It must be autumn

Squirrel is out for the weekend, with chum Monster and Monster's dad, at a dark site in Shropshire. Here a load of astronomers are gathering in a field, hoping for clear night skies to gaze up Pleiades' skirts and ogle at Jupiter's bouncy moons.

She has literally bounded out the house to join them. I need to record her enthusiasm on this; it proves to me how home ed happens for me more in hope than in expectation of reward. Perhaps, with events like dark site gazing, and amateur astro courses at Bedford, then one day she will get herself together enough to pick up the GCSE Astronomy she began (and I paid for).

Here - also in hope that a changing of the season into autumn brings happier health, brighter times, a better apple harvest than last year, along with berry bonanzas and fungi fancying - have pictures of the community orchard we visited this week.

While I'm on the subject of hope, let's also hope the dentist doesn't find out how much sugar I've put into Tiger's recipe for apple and ginger jam.