The last days of summer

 Weatherwise, it's been a bit of an odd week really: the remnants of American hurricanes have rampaged through the orchard causing one of the heaviest 'windfalls' in years. Net result: larder now full of chutneys, jams, jellys and masses of apples to keep us going through the winter and well beyond. And there's still all the picking to do! Despite, or maybe because of, the winds we've also been enjoying some late summer sunshine - not wall to wall and really hot so you have to hide in the shade but glorious gusty playing hide-and-seek behind billowing clouds type sunshine. The odd heavy downpour has been very odd indeed: for the most part it's been really dry. It'll not last so we're making the most of it. In a bid to fitten Gunner up for the soon-to-be-with-us season we've been upping the exercise: he loves it - young birds here, there and everywhere. In typical spaniel fashion, he never stops unless I tell him to. And then he admits he could do with a bit of a breather. Before he's off again.

Precious's  Little Fruits will be weaned at the end of this week - to her relief and ours! They are everywhere - in the (rather overgrown section of the) vegetable garden - certainly not the usual haunt of pigs and piglets - in the Poultry Palace, all over the other pigs' pens. It's impossible to leave anything alone for a minute - they're there with their snoutlets tipping over buckets, snuffling in feedbowls, chewing hosepipes, scrumping apples in the feedroom..... Everywhere we look, there's either a bunch of piglets or evidence that a bunch has recently passed through! It's comical and even their most annoying tricks bring smiles to our faces. Memories of summer that we'll treasure in the depths of deepest winter......

Gunner's been doing his best to keep them in check: as this photo shows, he's taken to not sitting down too securely when he's 'on duty': he also pretends to ignore them; they're very quick to scamper off without a moment's notice so he hovers, alert while appearing not to be and as soon as they're off, he's right there with them! The red one at the back of the pack will be leaving here soon after weaning. Moses, as his new owners have called him, is off to be a real Boar: he's a handsome lad and certainly the best of the boys in the litter so he's sure to be a great success with his new ladies.

The final confirmation that summer will soon be over comes from the feedroom. The last clutch of swallows has suddenly disappeared. I assume they've flown off but I'm having difficulty actually believing how they can have done in such a short time. This photo was taken on last Thursday evening. It's not easy to see the hatchlings because they are still so small and snuggling deep down in their nest. Usually when they grow too big for the nest they spend a few days in the barn eating and growing stronger before practising their flying. They then spend a few more days sleeping in the barn but spending increasing periods of time on the wing. This lot, however, have just suddenly gone. There's no evidence of them at all. I can't believe they learned to fly and then disappeared in so few days with my not even noticing them. It's a mystery. There's no way rodents or cats could have got to them up in the eaves of the barn so I must assume they have flown away.
Is it an omen that the summer will disappear  equally suddenly  ...............................