Summer's end

Hello Friends,
Hope you are all enjoying the summer. It won't be with us much longer. Our swifts have departed this week for African climes & as soon as I stepped outside this morning, I noticed that first hint of autumn lurking at the edges of the day, waiting to move in.
The garden here at 'The People & Cats Republic' is still quite colourful, but with those hot 'end of summer' shades:

Rudbeckia 'Chocolate Orange'

A very bog-standard crocosmia, but pretty nevertheless

Ligularia - but not the more usual one with spikes of flowers

Plenty of weeds too.........

This year's sunflowers - can't remember variety, but it had 'moon' in the name.

Mesembryanthemums still flowering - these remind me of the 1976 drought as they were about the only green thing left in our garden by the time the rains finally arrived!

Not sure what this is - it's always called 'Tall yellow daisy thing' in our house.

The 'Hagstones' frog community still enjoying warm pondy loveliness.........

..........and a certain white & tabby-furred gentleman is still spending a large proportion of his days like this!

 

So, summer is reaching its end, but there is still loads to do in the veggie garden. We're right in the middle of harvesting time now. We've had all the alliums (apart from spring onions), potatoes, & broad beans. We're currently cropping courgettes, tomatoes, chillies, the last of the summer lettuces, watercress & aubergines and the runner beans, peppers & beetroot won't be long. I've also sown some seeds for later crops - more lettuces, radishes, french beans, baby turnips & spinach, so still plenty of watering, weeding & hoeing to do for a good while yet. This afternoon, I'm planning to make my first chutney of the season - a Smoky Tomato Chutney, but more of my jammin' another time.

For fans of Albert Whiskers - A neighbour on the opposite side of the street has workmen ripping up her hall floor today. I happened to look out of the window & spotted Albert Whiskers (who isn't very good at camouflage except potentially on snowy days) sitting in the middle of all the power tools, boxes, planks & equipment, having clearly gone over to offer Cat Help. I hope he didn't make too much of a nuisance of himself. I know from experience that there is nothing in the world LESS helpful than Cat Help. Can only assume he was checking whether there was any ham stored under the floorboards which needed removing. There obviously wasn't, as he eventually came home & started meowing for......stewed greengages! I give up!

We're over the hump day now, so nearly the weekend. Have a good one, all.
C x