Fat Caterpillars and New Homes

The weather here has certainly changed...it`s pouring, cold and miserable. I am wearing socks and a fleece to keep warm indoors. Thank goodness we have a Greek island holiday lined up for the beginning of September. Maybe we`ll  line one up for October too!!!

The old polytunnel which did us so well for a couple of years, has been transformed into a new chicken run.

The only trouble is I don`t think Edwina likes it much and she appeals to us as we pass.
I have given her a few worms.

Toffee and Treacle on the other hand are quite happy with their new home.

The raspberries are pruned and tied in. Think they could be cropping a lot more if
the wire netting was replaced with a smaller mesh.

The three dahlia tubers I moved so late in the season, are putting on plenty of leaf
but not flowering as well as they should.

We`ve planted green manure in the old onion bed.

The little orchard has done well this year. I have trimmed the damson despite being told not to, mainly because the tree looks a little bit out of hand.

I have threaded black cotton round the fruit to deter the birds pecking.
On the whole it seems to have worked.

The pumpkin chose to mature on top of the old sleeper. It was hard to actually reposition it so I left it.

The sunflowers are still hanging on.

The strawberries are all sprouting again after heavy pruning.

The cloud formations were beautiful.

And finally a huge caterpillar in our own garden....the elephant hawkmoth caterpillar.
Quite spectacular.