I haven’t written much about flora and fauna in recent blogs, but a few things happened last week that were worthy of note, so this week it is going to be nature heavy. The main photo (above) was taken this morning on our Nellie walk, it is Greater Napweed, and was growing along a field margin. It was a very cheery sight on a windy autumn day.

Monday and Tuesday of last week were perfect autumn days (after some misty starts), with clear skies and very pleasant temperatures. So much so that I sat outside to consume my lunch, soaking up the sunshine and taking in the sights, sounds and smells. As I sat there I became aware of the varied birdsong, both near and further away towards the woods, so I reached for my phone and activated the ‘Merlin’ app that identifies the source of the different calls. In a 20 minute recording session on Tuesday between 1.00 and 1.20 the following list of birds appeared on my screen; they are listed in the order that they popped up. Robin, Jackdaw, Dunnock, Pheasant, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Wren, Chiffchaff, Firecrest (I would have loved to have seen that!), Linnet, Nuthatch, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow, Blackcap. Not a bad haul for the time it took for me to eat my cheese sandwich and drink my cup of builders tea.

As I was approaching the orchard the other day to pick yet more apples I disturbed a beautiful young fox, which, upon seeing me, fled down one of the rows of trees and disappeared into the copse beyond. Then yesterday afternoon I had to go down to the barn that stands adjacent to the orchard to collect something, and as I walked back up towards the shed the same, or very similar fox ran off carrying something in its mouth. I was delighted to be treated to both sightings, but am a little concerned that it was so active during the middle of the afternoon, because I believed them to be mostly nocturnal hunters. I wonder if its den is close by?

The deer are also very active right now and can be seen most days either grazing out in the parkland or heading to or from the woods. They are sometimes in smallish groups of 4 or 5 but one evening when I was leaving for home I counted a herd of at least 30 beasts munching grass. It is usually around this time when I can hear them bellowing in the woods, part of the rutting ritual. As with most blokes I think that there is more noisy bluster than action.

I expect that many of you would have observed the swarms of ladybirds on the wing on a couple of occasions last week. Wherever I went I was waving my hands in front of me as they swirled about haphazardly. Back at home lots of them were landing on the external cottage walls and clusters of them gathered in corners and around water pipes in the hallway inside, I suppose to overwinter.

I have a new neigh-bour. A couple that recently moved into one of the estate cottages have brought their Appaloosa pony with them, and it is now resident in one of the nursery paddocks in front of the potting shed. He is a lovely boy, 25 years old, and his owner has had him since he was 2. He seems to have settled in well, and has barely lifted his head from tearing at the tasty pasture since arriving. I think that we might become friends.

In the shop this week there are savoy cabbages, broccoli, French beans, and a limited number of red cabbages. I will be cutting ‘Palla Rossa’ Raddichio, which is an attractive salad vegetable with a slightly bitter taste and a nice crisp texture that is good when mixed with other salad leaves. There will be leeks, beetroot , sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, Uchiki Kuri squash and kohlrabi. There are Accord and Java potatoes. The apples this week are (I think) St Edmund Pippin – a very firm and crunchy type with a nice level of acidity, plus cooking apples, lemons and ‘Bacon’ avocados. The ones delivered last week needed a few days to ripen, and I suspect that the same will be the case this time. I will be making parsley pesto this week, having pulled up what remained of the basil. I am hoping to collect the second batch of apple juice soon, so those of you that prefer a less sweet juice than the ‘Discovery’ , something a little more lip smacking, will have a choice. It is not guaranteed that it will be ready for me to pick up this week, so I haven’t added it to the shop. Another tease is that in the days ahead I will do a test dig of the celeriac to see if it has bulked up enough to start lifting….I’ll let you know in due course.

‘Palla Rossa’ Raddichio

Wasn’t it sad to learn last week of the death of Jane Goodall? She was true pioneer in her field of biology and a passionate champion of conservation, a truly inspiration figure. She died aged 91 whilst on a lecture tour in the USA, spreading the word to the very end, what a woman.

Right that’s me done for this week. Enjoy the autumn colours, and the Hunter’s supermoon early Tuesday evening – lets hope for a clear sky.

Phil