic!

Tonight we will venture out there again around 8.30 pm and have the same atmosphere and colours as the sun starts to set ......

Back home, snuggle up on the sofa with a good film and a bar of chocolate! and then sleep well when we finally go to bed as the nights are much cooler

Sue xxxx


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

Hmmm, the big plus is that the chickens go to bed earlier. 
Fungi - chestnuts - and even better beautiful clear evenings to go and look at the planets through my telescope and still get to bed for a decent night's sleep!
Hot days, cold nights. Clear air. Lots of free grapes for making pasas! 
I love autumn so much. 





Tallulah said:


> Things are now settling down into their routine with the kids back at school. The mornings are crisper and cooler - the mist on the distant hills and mountains slowly dissolves in the sun to reveal the changing colours of the landscape. Autumn is here. Time to sort out the wood for the fireplace and look forward to a roaring log fire shortly in the evenings. Weekend walks on the beach, in the forests collecting pine cones and chestnuts. Or maybe I'm just rushing it along a bit, because although it's still fairly early, I just love this time of year. Looking forward, dare I say it, to the garden clearance over at my mother-in-law's later today, stacking up the bonfires ready for when we get the licence to burn from the ayuntamiento....meaning an evening fire with all the kids outside standing around, bbq, marshmallows on sticks and a hot toddy! After all the excesses of the summer and the initial rush around in early September with the "vuelta al cole", it's time to batten down the hatches and return to a simpler, quieter life. My favourite time of year.
> 
> Tallulah.x


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I hate this time of year! It always feels like the optimism has gone! The summers over and all there is ahead are cold days, long dark nights, the winter, which I hate, christmas (I'm not good with christmas for lots of reasons). At least the weather is beautiful at the moment tho

Jo xxxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Yesterday it was 34C+ on our terrace and the water in the pool was 24C. Bit of a shock to the system when you first jump in but very refreshing....
I love walking Our Little Azor on the beach at dusk. Yesterday was the first time we'd taken him for months and it was gorgeous...Lovely sunset, silky sea, scent of woodsmoke from the fishermen's fires...


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

jojo said:


> I hate this time of year! It always feels like the optimism has gone! The summers over and all there is ahead are cold days, long dark nights, the winter, which I hate, christmas (I'm not good with christmas for lots of reasons). At least the weather is beautiful at the moment tho
> 
> Jo xxxx


 I hate the winters too Jojo .... but I enjoy this "in between" bit ..... Im trying not to think about the winter as each year they seem to get longer and longer and longer and longer ....................  oh youve made me depressed now and I was in such a good mood!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Suenneil said:


> I hate the winters too Jojo .... but I enjoy this "in between" bit ..... Im trying not to think about the winter as each year they seem to get longer and longer and longer and longer ....................  oh youve made me depressed now and I was in such a good mood!


Sorry hun, you're not usually here at weekends???? But hey, the weathers beautiful today!!!

Jo xxx


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

jojo said:


> Sorry hun, you're not usually here at weekends???? But hey, the weathers beautiful today!!!
> 
> Jo xxx



I have the laptop until 1 o clock! lol then N needs it for work .... so then I will be invisible again! making the most of it now xxxxx


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

[Fungi ]

Is mushroom hunting, a Spanish thing?


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

JBODEN said:


> [Fungi ]
> 
> Is mushroom hunting, a Spanish thing?


I can tell you that it's certainly very popular up here in Galicia where there are countless species growing...and then often sold on. Norma would be able to explain more as she is an expert in them....which is want you want really - wouldn't advise a novice to the practice as it can be deadly!


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## Hombre (Sep 10, 2009)

"Our" town to ourselves again...getting served in the shops without queing...not having to dodge pushchairs..skateboards.. rollerblades...bikes...tourists. Deserted beaches...peace and quiet. Walking on the beach and taking in the view of the Pyrenees.....seeing the first snows on the upper slopes and fantastic sunsets over the bay.
It's like the whole town breathes a collective sigh of relief and we all start talking and smiling to each other again. 
For us, the best time of the year.


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

That would be yes...and no!
People are either thoroughly 'into' it or terrified of all fungi and won't even touch them
You need books - lots of them. 
Roger Phillips' Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe,
John Wright's River Cottage book is nice, because it's such fun to read as well. His photos are excellent.
I also use Setas de Galicia which is in Castellano. 

I collected in the UK for two years before eating any - except the really obvious ones like blewets (lepista nuda).
Parasols are okay and easy to identify but they MUST be tall and have a large round 'hat'. Small versions that look the same are deadly poisonous.
The boletus types are fairly safe, with the exception of Boletus Calopus, which is large and had yellow pores underneath.
I can't wait for it to rain. There's nothing right now, but in May we can pick kilos of Chanterelles and even some boletus edulis.
No giant puffballs though.
Having written that, I remember seeing someone having found one in Lugo province.
They are very rare here. So rare that they make the news!
xx



JBODEN said:


> [Fungi ]
> 
> Is mushroom hunting, a Spanish thing?


