The warmth stayed with us for the first half of the month with temperatures in the low twenties across England. We harvested baskets and boxes of Squash, Corn, Apples and Medlars, alongside the continual pickings of Chard and Spinach. Jams and chutneys were produced and this year we added a Medlar cheese to our culinary efforts. It has proved to be a winner, completely delicious. We swapped buckets of Apples for bags of fresh Walnuts and Kiwi fruits which keep well for months if stored in a cold setting and we're not short of places that fit the bill. And the cold did indeed set in, almost overnight halfway through the month. Storm Babet visited, stopping trains with the flooding and bringing power cuts to thousands - mostly on the East - and seven people died from the affects of the storm. No trains were leaving or entering Cornwall from as far away as Exeter for a few days but the county was mostly free of weather warnings.
In spite of the storm leaving the garden strewn with leaves, it was only the Hazels and Blackthorn that sported bare branches. The Sycamores, the Oaks and the Willows all hung onto their greenery. And in the garden large pink roses continued to flourish. The Haws were dripping from the Hawthorn trees, the production of yellow flowers on the Gorse bushes went into overdrive and the Blackberry bushes were still green leaved and flush with fruit. Nettles continued to grow as strong as ever and the grass also continued to flourish. Ragworts and butterflies still met together regularly and dozens of rooks lined the telegraph wires all along the lane.
Taking a walk around the field at the end of October I found large swathes of it to be still full of growth and colour but aware of the closing down of nature slowly creeping across the area. The field was getting ready for its winter sleep and elements of decay were appearing. Checking over the trees I found the Field Maples, the Rowans, the Oaks, the Italian Alders, the Autumn Olives, the Junipers and the Wild Cherry trees were all doing well, looking strong and ready to face the relentless Westerlies which regularly pound this hillside. The Silver Birch, the Beech and the Cobbs struggle to fully establish themselves - they hang on in there, often bent double from the prevailing winds. I am hoping that the rows of hedge plants we have dug in to surround the copse will eventually help reduce the impact of the wind. We have lost half a dozen of the hedging plants but most are thriving and looking robust.
Although we have had songs from the Winter bird visitors, it is a quiet time now as all the swallows have finally flown from the barn. A few pheasants hide and roost in the back garden, a dodgy pastime with 3 dogs of various sizes and ages now roaming around the house and garden. No fatalities yet. The rabbits are, as usual, ruling the hedgerows with their marauding gangs, annihilating everything in their way. Eating our food is one thing but they also cause untold damage to the Cornish Hedges lining the fields and tracks. Their digging is efficient enough to push out large stones, followed by piles of beautiful soil. And so October ends, with one foot still standing in the warm and mellow sunshine and one foot in the pile of dead leaves and crisp frosty ground.
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