There was a right hullaballoo up at Caer Rocks today as a buzzard tucked into his Sunday lunch, much to the vocal dismay of a horde of jackdaws...no doubt mourning the loss of a distant cousin. The moles have also been pretty busy up there. It must have been getting real stuffy underground during the freezing weather; but with the thaw they've been emerging for a breath of fresh air and creating a rash of molehills.

All is quiet with Four Seasons until the Seville oranges appear in a few weeks time, which means I've got plenty of time to catch up with paperwork ( picture, if you can, the cartoon elongation of my nose).

Yes the snow has gone, for the time being, but it was a nice shot of Ollie.

One of the few disadvantages to living by a churchyard is the annual slick of red goo that accumulates outside the back door from fallen yew berries. Any attempt to sweep them up just results in more mess as they disintegrate so I leave them for the birds and, worryingly, Ollie. I can only assume he hoovers them up whole, with no chewing, because they are extremely poisonous. No sooner was that colourful carpet dispatched when the first of the snow arrived.....and now there's another 4" of the white stuff out there. And it's only the middle of December! The weather has played havoc with the markets and hence my income. So if anyone can battle their way to my door, I still have a large selection of seasonal offerings!

Today should have been a simple case of jam-making using the Black Cherries my cousin bought down last month. I've never had any problem cooking damsons, Morello cherries or wild plums from frozen; it's just a matter of skimming off the stones as they rise to the surface of the bubbling mixture...perhaps an extra hour's work ( no wonder you never see those jams made commercially!). Anyway, these black cherry stones were tenacious little blighters who didn't want to leave the lush cocoon of the mother fruit. Four hours it took me, of mashing and sieving to end up with what I can only call 'jam' and not 'conserve' ( that's jam with big lumps of fruit in). Oh, and another half hour to clean up all the mess I'd made.

Moral of the story....de-stone before freezing!

The wonderful aerial displays by the swifts are over, now that they've headed south for the sun. Instead, today I was treated to a fascinating stand-off as a lone crow ( or possibly jackdaw) attempted to mob a buzzard. I suppose if he was a hooded crow you could call it a 'mugging'. Anyway, I just loved the way that with an almost contemptuous flick of his wing tips, the larger bird would lazily change direction; as if to say "Go away little fella, I've got important business to do". Perhaps its a game of 'dare' and the crow was being egged on by his mates in the wings (sorry!).
Back in the kitchen; the autumn harvest is slowly being transformed into market produce. It's such a shame that the massive beefsteak tomatoes produce so few jars, but the concentrated tomatoey taste is worth it.

The new freezer is over half full, there are boxes of pears and apples in the garage and the fairies regularly leave me bags of fruit and veg by the front door. Mind you, they'd have to be pretty muscular little things with a penchant for shopping in Tescos, so perhaps it's some of the locals from the village.
Next for the cooking pot tomorrow are some really cross plums, otherwise known as Bullaces or wild plums. There are still loads of blackberries around but they haven't had much flavour for the last couple of weeks and besides, you don't pick them after Sept 29th because the devil does unspeakable things to them!

It's the last big market of the summer for me on Sunday in Tonyrefail ...... the Classic Car and County Show; and the cauldron has been bubbling almost daily. The shelves are filling up with a whole variety of chutneys; Beetroot & Ginger, Piccalilli, Apricot, Bramble, Chilli Apple and Autumn Glutney to name just a few. Ollie has his canine cousins staying again and I think the pungent smells have knocked them for six....my sinuses are certainly a lot clearer!

Summer has returned...whoop-di-doo!! Despite having 101 things to do in the house and garden, I decided to adopt the prone position, soak up the rays and boost my vitamin D levels. It is the bank holiday after all, and even we part-time workers deserve our day in the sun; and no queuing in a 25-mile tail-back to the beach....Bliss.