Autumn's shyness is becoming bothersome.  It's beating around the bush, as if it's afraid to upset the big bad bro that this summer has been.  

This morning I was woken up by a donkey/cockerel duet before daylight.  They sounded like they were at the end of my bed but this can't be verified because it was still dark and I defied their alarm call because I'm on holiday.   I got up when it began to be light and was pleased to see that Autumn had muscled in a bit and laid a mist over the valley and a dew over the grass.

By mid morning though, the sun was dissolving the blurry clouds from the sea and the temperature was rising.

The sloes will have been eaten by the birds by the time the first frost comes, but that's probably not a bad thing....fat, healthy birds and no sloe gin for me.

Nico found 'false' cèpes in the alley by the canal.  They lingered in a basket in the kitchen until they began to smell of dead mice.  I emptied them back out onto the bank in the hope that the spores would produce 'real' cèpes in the near future.

The era of the boiler room shower is showing signs of drawing to an end. It's cold and dark and dank down there and little tiny frogs jump around your feet if you don't stand on the wooden pallet to dry off.

Autumn's late arrival could be advantageous .....