2 September 2026

Autumn is making its presence felt. The chestnut leaves are on the turn. Other trees too.  The students have begun to arrive in St. Andrews after their long summer break. Our apples, pears and plums are ripening for a rich harvest.

The fruit has been exceptional this year. In the summer, we had a lot of strawberries. These plants were taken as runners from the ones we bought four years ago. We must have about two dozen plants but I had another 175 runners from that initial set.

We are now harvesting the plums. We got none last year and felt pessimistic about this year’s crop. The tree is purposely small and the leaves were crinkling in the summer heat but we got over  hundred Victoria plums. There’s nothing more refreshing than picking a plum in the early morning sun and savouring it.

One of the James Grieve apples fell to the ground. I turned the others but they were steadfastly attached to the tree. I baked the apple for breakfast filling it with some muesli, raisins and some cinnamon all mixed together with some butter. It made a change for porridge and still provided me with fibre.

Leeks and onions were not good. They didn’t swell - perhaps there wasn’t enough water. I was disappointed. The lettuce made up for it. We’re on our second crop. Mary-Catherine’s tomatoes are still providing fruit. We are having tomato quiche tonight!

One of the delights of my early morning walk are the bramble patches which for most of the year are barren but not now. I gather a handful at two staging posts, an early first breakfast. ‘What a rich harvest your goodness provides!’ sings the Psalmist. ‘Wherever you go there is plenty.’ (Psalm 65;11 GNB)