While I was in Colchester last week, I took the opportunity to visit the Balkerne (Roman) Gate near the Jumbo water tower, Colchester Castle, St John's Abbey Gate, the Holy Trinity Church, the only Saxon building in Colchester, & of course the Roman Circus.

Another pleasant afternoon down the allotment trimming the borders & taking up & composting the dead courgette plants. Brought back another 14 butternut squash for winter storage. Today's weight total 16kg. 📷 of the best ones below.

The Grade 2* Jumbo water tower in Colchester will shortly close for majority redevelopment, 40 years after it was retired so I decided to make a special trip there & go on one of their guided tours. Fascinating place. Well worth the effort.

On today's #WeeklyWalk I saw plenty of new wild hedgerow flowers. Are there any #Botanists out there who can put names to the other 2? The yellow ball flowers are Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). Definitely more autumnal. Cooler, rain showers & 2 rainbows.

Here's a couple of mosaics to celebrate #MosaicMonday from a recent visit to Colonia, or Camulodunum, as many historians would know it. The oldest recorded town in England. 📷s by me.

I'm glad I did my #WeeklyWalk yesterday because today's weather is dreadful. It's definitely feeling more autumnal. Mushrooms abound. Interesting tree where the railings have been absorbed into it. 3 juvenile swans blocked my path. They loudly hissed a lot before finally letting me pass. 😊

Picked the 30th butternut squash from the allotment today. This beauty weighed in at 2.23kg.

Currently reading The Postal Paths (Rediscovering Britain's forgotten trails and the people who walked them) by Alan Cleaver with illustrations by @fellranger.bsky.social. What a brilliant book. If you have the time, do try and read it.

Did a 2nd #WeeklyWalk yesterday & was rewarded with a double rainbow after a particularly heavy downpour + thunder & lightening. Apart from that it was fun.

Every time I do my 16km #WeeklyWalk I return home totally refreshed. Plenty of new flowers today, field Bindweed, common knapweed & cyclamen. The bracken has its autumn colours now. Loads of birds of prey out too judging by the carnage & feathers on the ground.

When people pop out for a bevy, it usually involves a drink. On my #WeeklyWalk there were bevys a plenty but all swans with their signets. Beautiful creatures.

Popped up to the allotment to water now that all that welcomed rain has been soaked up. This is today's harvest. 👇Very pleased. Ten butternut squash, one sunshine squash, two Muscade de Provence pumpkin & three Striato d'Italia courgettes.

A decidedly uncommon #WeeklyWalk today. I disturbed 3 common buzzards tucking into the remains of a rabbit. Sadly they flew off before I could get a photo but they will remain in my memory for ever. I also saw some common hops. Very autumnal with scattered showers.

First cropping from the allotment wrt butternut squash (5 - 4.1kg) & pumpkin (1 - 7.6kg). A month earlier than last year but only a week earlier than the year before. So 5 down, 100+ to go.

A different #ThursdayWalk this week. Still rivers & trees themed. I am blessed living this close to such beautiful countryside.

A very autumnal #ThursdayWalk today. The ferns already turning orange & the Cuckoo Pint now with their (mid autumn) bright red berries. A yellow unidentified woodland plant & the beautiful willow. It's fascinating how the countryside on this walk changes so quickly.

The butternut squash and pumpkins are definitely getting ripe. Compare 27th July photo of a group of 4 with the same ones today. The Hunter variety are also nice and big as usual. They will keep well into late spring next year if stored correctly.

Freshly baked home made bread. Delicious with butter and a nice mature English Cheddar. ❤️

Maybe I should rename my #ThursdayWalk to #WeeklyWalk? I chose Wednesday because it had a low UV & cloud cover which kept the humidity level bearable. Lovely breezes along the canal. Lots of small fish, solitary swans & sloe berries on blackthorn bushes.

As we slip towards Autumn, the flowers encountered on my #ThursdayWalk constantly change. Purple Loosestrife, Yellow Toadflax, Scarlet Pimpernel(?) & Hawthorn (berries). The walks may stay the same but the flora certainly doesn't!

My neighbour across the road has a huge victoria plum tree & was begging people to pick as many as they wanted. I picked about 6kg which, when stewed produced 2½kg of fruit & loads of juice. Made 2 crumbles. Rest in the freezer for winter crumbles. Plum juice & tonic water. ❤️

Today's #ThursdayWalk was all about trees. I'm blessed to have this countryside right on my doorstep. I try to get out for a 16+km walk once a week. A most welcome day without social media or the internet. I strongly recommend it if you have the time.

