Late summer and mellow fruitfulness

A warm balmy afternoon greeted those that ventured out today to visit us after a week of solid rain.  Pity the farmers trying to get their crops in (fortunately our barley was taken off before the rains came), nevertheless gardeners and their gardens will be breathing a sigh of relief at the return of decent levels of ground water.  Everything has greened up for a final late summer flourish.

I love this time of year as the literal fruits of one's labour are available straight from the tree or vine.  Tonight we were excited to discover a heavy crop of ripe figs in the kitchen garden.  It's an old tree, which may even pre-date Harold Peto's arrival in Iford (i.e. pre-1899), yet every year it produces a prolific crop of brown turkey figs, although rarely do we have enough sun to ripen so many of them.  This evening, I roasted them with balsamic vinegar and honey, and a pinch of ginger & cinnamon.  Satisfyingly fresh, simple food.

And so here are some photographs to delight and entice, taken this very evening around 7.15pm.