Working Late

Over the last two weeks I have been leaving for work at 8:20am and returning home at 6pm. This has meant that there has not been enough time during the week to make bread. So today I baked enough bread for the whole week - some square loaves a few rounds and some nann bread. It all freezes well and comes out like freshly baked bread - just take some out the night before you need it to allow it to fully defrost.
This shift is likely to go on until Christmas, so my bread baking is now restricted to weekends unless we want some quick and easy bread types.
Another surprise was finding a Comma butterfly in the garden. The broods are usually out in June and August, and mainly in the South of the country. It is unusual to see Comma butterflies this far north, and very unusual on a cold Autumn day.
The Comma is a type of fritillary that hibernates over the winter months in caves, sheds and other protected spaces, emerging in the warm weather to breed and lay eggs. To see one in Stoke, in October is quite exceptional.