Just back from watering the allotment. Rain due on Thurs/Fri so a bit of respite then perhaps?Everything now looking great after a very worrying start. The butternuts & pumpkins are coming along nicely & the courgettes are keeping us going until the French & runner beans arrive.

Just cropped all the potatoes on the allotment. 6 rows yielded 68kg in total. This year's yield is 20% down on last year despite copious watering. Spare a thought for our farmers who have to make a living from the land.

Wet on today's #ThursdayWalk but a great day out nevertheless. Bullrushes by the canal. An ant nest in the woods. Ducks on the weir. The wheat has been harvested leaving lines of stubble disappearing into the distance. Batteries recharged!

A quick check on the allotment between rain showers. Picked these 3 beauties. Everything looks fine. Some really nice butternut squash under the leaf canopy. Just waiting for a dry spell now to harvest & store the potatoes.

I saw this insect in the garden. It looks a bit like a longhorn beetle. Does anyone know what it is please? Friend or foe?

Tonight's offering from the allotment is 3 nice organic courgettes for tomorrow's dinner. Just over 1kg. Variety Striato D’Italia.

3 stages of my allotment. Potatoes in first. Courgettes, butternut & pumpkin next. Finally they all join up & the serious growing of the butternuts & pumpkins begin under the canopy of their leaves. Potatoes ready to crop in 2 weeks.

Up early picking more #blueberries from the bush in the garden. A great year. Picked 532g which is excellent. Kept some back for eating fresh with porridge & the rest went into the freezer for later.

I took 6lbs of freshly picked blackcurrants and turned them into 13½lbs of delicious blackcurrant jam last night. It took longer than usual to set because of the heat. All the jar lids 'popped' so good for at least 3 years in the cupboard!

Not long back from watering the allotment. Picked 6lbs of blackcurrants (2nd picking). More jam making tomorrow. ❤️ Should produce 14lbs.

More hedgehog poo in the garden this morning. ♥️ Please leave out a bowl of water for our nocturnal visitors. They desperately need it. Thanks!

My #ThursdayWalk took place on Tuesday because it was a cooler day. Brilliant walk. Saw 2 muntjac deer (separately), common red soldier beetles, cinnabar moth caterpillars, & red admiral & peacock butterflies. The scenery was fab too!

Plato's Academy mosaic from the villa of Torre Siminius Stephanus in Pompeii, now in the Naples Archaeological Museum. 📷 By me. #MosaicMonday

After a daytime temperature drop of 12°C, I did my first pick of blackcurrants & gooseberries from the allotment. 2lbs of each fruit produced 11 jars of blackcurrant & gooseberry jam. Lovely!

Way too hot to do my #ThursdayWalk actually on Thursday so I did it today. Highlights are the Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris), sheep sheltering under a tree & me trying to do likewise!

Skeleton carrying wine jugs from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, which now resides in the Naples Archaeological Museum. #MosaicMonday 📷 By me

Sad that the Summer @spinerace.bsky.social has come to an end. I delayed my daily watering of the allotment & garden veggie plot so that I could cheer Gillian Mcgale as she crossed the finish line just 42½ minutes inside the deadline. Bravo Gillian!

For #RomanSitesSaturday here's a nice photo of Pompeii.

I did my #ThursdayWalk today, as yesterday it was 30°C with a UV index of 8. Still hot today though. Saw some tufted vetch (vicia cracca), Borage, horses & a huge ants nest beside the path in the woods. Well worth the 16km walk.

My blueberry is coming along nicely. Almost ready to start cropping. Much better crop than last year. Maybe because I added circa 15 litres of used coffee grounds & used tea leaves to the top of the ericaceous compost. It obviously loves it!

If it's hot & dry where you are, please put out water & food for the birds. They so desperately need it. We have goldfinches (previously rare) & several hedgehogs who come specially for the water. Let's look after our garden visitors eh?

#MosaicMonday of ducks and fish found in a cubiculum on the east side of the peristyle in the House of the Wedding of Neptune and Amphitrite, Pompeii, now in the Naples Archaeological Museum. 📷 By me

Happy #FingerpostFriday

I came across this plant today growing by the riverside. Its stem is bamboo-like but brittle. Does anyone know what it is?

A very hot #ThursdayWalk. More swans & cygnets, foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) & some Jacob Sheep. Plenty of shade in the wooded parts thankfully.

I don't have any information on this photo I took at the Naples Archaeological Museum for #MosaicMonday. It's a leopard. Probably from Pompeii. That's it.

Picked enough rhubarb this morning for 2 more crumbles. I add mincemeat for extra flavour. The blueberries in their tub are also prolific. Netted against the birds who love them as much as we do!

Happy #FingerPostFriday Trough Heads on the @pennineway.bsky.social