The Beginning

Life in Mud Spattered Boots started as a place to tell some of the story behind the food we eat. I wanted to show the journey from a grain of wheat planted in a field to a loaf of bread on your table and to show a little about life on an arable farm in Essex.

The Middle

Over the years, I’ve deviated from my original mission and written about picking berries from the hedgerows to make preserves, walking through the glorious countryside or just enjoying the passing seasons and I’ve dragged you through my various (sometimes short lived) enthusiasms for things like printmaking, natural dyeing or knitting.

As I wrote in Why do I Bother in 2014, “… the main reason I write this blog is because I love being part of the blogging community. Through reading blogs I’ve been inspired to pick up my knitting needles again, to haul out my sewing machine and to have a jab at crochet; I’ve learnt new techniques for growing vegetables and tried new varieties; my recipe box is bursting with new things to cook and often our supper is influenced by something I’ve seen on a blog earlier in the day. Most of all, I enjoy seeing how other people live. What is a perfectly ordinary day for you may be extraordinary for others. I flit from snow covered Finland to the searing heat of Australia. I’m envious of your glut of fruit when it’s something I use frugally because they’re exotic and expensive to buy here. I have a list of places that I’d like to visit one day, not because they’re an amazing tourist destination but because I’m intrigued about the places you’ve written about and photographed and I’d like to visit the market or check out the art gallery. There are some bloggers I feel I know well enough, even though we’ve never met, that should we find ourselves in each other’s neighbourhood, we’d arrange to get together for a cup of coffee or a glass or two of wine.”

The End

But things have changed since 2014 and I’m calling time on the blog. Why? For the answer, read Why I Stopped Blogging.