SWEET AND SOUR

Finally no rain, just a biting north wind yet sunshine - very welcome - need a month of this now - some chance! About as much chance as Brexit ceasing to be the chaotic mess the Tory Party has dug us into.

So what to do when the back is bad (apart from hoping R will go out and clear away some of the dead and dying plant material.)

A walk around with the blower clearing leaves off the paths and a bit of labour in the kitchen - notably making Redcurrant and Orange Jam and bottling the apple vinegar.

Whoops, the top label is wonky - will have to correct that (?OCD?)

Recipe - Redcurrant and Orange Jam - 
2 Kg redcurrants, 2Kg sugar, 4 oranges, pinch of cinnamon. (2Kg is about 4 pounds)
Put redcurrants, grated orange rind, cinnamon and orange juice into pan. Cook till currants soft. Warm sugar and add, stir till dissolved, bring to fast boil, test often as sets quickly, put in hot pots. Spread on warm toast, eat.

Looking out of my window the other day I watched the predatory cat from next door stalking a grey squirrel under the watchful eye of Doc.
 

The squirrel completely unconcerned eating fallen peanuts (the tits scatter them around) knowing it can shimmy up the shed if necessary.

Now to a question of courgettes that get out of hand - no, not mine, my daughter's. Looks like an awful lot of courgette (marrow) and mint soup going in the freezer?

And when there is not much colour in the garden the sunrise comes up with this -

Time to do a bit of the tidy stuff so elder cut back and I chucked the stuff on the bonfire heap but the stems shoved into the ground will root easily. Earlier I had vigorously dead headed some of the buddleia and they have come again with attractive grey new growth.

The chard is still thriving - in fact doing better now we have colder weather and the slugs and snails have gone. A memo to grow more next year (definitely not slugs and snails) and try the red stemmed variety as well as the white one.

Winter and leaf fall reveal surprising things like this bird's nest up a maple. We, and many others, walked right past without realising it as there - probably chaffinch?