Hosta

A gloomy day after yesterday’s glory. Looks like Italy will run gauntlet of the arctic blast sweeping south and the mass of super warm air to the east. Very heavy rains forecast after almost drought conditions this autumn.

These hostas look after themselves and are testimony to the almost complete absence of slugs here.

Meanwhile down in the back field the lupins are pushing up. On the downside the boar are back and ploughing great furrows through our sprouting green manure crop.

The walnut harvest has come in at about 5 stone/70lbs. I’ve loved wandering under the trees searching out the often elusive nuts.

Along with the potatoes, onions, shallots, squash and jars and jars of fig jam and chutney we are well set up for the winter. Hats off to The Boss who has marshalled and processed the produce rolling off our steeply terraces land.

Cabbage, sprouts, leeks, cavollo nero, fennel and various winter chicories are still in the ground. And I am pondering fixing up the old wine press to squeeze some cider out of the boxes of apples we’ve collected.