We got our ‘Indian Summer’ – ten warm bright sunny days to remember before the storm season arrives. The light is shallower now, and the days are cooler but still warm enough to sit out and do some writing. My new book is taking shape with a sharper focus on the power barons and their plotting to accrete more resources.

And the veggies keep coming. From just one cucumber plant, we have cropped plenty of fat stubby fruits and the carrots have got going to give a bumper harvest. I have learnt a lot about pickling in these dog days of summer. And the chardonnay grape vine has got some fruit at long last, but those green pearls are as sharp as they look. Might do better next year as I have bought a book of instructions for winemakers.

We have now passed the autumnal equinox, and the clocks will return to wintertime soon. It can be a melancholy time like the fading of the cherry blossom in the Japanese springtime, ‘mono no aware’, so let’s enjoy the end of summer show of pink anemones and ruby sedums, and the vibrant red lilies and orange pokers.  

Come back next month for news of the autumnal clear-out and the book about medical gang warfare at ‘Angies’.