This week’s figs. Not freshly plucked from the Fig trees of Kalamata but picked off the shelf from Marks and Spencer. A sign of the times figuratively speaking.

Today is the Autumn Solstice, a calm acceptance that Summer is officially over. The autumn clear up of the yard is scheduled for today.

The huge success of this summer has been the trellis extension( the orange area)  to the wall. It gives us a foundation of better privacy in the yard. There are three seating areas to catch the sun and we use them much more often than we ever have before. Not that our neighbours are Ogres at all,but they do have a garden trampoline and goodness me I have an irrational dislike of those things. Now it is just a small black line on my extended horizon. The trellis also stops our dogs seeing the cats and chickens of our local area walking along the top of the wall. The dogs have an irrational need to be terratorial about such incursions.

A calm acceptance of the Autumn Solstice is a bit of a lie. Inside I am fuming, Summer arrived late in our yard and yet it is departing on time. I have enjoyed watching the progress and achievements of the climbing plants as they clamber their way up new wood and old stone to colonise the trellis. The Wisteria has something even more exciting to climb on, a massive rusty length of marine chain which was washed up during the last storm before summer established itself. In time the wisteria will cover the garage roof using the chain as a wayfinder.

So here we are Autumn, in theory my favourite season but I really only dislike winter.

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. I am already signed in with my figs.