Visits to the allotment are becoming fewer and when we do head to the plot we spend a shorter time there. Digging is hard work on our soil, especially when the ground is hard as it still is, so the principle of eating the elephant bit by bit applies. (Not that I would ever consider eating a real elephant). 

We have now picked off all the tomatoes from the garden and the plot greenhouse and the plants have been cleared out. This year has been a really good year for tomatoes especially as they have not had their lives cut short by blight.

We have quite a lot of green tomatoes which we hope will continue to ripen off the plant. I know we could use them to make chutney but it isn’t something we eat much of.

It’s going to be hard having to settle for the tasteless shop-bought tomatoes until next season.  I wonder why they don’t grow more flavoursome varieties – no doubt it is something to do with yield and transporting issues.

Did you spot the three strawberries hiding amongst the tomatoes? The strawberry plants are still flowering and setting fruit but we were surprised to notice that some are ripening.

The damp weather so far hasn’t spoiled the cauliflowers.

I would have also expected the courgettes to have given up by now but we are still picking one or two fruits.

The dahlias are flowering better now than they have all season but the inevitable frosts will put an end to that.

We cleared away some of the sweet peas and picked off some seed pods. Martyn, planted some of the harvested seeds earlier but a mouse dug the seeds up and treated itself to a meal. More seeds have been planted and this time covered. Hopefully, the mouse won’t be able to lift the lids and help itself again.

Martyn also planted the leftover onion sets in cells.

A couple of weeks ago I was suffering from an aching shoulder and we did wonder whether this was exacerbated by my camera adding weight to the backpack that I use. As a result, we have invested in a Samsung camera phone. The idea is to just use it as a camera. I’ve been reluctant to move from using my Sony camera as my iPhone is limited when it comes to zooming but this phone seems to do most of the things I use my camera for.

We had a few walks last week and the camera was given a good workout.

The photos above were taken on an evening walk in the park. It seems to cope with low light conditions fairly well with no editing needed.

The above photos were taken at Nostell and yes the sky was that blue. The cygnets are still on the lake being tolerated by the parent birds.

We decided to head further afield to Fountain Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens where there was plenty of autumn colour.

There were cygnets on the lake there too although either the parent birds had raised a small brood or some of the brood had flown off. Only two cygnets here.

As is usually the case at Fountains Abbey, the pheasants were very vocal.

For the first time, we ventured into the deer park which was quite a revelation.

We wondered whether anyone made use of the abundant sweet chestnuts. There seems to be a good crop this year.

Whilst we were walking in the park we listened to the sound track of bellowing stags. There are three species of deer in the park, red, fallow and sika.  I’m guessing the bellowing was from red deer stags as it is the beginning of the rutting season. The noise that the stags made was really impressive which I guess is the general intention.

Most of the deer were well hidden but we did spot one herd – a stag and his harem of hinds. The stag looks fairly young to me. At first, I was sure that these were red deer but the stag looked sleeker than I would expect so I did wonder whether they were sika deer but research tells me sika deer are spotted and these weren’t. Can any deer aficionados confirm which species they are?

Heading back towards the abbey there were beautiful reflections in the water.

Of course, I couldn’t test a camera without taking some photos of Ruby. Ruby is a bit of a poser. Point a camera at her and she will strike a pose. You read that dogs don’t have expressions. I think you can tell that she wasn’t too happy after her bath and hadn’t really forgiven me after she had been brushed later.

On to last week’s meals – the camera had a food setting – I made a vegetable ‘shepherd’s’ pie that used our potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic.

I made a chicken and green bean curry that used some of our onions, garlic and frozen green beans. I used some curry paste rather than powder and coconut yoghurt rather than creme fraiche. It was served with a homemade onion bhaji and a courgette one. A Michelin chef commented on TV that green beans don’t belong in curries but we like it!

I made a turkey and mushroom risotto that used some of our peas, shallots and parsley.

As always until next time stay safe and well.

Once again I am linking to Harvest MondayHarvest Monday at Dave’s Our Happy Acres blog.