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

jojo said:


> I hate this time of year! It always feels like the optimism has gone! The summers over and all there is ahead are cold days, long dark nights, the winter, which I hate, christmas (I'm not good with christmas for lots of reasons). At least the weather is beautiful at the moment tho
> 
> Jo xxxx


I dont usually like this time of year for the same reasons, but its suddenly turned back into summer again down here, and now the Fuengirola feria is about to start (which usually signals the start of the rainy season) so its not exactly quiet either. (Went to the horse taming competition in the bullring today and we had to shelter from the blazing heat. BTW, the horse taming was a more civilized affair than it sounded, no cracking of whips or anything like that, more of a competition to see how well-trained they were.)


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

*Rain!*

Oh, I just had to go and write that I can't wait for rain.....yep - all night!
xx






Normatheexdiva said:


> That would be yes...and no!
> People are either thoroughly 'into' it or terrified of all fungi and won't even touch them
> You need books - lots of them.
> Roger Phillips' Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe,
> ...


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Normatheexdiva said:


> Oh, I just had to go and write that I can't wait for rain.....yep - all night!
> xx


Yes, bruxa - -cursing us! And apparently for all week long here, too!:rain: Still, close your eyes, count to ten and think of mushrooms.

xxxx


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

Xa, Xa!
I'll email you soon.
xxxx



Tallulah said:


> Yes, bruxa - -cursing us! And apparently for all week long here, too!:rain: Still, close your eyes, count to ten and think of mushrooms.
> 
> xxxx


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## Draughtsman (Aug 23, 2009)

Tallulah said:


> Things are now settling down into their routine with the kids back at school. The mornings are crisper and cooler - the mist on the distant hills and mountains slowly dissolves in the sun to reveal the changing colours of the landscape. Autumn is here. Time to sort out the wood for the fireplace and look forward to a roaring log fire shortly in the evenings. Weekend walks on the beach, in the forests collecting pine cones and chestnuts. Or maybe I'm just rushing it along a bit, because although it's still fairly early, I just love this time of year. Looking forward, dare I say it, to the garden clearance over at my mother-in-law's later today, stacking up the bonfires ready for when we get the licence to burn from the ayuntamiento....meaning an evening fire with all the kids outside standing around, bbq, marshmallows on sticks and a hot toddy! After all the excesses of the summer and the initial rush around in early September with the "vuelta al cole", it's time to batten down the hatches and return to a simpler, quieter life. My favourite time of year.
> 
> Tallulah.x



sounds really nice, my favourite time of year too.
always like it when the season change, the last days of summer into autumn are my favourite.
galicia sounds good in the autumn.

just got back from 3 weeks in the sun in tenerife, lovly time was had but back the uk now and the leaves are just turning.


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

[Parasols are okay and easy to identify but they MUST be tall and have a large round 'hat'. Small versions that look the same are deadly poisonous.
The boletus types are fairly safe, with the exception of Boletus Calopus, which is large and had yellow pores underneath.
I can't wait for it to rain. There's nothing right now, but in May we can pick kilos of Chanterelles and even some boletus edulis.
No giant puffballs though.
They are very rare here. So rare that they make the news!]

I have parasols in my garden and giant puffballs. The former I don't pick because the differences between the edible and poisonous ones are minimal. The latter I didn't realize were edible. Anyway in Poland they aren't on the picking list because there are more than enough edible boletus (cepes) to gather. The problem always is, 'who's going to clean them?'.


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Draughtsman said:


> sounds really nice, my favourite time of year too.
> always like it when the season change, the last days of summer into autumn are my favourite.
> galicia sounds good in the autumn.
> 
> just got back from 3 weeks in the sun in tenerife, lovly time was had but back the uk now and the leaves are just turning.




Yes, it's beautiful now (well, it's always beautiful!) even in the rain. I used to love this time of year back in the UK as well ....you'll have to have a looky-see soon for yourself!


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

If the puffball is pure white and a giant, yes no problem. If it is hard and black inside, then it's an earthball and not edible.
The Parasol must be tall and have a cap of 12cm (or thereabouts) the poisonous versions are much smaller and tend to live in woodland, whilst the parasols are usually on footpaths and the edge of fields. 
They are really good if cut into wedges, floured, dipped into beaten egg and then breadcrumbs and fried. 
Make some garlic mayo as a nice accompaniment and you'll be well fed! 
Thanks to John Wright's book we ate plenty Boletus Luridiformis this year, despite the fact that they have red pores and turns bright blue when cut. 
They are pretty delicious. It's raining like mad now. All the buckets are in position upstairs and soon, very soon, I'll be out lurking in the fields and woods, but not on a Sunday or Thursday. 
Risk of death increased by 100% on those days!
xxx






JBODEN said:


> [Parasols are okay and easy to identify but they MUST be tall and have a large round 'hat'. Small versions that look the same are deadly poisonous.
> The boletus types are fairly safe, with the exception of Boletus Calopus, which is large and had yellow pores underneath.
> I can't wait for it to rain. There's nothing right now, but in May we can pick kilos of Chanterelles and even some boletus edulis.
> No giant puffballs though.
> ...


