September started as the rest of the summer: wet, chilly and not at all nice. However, by the middle of the month the weather started to improve and we were treated to some lovely sunny days. Summer had arrived at last. During the first days of autumn, at the end of the month, we were even able to have lunch in the garden, something we had been unable to do for much of the summer. The unusual weather created a bumper crop of raspberries so that we now feel they are coming out of our ears. The apple trees too have produced an over abundance of fruit. The Worcester Pearmain, the shiny red apple, is delicious when fresh from the tree but does not store. In spite of giving many away, we were forced to take a lot of those that George could not reach and which fell from the tree to the tip. By the end of the month the Worcester Pearmain tree was bare of apples but the light green eating apple tree (as yet unidentified) was beginning to shed its load. The Bramley apples are the ones we prize the most, as they will store until next April. They will soon need to be harvested.
