Fresh from the sun

Well, having enjoyed the highs of 29 degrees here in Sussex at the weekend I'm now back to the usual Autumn paraphernalia - gilets and boot socks (Hunter lilacs to match naturally - DD too!) So resembling a slightly pastel coloured Michelin Man I have now resigned myself to the fact my hands will never feel warm again till May and that my gilet will catch on every Hawthorn prickle, bramble and barbed wire spike going! Still I have an autumn tan.


The raspberries are at an end - doubt any will be good after the weekend and the apples are on the turn (those left on the trees anyway) Not many blackberries left either. Just waiting for some more sloe berries to ripen then there'll be more gin to be made. Looks like if we get snowed in again it'll be gin and sackfuls of frozen raspberries and apple pies! 


Nature wise, the owls are going nuts, the rabbits full of mixi (ask my dog!) the stoats come out in broad daylight and interestingly the swallows are still here - I think this is the latest I have seen them here. Foxy Loxy (as DD calls them) is out with vengeance and I fear for my ducks at night. Thankfully he/she seems interested in the many rabbit, wood pigeon and cat - yes CAT! Not a pleasant sight at 7 in the morning and not an easy conversation with a 4 year old wondering what Foxy Loxy had had for supper last night that was black and white fur!!


Anyway, pig ark arrived yesterday and fencing getting done tomorrow with the logging of the felled tree hopefully. All things being equal Spot and Stripe arrive Sunday! Watch this space for pics! The sheep have been moved onto a field with better pasture as their nutrient needs become greater at this time of year. This means it's like some Gladiator gauntlet run through the field so as not to get butted and mobbed by the now very hefty sheep! Have to have a think about doing the dreaded toe clipping on them too before winter sets in. The ducks are as loopy as ever with Pongo still unsure about the whole leadership gig in life being overwhelmed by Jemima mostly. No eggs yet but they are maturing - they don't freak out when I'm within 20 metres of them, they are nesting in their pond areas but they are becoming mature sadly right at the time they would stop laying! Oh well, spring duck eggs to look forward to. 


More soon!


Mx

Weather: Cold, cloudy but none of the gales and battering my hometown's been receiving!