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Normatheexdiva said:


> If the puffball is pure white and a giant, yes no problem. If it is hard and black inside, then it's an earthball and not edible.
> The Parasol must be tall and have a cap of 12cm (or thereabouts) the poisonous versions are much smaller and tend to live in woodland, whilst the parasols are usually on footpaths and the edge of fields.
> They are really good if cut into wedges, floured, dipped into beaten egg and then breadcrumbs and fried.
> Make some garlic mayo as a nice accompaniment and you'll be well fed!
> ...


Tell me about it - not the days to go tramping through the woods with my dog!!

In fact, we ran into one of our friends at the ayuntamiento the other day - they own a very large "pazo" type property here - and their land extends a long way out into the woods - far too big to enclose properly (and too expensive) and at the bottom they have jabalin running amock. Hence they often wake up in the morning with the garden full of hunters with guns and dogs running around - they have to apply now for the part surrounding their property to be taken out of the hunting zone so that the hunters don't stray into their property. Their current way of warning them off is to greet them early on a Sunday morning in their dressing gowns, waving a piece of toast and a video camera, capturing the trespassers! What they have been worried about seriously though is the fact that they have children - and they often have friends to stay over - the kids love to play on the land and in the woods. It could be a very dangerous scenario...but hey ho - trying to get it all sorted with the ayuntamiento etc is a huge amount of fun...NOT!

xxxxx


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

[If the puffball is pure white and a giant, yes no problem. If it is hard and black inside, then it's an earthball and not edible.
The Parasol ... really good if cut into wedges, floured, dipped into beaten egg and then breadcrumbs and fried.]
Then they are in fact earthballs :sad: I was served a Parasol once and it was very succulent.


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

Oh gosh, that's a bit of a nightmare. I'd put up a notice explaining in detail asking hunters to respect their land. It all depends on the people doing the hunting I guess.
If they managed to fence it off with signs, there's always someone- anywhere -here, the UK, who will cut through it and carry on doing what they want.
xxx






Tallulah said:


> Tell me about it - not the days to go tramping through the woods with my dog!!
> 
> In fact, we ran into one of our friends at the ayuntamiento the other day - they own a very large "pazo" type property here - and their land extends a long way out into the woods - far too big to enclose properly (and too expensive) and at the bottom they have jabalin running amock. Hence they often wake up in the morning with the garden full of hunters with guns and dogs running around - they have to apply now for the part surrounding their property to be taken out of the hunting zone so that the hunters don't stray into their property. Their current way of warning them off is to greet them early on a Sunday morning in their dressing gowns, waving a piece of toast and a video camera, capturing the trespassers! What they have been worried about seriously though is the fact that they have children - and they often have friends to stay over - the kids love to play on the land and in the woods. It could be a very dangerous scenario...but hey ho - trying to get it all sorted with the ayuntamiento etc is a huge amount of fun...NOT!
> 
> xxxxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Normatheexdiva said:


> It's raining like mad now. All the buckets are in position upstairs and soon, very soon, I'll be out lurking in the fields and woods, but not on a Sunday or Thursday.
> Risk of death increased by 100% on those days!
> xxx


 No setas in the province of Madrid this year I think: It has rained one and a half days since May . It was 27º yesterday, and today the same. Aquí no hay playa, but it's like the Costa del Sol!

but not on a Sunday or Thursday??? Because the setas are more poisonous on those days??? Because those are hunting days????


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## Normatheexdiva (Jan 29, 2009)

That would be more fun.....but no, it's hunting. Men with rifles to kill animals practically the size of a large child. Deadly poisonous....

I suppose the 'more fun' rule would be, 'you can pick boletus aereus or edulis any day of the week, but on a Xoves or Domingo, they will change into Boletus Torosus, which unfortunately has no common name. Not even really scary local name. 
Shame that, because in other places you can find The Devil's Bolete. 
xxxx




Pesky Wesky said:


> No setas in the province of Madrid this year I think: It has rained one and a half days since May . It was 27º yesterday, and today the same. Aquí no hay playa, but it's like the Costa del Sol!
> 
> but not on a Sunday or Thursday??? Because the setas are more poisonous on those days??? Because those are hunting days????


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