Autumn with the Honeyfurs

I hope you have all been having a pleasant autumn or spring! 

Some of you may remember the Honeyfur family, who I wrote about a couple of years ago here. I thought it was time to catch up with them again, especially because I wanted to do an autumn themed post.

It has been nearly three years since the Honeyfur family traded their settled lives in the village for a life of travel and adventure in their gypsy caravan. Their days spent journeying and exploring the woods are always full of anticipation, but for the winter they usually find a safe place to settle down for the chilly days ahead. 

Velvette likes to keep plenty of food in their store in preparation for the wintry months. Even though they are able to get out and travel to the village if they need to, it is in her instincts to stock up. Not to mention the fact that her family are voracious eaters. 

Most of the food in her supply came from the Village Store, owned and run by Cedric Walnut. It has been a part of village life for so long that Velvette doesn't know any different to having the convenience of the supermarket; however, she can remember her grandmother telling different stories. 

Granny Vixen, as she was known, used to reminisce about a time when the only supplier in the village was the Thistlethorn family, who still to this day, ran the Mill, producing all kinds of flour. Apart from them there was the daily milk provisions, delivered daily to each garden gate by the trusty old milkman. Everything else, according to Granny Vixen, was either grown in your own garden or reaped off the woodland. Every spare ounce of food or vegetable was either pickled or squirreled away for the winter. In her words 'Nature provides...it always does.'

Nowdays, Velvette doesn't have to rely quite as much on the woods to provide food for her family, which she supposes is a relief. However, they still like to enjoy the bounty of the land.

Juniper, Barley and Pumpkin had just arrived back from a successful morning's foraging. 

"Look Mama! We got a whole basketful!"

"Wonderful, my darlings!" Velvette peered into the laden basket. "We can have mushroom and pumpkin pie for dinner tonight and you can help me make apple crumble for dessert!" 

Pumpkin licked his licks. His mama's apple crumble is one of his favourites.

Pumpkin's favourite season is autumn. He loves all the pretty colours, and the leaves are very fun to play in!

Living in the forest means that everything is already wild, so there is never any need to rake leaves up! Pumpkin thinks he likes it much better that way!

Autumn, growing cooler in the lead up to winter, is the time of year when Pumpkin begins to keep his special blue blankie closer to him than usual. Velvette knitted it for him last year and it fast became his most treasured possession. 

Unlike most children his age, Pumpkin doesn't have alot of toys, but that fact seldom seems to bother him. As far as he is concerned, he has just as much fun exploring the woodland with his brother and sister, or sitting up beside his daddy at the reins as they travel, watching the world passing by. 

Evenings are the children's favourite time, when, if it isn't too chilly, they sit outside snuggled in their sleeping bags, listening to their father's latest stories as the autumn sun sinks below the trees. Glen has written a novel, along with other non-fiction books about plants, and he is always brimming with new ideas. Some evenings, he reads to the children his day's work from his latest manuscript. Other times, he dreams up a story for them on the spot. The characters from his book become almost like friends to Juniper, Barley and Pumpkin.

"Tell us a story, Papa."

"Hmm... let's see. Once upon a time there were three young cubs..."

The children think that surely there is no better thing in the world than having their own papa tell them his very own stories, listening to his voice and the sound of nature telling its own story as it beds down for the night, with the rustling of the trees and singing of the thrush in the oak tree above.

I hope you enjoyed this little story. I'm afraid I have been a bit quiet on this blog the past year or so. I have simply been lacking in inspiration as well as motivation to take pictures and write stories. I guess it isn't unusual to take breaks from hobbies or lose enthusiasm from time to time. Hopefully writing this post might help to get me more inspired... What do you do when you go through a time of demotivation with Sylvanians?

Have a great week!