Frosty starts.

We've had some quite frosty starts to the days this week.  Only to be expected at this time of the year of course and the boys don't mind it at all.

In fact, the boys seem to love the frosty, clear nights and abandon their favourite shelters in favour of sleeping out under the stars - as these imprints from two of the herd show.

Fyta keeps an eye on a neighbour's dogs as the sun starts to climb over the hill and hits the top of a nearby Rowan tree.  Plenty of berries on the Rowans this year which many people say is a sign of a harsh winter to come but it's probably as a result of very wet conditions during Spring and early Summer.

Nearby are Fergus (left), Faro and Fidget close to the same Rowan trees.

Here's another creature who is not bothered by the frosty conditions - 'Dodger' the rabbit who likes to tuck himself into a series of sleeping places round the paddocks.  A couple of years ago we had a rabbit whom we called 'Rodger' who spent all Winter in the paddocks - perhaps this is an offspring!

The really good thing about the clear nights and frosty mornings is that they develop into beautiful days!  Each day this week the weather has been really hot, a gorgeous spell of weather which we've missed out on in the north, until now.  Here are Faro and Fergus in the sandpit during one of the sunny afternoons.

And finally...........despite terrible weather earlier in the summer, including strong gales, the 10p packet of sunflower seeds from Aldi still managed to put on a display for us!  The tallest is over 7 feet tall, they are growing at an angle due to the wind, but they are still covered in bees. The fine weather has meant that the Grumpy Gardener has managed to finish cutting the long hedge (top left of picture) and has turned over the veg plots ready for the Winter.