Today was sunny and warm and having recovered from a nasty cold virus, which took away my knitting and stained glass window pleasures, I was able to get up to the plot.

The first thing to greet me was a rather beautiful and enormous spiders web. Absolutely amazing it was, my photography does not do this justice. I looked for the spider responsible, expecting to see quite a large spider, but no, it was just a little spider who crept away before I could photograph her, she was all of a half penny in size. She must be hungry.. I left her to it.

Then I inspected the tomatoes. Looking really good aren’t they? The temperature last night had dropped down to 4.5 C in the greenhouse. Which means if we don’t get a very clear night with a frost we should get a few more ripening before November/December. Hubby is thinking about heating the greenhouse if we have a one off dip, I’ll let you know how that goes. We are not watering as frequently as in the summer, we were, but found the fruit was splitting, so now its just about keeping the plants alive whilst the fruit is ripening.

Remember the Forty year old freezer, well those are her wire trays that will be used for baskets for drying onions. We like that. 🙂

Then I started to plant Garlic, Japanese onions and Shallots.. These are the shallots, magnificent aren’t they? Normally, shallots are planted January/February but these according to the packet are to be planted in Autumn. I’ve shown them to a couple of the old boys at the plot and they have never heard of such things, but me,, well I do as I’m told, so have planted them according to the instructions. Fingers crossed.

And just because I like to show you mud. Mud, with garlic, onions and shallots planted in it. Impressive isn’t it? Although you will have to take my word for it.

These are the butternut squash, see how the frost has damaged the leaves. This gave me a very loud message that the game was up and I would have to harvest them.. and the results… Well, don’t get too excited.

I carefully placed the hat for perspective. Need I say more. Apart from I’ve nurtured those plants for months and months, probably since February/March. I need to find a ‘will do well in a dreadful summer’ variety for next year. The long yellow fruits are the courgettes which I have to say, always make me smile, because whatever the weather they always keep plugging away at trying to reproduce.

If anyone at knitting would like any Sage or Rosemary, give me a nudge as I’m just about to trim these.

The Oregano has gone past its best, but its so pretty.

Then I took down all of the canes to get ready for winter. These are the last of the haricot.

The last of the runner beans.

And just a final shot of today, note all of the canes tidied up for winter, its really starting to take shape. Just to put some perspective on my day at the plot, I was there just after eleven, I was home just before four, I worked gently but consistently. There is still much to do.

Walnuts are particularly good at this time of year, these are the first of the season. They are mild and creamy and in no way resemble the sometimes bitter, dry and dusty nuts that you may be offered with a glass of port at Christmas. Figs are good too, ours have finished now, so we are having to buy and with these delightful ingredients a small wedge of Gorgonzola. I wanted something blue but not too strong. I think I would rather have liked a Dolcellata but where we were today did not have any.

Just a quick one, before I slink back to bed. As proud as I am that son no.2 has the gumption to get himself out of bed at 5.30 a.m. on both days at the weekend to help out at the local paper shop, I wish his alarm clock wouldn’t wake me up.

Socks, I said I was knitting socks and I haven’t stopped. I was hoping for a pair a week and looking back at the blog I am doing better than that, but only just. I have two big pairs to knit next so that should slow me down a little.

I can’t find tags and name wools at this time in the morning, and to be honest, Pip, the dog that likes to walk around with things and then drop them, has probably removed them along time ago. I found one of these socks on my bed, not chewed or anything, just carefully placed there.

I knew that my second freezer was feeling its age when the red emergency light stayed on no matter what we tried. I knew the freezer was old when we got it off my Mum about eight years ago. (my first freezer is twenty years old as she was bought for us as a wedding present)

I decided we needed a new freezer, hoping that my rather poorly freezer would stay with us long enough and after wandering around the net for a while, chose an A rated machine, big as we could afford before they went up to silly prices. Delivered yesterday afternoon. Fortunately my poorly freezer managed to keep going until then.

Yesterday morning, Mum and Dad took me out for coffee, whilst chatting I told them about the freezer and commented that it must be well over twenty years old. Mum said, “and the rest”. “Go on”, I say. So she charted the history of the freezer, that it had started life at my Nan’s house, then resided at my Uncles butchers, then back home to my Nan, then it was the family emergency freezer for a while staying at various places, before becoming the emergency freezer for my Mum. During its life with Mum I seem to remember it being the freezer that was carted back and forth to the school (Mum was a caretaker for an infants school) to keep ice cream and ice lollies frozen for the children at their Summer Fete. Then when Mum no longer needed it, it was given to me, must be about eight years ago.

My Mum thinks that as a conservative estimate the freezer is Forty years old, which is nearly as old as me!

If that freezer could talk, I wonder what tales she would tell us about the produce/goodies she has kept frozen in her tummy.