Making the most of Autumn!

It's been an unseasonably warm Autumn day.As I sat on an upturned water heater which used to heat a former Victorian greenhouse, a coffee in one hand and a bowl of blackberries in the other the sun beat down on my back.

Blackberries have been in abundance this year,So have the Victoria plums and damsons and, in an effort to make the most of the harvest , I spent the evening making blackberry and apple jam. As with many rural communities, the apples were a gift from a friend as our apple tree hasn't produced much this year and what there are, are  perched in the highest part of the tree!

This year I am determined to make the most of  the harvest and turn it into gifts for Christmas. I am the laughing stock in our house as my shopping list contained a request for Vodka, an essential ingredient for Limoncello which I intend to make. The family thought I had turned into an Alcoholic!

There has been a scent of Autumn in the air .There are rose hips in the hedgerows .The elderberries and sloes are almost ready to be picked too. One morning this week there were spiders webs everywhere glistening with rain drops.

As the fallen fruits ferment under the trees in the orchard they are covered by butterflies and wasps.

I've  discovered four types of fungi in the garden too. It's one of the advantages of having a 'wild garden' there is always a suprise!This is the Shaggy inkcap, so called as it withers and turns inky black as it ages.

Anyway we all seem to be enjoying the sunshine. My daughter is under canvas this weekend. It makes a change to have sunshine instead of the snow and flooding of last winter,and this cheeky chap certainly seemed to be relaxed as he sunned himself on the wall!