I hope others are also finding time to enjoy this fabulous autumn weather, lots of sunshine this year with only the merest hint of chill in the air so far, it is wonderful. Here in the South East it is still remarkably dry underfoot which is perfect for walking, for the moment at least our Wealden Clay remains tamed. Leaves are rapidly changing colour and being so dry, they rattle down through the branches as they fall. Autumn sown corn has germinated with the young shoots giving bare fields a fresh green colour wash.
It is perfect weather to be outdoors. Last weekend we made time to brew up a cup tea over a fire. Even a simple toasted sandwich tastes so much better outside. Watching the blue wood smoke wafting up through the autumn tree canopy while waiting for the kettle to boil, I could understand a little the significance of Japanese tea ceremonies. The only trouble was the watched kettle boiled too quickly!
Surprisingly two fallow deer wandered up wind towards the fire to graze under a couple of large oak trees about 30 yards away. There was no undergrowth so they must have been picking up the acorns. In the neighbouring gyhll a rutting stag could be heard. The two does were completely unmoved by his persistent grunting calls; these two ladies definitely preferred to lunch!
Another pleasure of autumn is mushroom picking, I love the magic of mushrooms, you can never be sure when or indeed if they will appear. The only place of finding them with any teensy bit of certainty is around the fairy rings in the fields. I know there are solid scientific reasons why fairy rings grow as thy do, but I prefer to believe in magic. After all, fabulous Autumn weather like is truly delightful.
