Despite the weather remaining warm, today felt like we’re finally transitioning into autumn and approaching the return leg into the colder and darker seasons.

This morning, we first went to gather some blackberries from an abundant spot I noted on my cycle yesterday. It was quite strange that the location hadn’t been picked-out already as it was just on the side of a quiet lane and not far from a village. We collected enough to go into a Kilner jar to make some hedgerow gin and into the first homemade pie of the season to follow the first post-summer roast beef Sunday dinner.

After collect that good crop, we went for a walk around our nearest reservoir at Ravensthorpe. On the drive there we could see the leaves starting to turn and even a few already fallen to the ground. The duck and geese numbers are starting to build but there were still signs of the breeding season with cygnets and young great-created grebes. One of the adult grebes has an enormous perch and was being noisily followed by a squeaky chick. The perch eventually went down it’s throat but only after a long struggle.

Now home, the blackberries are already in the jar with the gin, which has turned a lovely dark burgundy…

I’m sad summer is over but I do love the autumn. The cosiness of the darker nights, an occasional log fire, the changing colours of the countryside, the richer and more comforting food, and a slowing down of the pace of nature.

We’ve got a week in the Forest of Dean in October and I’m hoping it will be a time to delve into all that autumn brings.

Before that, as it gets dark this evening, perhaps there might be a tot of what remains of last year’s hedgerow gin before we tuck into that dinner.