Good-bye swallows

The swallows left last week and all signs point towards autumn, but the quince tree doesn't think so and has started to flower beautifully:

Confused quince

Meanwhile, the sunflowers have developed a new survival strategy in our windy garden - growing horizontally.

Sunflower survivor

In the veg garden it's harvest time, big time. Lots of courgettes, carrots, beans and potatoes. We also sampled our first leek and Uchiri Kuri squash this week. This wasn't quite as planned, but something had discovered a taste for the squash. I guess that is the downside of squashes where you can eat the skin.

Who's been nibbling at my squash?

I think the guilty party has already been exterminated by our feline night watchman. Domino has taken up nightly residence in the veg garden and can be found in the carrot bed of a morning.

When is the best time to pick winter squashes? Any time after they turn the right colour? They are all quite small at the moment so I'm tempted to leave them growing for a few weeks longer.

Tomorrow's purple kohlrabi

We took our first foray into making wine this week. One batch of carrot wine and one of bramble are on the go and are smelling delicious. It will be a while before we are self-sufficient in alcohol though!

And, with all the sunny weather, I've finally got around to painting two sheds, the summer house and the fence at the front of the house. Looks like the summer house will now become a vegetable store and not a sauna. Any tips on mouse proofing? Maybe I should consult Domino...

A bit of necessary shed TLC