Project 365 day 289: the last anemones

The last few Japanese anemones are just hanging on in the garden, at the end of a gloomy day. The one in the extra is distinctly bedgraggled - normally the petals just fall, elegantly, leaving the pompom seed heads. I've posted these a few times, partly because I love them and enjoy photographing them, and partly because they are just outside the house, easily available late in the day.

J has been struggling with pain today, so I've been with her a lot, doing all the routine care tasks very slowly, and have not done much from my long list. I'm just starting to bring in squashes and pumpkins, having found five butternuts gnawed by something with sharp teeth over the past two days. Two were reduced to a stalk and few chips, others very substantially eaten away. We only had seven, not a good crop and still immature, but we'd rather have eaten them ourselves. Last night, as it got dark, P and I tried to cover as many pumpkins and squashes as possible with bits of chicken wire and netting, which, although far from impregnable, might have been some level of deterrent. It didn't work: the culprit must have slipped underneath (so it's not a badger). I suspect a rat - and I really don't like rats. They are not a big problem here, partly thanks to the cats, but this year the pumpkin patch is in a less well protected area, outside the rabbit proof fence which is a prerequisite for vegetable gardening here. We have good pumpkins and Crown Prince squashes, so far untouched, which I would normally have left to mature for a couple more weeks or until the first frost, but I will try to find space to bring them in tomorrow. 

Tonight P has made a fire, which will keep the central areas of the house cosy until morning. We have wood for our log burner, but at present cutting it is in competition with digging the remaining potatoes, so the supply is rather hand-to-mouth. As always, we are trying to postpone turning on the central heating for a little longer.