mid - October

Already mid-October, things have been busy here but I have made time to walk and notice the slow changes in the countryside as autumn approaches.

The leaves are beginning to turn

splashes of red

and yellow in the hedgerows.

There are plenty of rosehips

and it has been a particularly good year for blackberries though the flavour of the remaining ones is beginning to deteriorate. I have some in the freezer to make blackberry and apple crumble or for baked blackberry oatmeal and I've made a few pots of blackberry jelly.

Amidst all the business, and in between the rainstorms, I have been appreciating the gentle quietness of the season.

View from the Shard and the poppies

A couple of weeks ago eldest son and I took a trip to London to visit the Shard. I've been wanting to go since it opened and it was amazing, maybe even better than we expected.

It was a bright sunny day, the horizon was a little misty but we could see all the immediate sights of London.

The London Eye and the Houses of Parliament,

St Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge and the Thames snaking down past Canary Wharf. The red colour surrounding the Tower of London is the poppies

 - here is a closer shot. Thousands of poppies, this was two weeks ago and since more will be added right up until the eleventh of November, the area will be even greater now.

I took many many photographs in every direction, looking down at the Thames

and up at the sky. We were on floor 72 which is the highest floor open to the public but we weren't near to the top.

There was artificial grass on the floor and deck chairs, not sure if this is just for the summer or a permanent fixture.

This is one of my favourite shots, I like the way there are buildings built over centuries all tucked together between railways and roads - so interesting to look down at all the different styles of architecture.

Back down to earth we walked over Tower Bridge

pausing to look back at the Shard

and then to the Tower of London to take a closer look at the poppies.

By the eleventh of November there will be 888,246 ceramic poppies, one for each British or Colonial military fatality during the First World War.

A stunning and sobering display.

in the garden

The days continue warm and sunny. If I am at home, I take my lunch out into the garden to enjoy the last of the summer.

The potted Christmas tree has survived another summer so will be brought inside again this year. it will be its fifth Christmas!

The grapevine leaves are turning,

and there are plenty of grapes. The grapes are small and sweet but full of pips and I am the only one in the family that eats them. I'm sure that those dark blue/purple skins are full of antioxidants! A healthy "zero food miles" addition to my lunch.

late summer at West Green House

I have heard that autumn is two to three weeks early this year with tree fruit ripening ahead of schedule and leaves turning. Here though, we are enjoying an "indian summer", cool in the morning but hot and sunny during the day.

Here are a few photographs of the gardens at West Green House. The garden closes in a few weeks so this was probably my last visit of this year - taking time to enjoy the late summer flowers and the peace of the lake and grounds.

late August

A few days until the August Bank Holiday and already things are staring to look autumnal.

There are fewer flowers now than in mid-summer.

The hogweed is still in flower

although many have already turned to seed,

the seedheads as attractive as the flowers.

The thistles are over and the thistle down is ready to float on the breeze

and up in the horse chestnut tree, plenty of conkers are forming.

This bank holiday always feels like the end of summer whatever the weather but this year more so as it seems to be turning cooler. Yesterday morning at 6:30 the car thermometer read 5ºC and there was low lying mist over the fields, early autumn weather.