Autumn thoughts

Particularly during autumn, in the last few days of sunshine, the allotment beautifully captures the last gasps of summer. The majority of the plants are finished producing (beans, berries etc), and the winter crops are newly in (leeks, potatoes, parsnips and onions). The fruit trees only retain a few pears or apples. Large parts of the plots have been cleared for next spring and the pumpkin vegetation is beginning to die back, revealling enormous pumpkins nearly ready to be eaten.

The chickens seem to know the nights are drawing in too. In the last few days when I have gone down to feed them, they have been perched outside the coop half asleep, waiting for food before turning in.

I unashamedly love autumn, it brings back memories of my childhood in Canada. The bright coloured leaves falling, the shortening of the day and the excitement of waiting for the first snowfall. Autumn signals a time of relative quiet at the allotment (chicken feeding aside) as we all take a season off to curl up warm at home surrounded by friends and family