Welcome Autumn 2010

I LOVE AUTUMN.

All my favorite fruit and vege are ready for harvest and it's not too hot to get things done. "Skatey" told me this weekend is the last of summer, though for me it's felt like autumn for a few weeks already.

When I go out to feed the chooks in the morning I get covered in dew from the lemon verbena plant, also I'm not so keen to go to the school pool for an evening swim these days, firewood needs to be collected and stacked and bottling on the stove starts in earnest. Scoffing blackberries also signals autumn, as does the influx of seasonal workers to our town to pick apples, pears and kiwifruit.

However my shin is bruised from kicking myself!

I haven't planted enough pumpkins and am already craving pumpkin soup. The soup pot is not idle thank goodness, tonight it brews young rooster soup with corn, shallots, celery and carrots from the garden. There are already several containers of tomato soup in the freezer, as well as a good batch of tomato sauce in bottles. I added about a pound of redcurrants that were still hanging on the bushes, they were lovely and ripe, I just had to wait for the earwigs to run away before I put them in the pot . I'll need to pick more tomatoes this weekend before the stink bugs suck them to death .

My garden is about neck high in weeds, mainly fat hen and pas pallum grass, I'm surprisingly not bothered. I can find fresh food and herbs every night even if they are hiding. I've noted where the Elecampane and Echinecea are so I can harvest their roots for winter ailments. I probably should be venturing into beer making as well with the hop plant trying to take over the neighbourhood!

We're eating the Nashi today after noticing the neighbours chooks have started eating them through the fence. Willow the Jack Russell is getting the hang of chasing them off which I don't mind, though she's been a bit naughty lately going to the school to look for "skatey" almost every day, she knows he's not there I'm sure. How do you explain to a Jack Russel that he's OK he's just at High School now. I'm sure the teachers are getting fed up at sending PJ home with Willow. She's never been tied up in her life, so I don't know what to do?

Lastly my favorite plant stall has closed down for the season so I may have missed my flip on a whole lot of winter vege plants. I'm hoping that amongst the weeds that are seeding all over the garden that there's a few parsnip, kale, celery, coriander, leek and lettuce to tide us over. I do have some yams , leek, potatoes and broad beans to look forward to, as well as three trees of black boy peaches dripping with fruit...

Black boy fruit chutney, jam, dried- anyone?