Another blog in haste - busy harvesting fruit on the allotment in between showers, and then prepping it for jam or freezing in between the sunny spells!
There are currently a lot of wasps in the garden too - a little while ago my Waspinator blew down and shredded itself and I didn't get around to replacing it. No point, I thought - the summer is nearly over ... silly me. The Waspinator usually does a sterling job and I only ever see the occasional solitary wasp passing through: the other day while doing a little digging I suddenly found myself surrounded by a cloud of them. Since then they appear to have taken up residence round the willow tree and the topiary box next to it, swarming all over them and the ground at the foot of them is alive with crawling black and yellow bodies ... Some are absolutely huge. Normally I try to be as organic and eco-friendly as possible, but I really can't have wasps moving in to the garden because of the dogs - whenever Archie gets stung he blows up something horrible. I always make sure that when we go for a walk I have Apis mel. and anti histamine tablets with me ever since he somehow managed to tread on a bee on what should have been a relaxing stroll ... Calling in the wasp man from the council is out of the question as they just bombard with chemicals, which I don't want to expose my dogs to either.
So following suggestions from the Friendly Gardeners on Facebook, the tree is now festooned with brown paper bags stuffed with newspaper, and wasp catchers, while the remaining Waspinator is hung from the nearby apple tree, Strange fruit indeed. Lets hope it works!
Autumn is definitely here - leaves are beginning to change colour, the days are noticeably growing shorter, there is a chill in the air in the mornings and there are spiders everywhere you look! On the plus side, the hedgerows are full of blackberries, to Angel's delight and I am overwhelmed by a glut of plums - so much so that I have resorted to making plum gin, vodka and brum (a mix of rum and brandy) It is one way of using up old spirits I suppose! And of course, much easier than making jam ...
