Our garden is a haven for roses. When everything else is struggling or there is a corner that nothing will grow in, it seems that our previous occupants planted a rose. To be fair they always seem to do well. They don’t always last long when they flower, but they do at least flower.

Knowing this we decided the ideal plant to grow up the sides of our front door was a rose.  We carefully selected a very scented variety and put them in at the start of the season. Sadly, the picture opposite is actually like a hen’s tooth. A rose on the bush has been a rather unusual spectacle so this week I snapped one before it disappeared.

We’re being invaded – man the barricades!

Do you know we’re being invaded?

But contrary to popular opinion, it is not foreign immigrants, Vladimir Putin or the Chinese.

This is invasion comes mostly from Asia and is introducing a sexually transmitted disease (STD) into the country. (Now that got you concentrating suddenly!)

The invaders are being led by one Hal the Harlequin Ladybird.  He’s a bit like the Genghis Khan of the ladybird world. The country is being overrun by a loveliness of ladybirds, (apparently that is the collective name).

Unlike Genghis these invaders have brought with them an STD which they are using to attack the locals. This STD is a fungus that grows in the nether regions.

Before anyone goes off to the toilet to inspect themselves, this fungus only grows on UK ladybirds – so no need for that cream you have always dreaded.

It is a worry as the fungus can potentially affect the number of eggs a female can produce over its lifetime. The UK ladybird is already under threat due to habitat loss.

What next - ladybird condoms??

All ladybirds are about to hibernate so we will see what sort of damage has been done next year when they stagger out of the nest.

Winter has arrived – bang on time

Last week I mentioned that the cold was creeping up with the emergence of several pea soupers. It was the end of October and the unusually dry autumn had created great colour in the garden.

This morning, almost on cue to the day, winter arrived. The lawn was covered in a thick white ice and the last vestiges of summer flowers were looking instantly frost bitten and burned.

But there is a beautiful elegance about this change. It is sad to see the end of the summer flowers but the combination of faded glory encased in winter cold is such a temporary passing moment in the year that it needs celebration.

My wife is cold blooded and she doesn’t do winter very well. But even she can appreciate the first crystals appearing in the garden. What she really does appreciate is the end of the courgette harvest. By now the courgette recipes are well rehearsed and the anticipation of an elegantly stuffed courgette is similar to that of wiping your nose when you have had a cold for six weeks.

Leaves, leaves and more leaves

The leaves are well and truly falling down. So much so that I read this week about the relative merits of leaving them on the ground and using a mower to chop them up and mulch the grass. I was very tempted by this advice as it would save me lots of time and effort moving them. However, I have to say that in my experience, every time I have done this, the grass has significantly died by the start of spring and the leaf covered areas stand out.

Maybe I haven’t chopped them up well enough, but I no longer take the risk and we move them on before they suffocate the lawns. 

What do we do with unripe fruit?

It is now that one knows exactly what has been achieved in the summer growing season. Nothing else will prosper, and the fruit and vegetables that are left will wither on the bush.

So what to do with the unripe fruit?

Strangely you can make chutney or jam out of almost anything, ripe or otherwise. It might take a bit more cooking or a bit more sugar but apparently there is a recipe for everything.

Green tomatoes and half-grown vegetables are straight forward, but for those of you with minute figs on their tree – did you know you can use them too. I am going to try this next weekend so I will report back on its success.

Having said that, it might be that it is not well known for a good reason.

I picked the last of the courgettes this week and brought them in. Overnight they went from vegetables to grey fur lined bundles. The shock of cold to warm climate did for them instantly. I will remember to cook them quickly in the future.

Increased hostilities in the cat department

I mentioned last week that there was a new level of jealousy between our two cats. The half-bald one is gradually covering himself up, but the other one has not forgotten the sacrifice he had to go through to accommodate his brother.

The sleep time attacks have continued and I was woken earlier in the week by one of the cats hanging on the curtains while fleeing the scene of the crime.

Today the ultimate in takeover occurred. When the first cat was ill we bought him a new bed to lay in so he could get better. Until today it was his and his alone, but no longer. The other cat has ventured in. He took a lot of time to sniff it out, but he has now decided that he will rule this roost.

The half-bald cat came back to sit in his bed to find his brother hissing and snarling at him from inside the bed.

Thankfully the Moorhen murderers have had a holiday this week and I have not awoken to any new wildlife in my bedroom. I did have to endure a vole dinner party but at least that was over quickly and nothing was left to remember it by.

Turtles being released into Amazon

The Peruvian amazon turtle is getting close to extinction. This week the locals tried to boost its numbers by releasing 17,000 of them back into the wild.

I don’t know if you saw the pictures of this but it was slightly bizarre seeing three men with buckets of turtles – thousands in each – pouring them onto the river bank and then watching them run for the river.

On the one hand it is great to see people trying to help the turtles but on the other hand it is to be hoped that they will look at what is destroying their environment enough to wipe them out. They are beautiful creatures and there must be room enough for all in such an amazing place.

Picture Round

The picture theme for this week is another seaside place. Unlike last week’s village near the sea, this is right on the coast. It was a lovely day last Saturday and we enjoyed the ride out and fresh air.

It is very close to some very well known seaside destinations, but somewhere I had never been.

Have a great weekend!

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