Having become used to mild weather these past months it was something of a shock to feel cold again this morning, although I don't know why considering that it is now November. We continued on with cutting back the herbaceous borders until lunchtime when a spell of heavy rain put paid to our efforts, there is no point paddling around on wet soil as you cause more harm than good. The afternoon saw us picking medlars, a somewhat strange and unloved little fruit that has to its fame the fact that it is available in winter, it also needs to be bletted (browned by rot) before you can eat it raw or make it into jelly. It makes a lovely pinkish jelly which is quite delicious so Alyson and Giles say but I've not tried it myself. D H Lawrence didn't seem to have a very high opinion of it however as he wrote of it "Wineskins of brown morbidity, autumnal excrementa....an exquisite odour of leave taking"! So maybe I'll reserve judgement until I've tasted them myself.
"Since golden October declined into sombre November, and the apples were stored, and the land became brown sharp points of death in a waste of water and mud"
T S Eliot
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