Eleven days to go

Web on the Marsh

You know when winter is on her way… when you open up the fridge door and it feels decidedly warmer in there, than in the kitchen. I admit it, I miss seeing the cool air billow out into the room as I pushed myself in to the fridge to cool off. October 1st, we are 30 degrees cooler today than we were yesterday, really. Pie is coated up as it has rained hard for another 24 hours solid. I am starting to wonder if the pond will ever get dug, which is a great shame as it would surely be overflowing by now and a sight to see, patience was never my strong point. Alas I think my days of wearing shorts have come to an end. I did try this morning but the weather beat me back into the house to dig through my winter clothes box for something a little longer and much warmer.

Red Apples on Murdock

The deer group are still hanging out under the apple tree in Murdock pasture, at least six oldies and the two fawns. Tom and I have been delayed (rain) in our latest project of clearing the 30 foot spread of wild rose, thorns, brambles and everlasting honeysuckle from the three (possibly four, still cant really see) intertwined trees that stand atop that pasture to the north.

Before

Thomas, to the right of him is (was) one of the giant bloody English Roses

And then after

The critter in attic is preparing for winter. This morning he didn’t start work until 6am, unfortunately for me, he wears hobnailed boots and uses a jack hammer. How many people can say they have a live four legged ‘thing’ that wakes them daily? Don’t answer that. I have decided it is most likely just a chipmunk, which of course, I think is quite cool, not sure that husband will feel the same way, think that maybe he will think how wonderful it is to have ‘live’ moving targets. Luckily for them (and me) he is only a marksmen with an M16 and not with a rifle or pistol.

Photograph of first Suspect leaving the house via the unauthorized entry/exit

Suspect A. Chipmunk

The monster under the stairs. When I was saying good night to Tom at the foot of the stairs, I heard one of the dogs up on the landing, which is really strange as A. they are not allowed up stairs and B. we have a wooden gate at the bottom of said stairs to stop them going up, which was locked and closed…. So, I hear what ‘sounds’ like a large dog upstairs, then I look behind me, to see C. both dogs laying flat out on their sofa (its an English thing), shit, that means what-ever it is, is not one of our dogs. I tentatively go upstairs to see what such large thing could have snuck into our home undetected. Nothing. I go back down stairs and wait, at the foot of the stairway. There it is again! but now I realize it is coming from UNDER the stairs not on-top and HOW on earth can a dog sized thing fit under the stairs anyway?!….. Must be a bloody large raccoon and how exactly it gets into the house I do not know. I am not overly concerned about going down into the cellar to confirm my theory, not tonight anyway.

No pictures of 'the' monster, just the two regular monsters

Weasle & J

Jackson headed off to his new home at the beginning of October. The Pie complained for six hours solid, then stopped as quickly as he started. He moved back into being head horse of all that he prevails, which appears to be very much to his liking. My mucking out duties seem to have disappeared completely, which I am very happy about too.

See, I really did grow something!

Green tomatoes line every windowsill in the kitchen. The veggies all did their producing and now have been cremated and put to rest. The last standing goodies being sprouts (yuck I hear you say? Never!) and additional asparagus planted for another year. There is a solitary aubergine too, but I don’t think it will fruit in time. Damn and blast those squash bugs for eating the beautiful pumpkins. The other beasties we were pestered by Hornworms (see picture, you wouldn‘t believe me if I told you how big that thing was), which is a totally disgusting name for a caterpillar, but anyway - they eat tomato plants, but wasps lay eggs in them which look like white spot markings on their backs, then the wasp hatches and they die, so all is good there and as noted already, we had plenty of tomatoes to share, so can‘t complain.

Hornworm - not to scale, larger in life

On a final positive note, I am enjoying my work immensely. We seem to have taken the world by storm and have been receiving many new buyers from all over the world, quite literally. I have the occasional day when I am bored out of my brains but mostly we are working flat out and the days fly by. I have been bringing garden goodies in for Junko & Louis, my last delivery was some rhubarb. The very next day I get a pot of the most deliciously smooth, light, tart and oooh sooo sweet ‘rhubarb fool’ which I thought I would not like, but having gone to bed with stomach ache for eating it too fast, my stomached begged to differ.

The Weasle

11 days to go and THEN Steven arrives in America!