As usual the holly trees at the bottom of our garden have produced berries that have ripened into a lovely bright red cloak on the trees. The bigger birds are having a feast and while this reduces the berries there usually seems to be enough around for Christmas. We have the usual crop of quinces on the trees, Mrs Terry is so annoyed with all this fruit going to waste that recipes involving quince have been coming into the house. What the result will be I will let you know. My mother used to make Quince and Rhubarb jam or jelly, I cannot remember, but that was in the days after the war when many of our population were a great deal slimmer than they are now and rationing was still in force! A good friend of ours said he had some damsons still available on the tree and we managed to pick enough to make several pots of jam and provide two or three puddings of damson and custard which I am quite partial to I have decided. But be warned, the fruits have stones in, about the size of cherry stones.

The days get shorter but the comparative mildness and the damp is still keeping some plants active although our lawn seems finally to have slowed its growth. The wet year has made everything grow so well that we seem to have more pruning than usual so I shall not be resting on my laurels.

This is being written in early October and we have just picked the last blackberries of the season. This event usually happens in August. It has been a bumper crop. The hazelnuts have also been plentiful; squirrels have taken most in our garden, but mother has brought me two bagsful from the nut trees that surround her garden. Two Muntjac were happily grazing in a field at Shackleford, a doe and a fawn. They are so tiny, about the size of a pygmy goat. Usually difficult to spot in long grass, we saw them because the field had been grazed by horses. They have been there before and we suspect they live in the woods that edge the field. There are a number of hornets around at the moment. They are the largest of the wasp family and orange in colour instead of yellow. Or are they foreign, coming over from the continent. Hornets are very rare and rarely seen due to persecution, perhaps they are making a comeback.

At this time of the year the males of all the wasp family start to die and the mated Queens hibernate, to start laying eggs in the spring. As it is still so warm many insects are still around. Yesterday 10th October I saw a ladybird, is this because of global warming? Unusual abundance of insects seen at this time of the year. I will start to feed the birds once the first frost appears. At the moment there is plenty of natural food around for them.