merlin...

Not the wizard, the little falcon. I don't know why but it always gladdens my heart whenever I see one. Perhaps it's because they're so elusive that they have a kind of magical quality. Anyway, as I took the dog out this morning one darted across the hedge on my left, swooped low along the road then took off into the fields on the right. They do nest around here but we only see them perhaps half a dozen times in a year if we're lucky.

Then when I got back home I had to rescue a robin that had become trapped in the greenhouse so, all in all, a bit of a birdy day. Oh, and the geese have started to come down from the north to overwinter on the marshes...a sure sign that winter's on its way.

I've sown some sweet cicely in modules today (the recommended sowing time is autumn). When we lived in the north east it grew in profusion along the banks of the river Tees and I would gather the leaves to use in fruit pies and the dried seeds also as a flavouring. Since we moved here I've not seen a single plant so I thought it might be nice to see if it would grow in the damp shady area at the bottom of the garden.

Another thing that I miss here is the wild garlic. The fresh leaves are wonderful in a salad or a sandwich so I'm going to have a bash at growing it from seed. Again, autumn is supposed to be a good time to sow it.

I suppose all gardeners get fascinated by the weird and the deformed things that they sometimes grow so here's my offering for today: a siamese-twin Roma tomato.