Our preparations for winter continue (not that we seem to get real winters any more) - the garden has been cleared of much of the dying back stuff and today it all went off to the recycling point at our local council's dump. Although on the whole their recycling schemes are poor, they do have one particularly great pact with the people of the community - we take our garden waste there and they shred and compost it then return it to the same place where residents can go and collect it to use in their garden. I really like the scheme - I compost all my own soft stuff but don't have a shredder so can't do the tough stuff - this gives me the ideal solution.

On the way back we did the monthly animal feed run - six sacks of various assorted feeds along with hay and biscuits for the dogs. We bought these fab new feeders and a new bath for the wild birds hoping to tempt them down onto the front of our conservatory and right up to our back door.....let's hope they come.