Morning in the garden

It is such a lovely day that I decided to spend the morning in the garden, practising that almost lost art of letter-writing. Look, a real pen! Almost all my communicating is done via telephone or email these days, the only handwritten messages seem to be birthday and Christmas cards.

With no delete key or spell checker, one has to be really careful when writing a letter by hand, especially when using this beautiful parchment, a gift from my daughter. I found myself picturing my brother on his Greek island, sitting on his patio overlooking the Aegean and that inspired me to make Devon sound just as interesting and beautiful. At least I tried.

There are definite signs of autumn approaching: the virginia creeper is beginning to turn red. I love that very brief period when it dominates the garden before shedding its leaves.

If you look closely, you can see the bees making the most of this sunny spell to top up their stores. My daughter brought us a little of her honey on her recent visit but she has left most of it for the colony to feed on during the winter months. The rainy summer has been disastrous for beekeepers.