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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 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.
Diana and Richard Terry
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