But I feel blessed with all the friends who rallied round.
I am like Lady Mary or Sybil in Downton Abbey- arranging flowers and being chauffered round- though I fell for my chauffeur a lot of years ago!

Life has moved on through the last flowers of summer like the hollyhocks

into the produce of autumn.

The roses are still blooming.

The shower is still leaking.

The acer has turned and today lost its leaves

As I walked the bounds today past sedum starting to give in to winter today, I glimpsed the tops of bulbs spearing a tip through the soil.

Meanwhile the fence glimmers with winter jasmine.

Indoors the various Christmas cacti are getting timing wrong again this year!

They are the ideal plant for people who have a life and housework does not enter into it- you should not move Christmas cactus partic when they have flower buds- so do not move them for dusting!

It has been a good year for fruit and berries which in country folklore means we have a hard winter coming; this time least year we had deep snow already. 4 pm and it is almost dark- roll on the Solstice.

I am wondering if I can make Christmas puddings tonight........