<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/first-fireaug20.jpg"><img class="alignright  wp-image-6448" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/first-fireaug20-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="190" height="266" /></a>The first day of September and it seems Autumn has come early. As August crept by with some very warm days it suddenly changed and in the last few days it has been decidedly chilly. When it was raining all day and temperatures were in the mid teens I decided to light a fire in the evening.

I've plenty of logs and with the prospect of another Ash tree having to be removed it seems I will have even more wood by the time winter shows its face. The problem is where to store all the wood.

&nbsp;

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/lawn-mowedaug20.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6446" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/lawn-mowedaug20-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>While the landscaper has been working on the paths around the vegetable plots I gave Piglet a holiday. The grass kept growing and as a result I had to mow the lawn around the house at the weekend. I haven't done this for possibly two years or more and I'd forgotten where to start. For those of you who are lawn operatives you know there's a place to start that gets the grass cut efficiently without going back over grass already cut. It gave me a great deal of satisfaction and after all the rain of the last week it has greened up rather well.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bee-equipmentaug20.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-6445 alignright" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bee-equipmentaug20-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>While it was raining I had time to get into the studio and clean up all the bee equipment. When all of this was outside it didn't seem like a lot of kit but when I put it all together, stacked neatly, I realised how much stuff I had acquired over the past 12 months.

The process took some time to make sure it was clean and ready for use. During this time I contemplated how much pleasure I got from keeping bees. I'm now 95% certain I will get another colony next spring. I'll make sure they're not aggressive and also put some netting around them to persuade them to fly up and away when foraging. If absolutely necessary I'll find a site away from home where I can place the hives. There are plenty of farmers around who like to have bees on their land so it shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as I have easy access. It won't be the same as being able to watch the bees from my sofa.

I've continued with my fitness regime and I have a weekly training session with Tracey via Zoom. I also exercise using Joe Wicks sessions on YouTube three times a week. It makes a significant difference to my ability in the garden to keep on weeding when previously I would have tired quickly or come in with an aching back. The images below were taken by Tracey during a Zoom session so the quality isn't good. I'm using 4Kg dumbbells which always seem heavy when I first pick them up but are okay after a warm up.

[gallery type="rectangular" size="medium" columns="2" ids="6450,6449"]

You might notice a knee brace on my left leg and hopefully that's a temporary feature. I pulled something around me knee when I was crouching down in the studio cleaning, not when I was exercising.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/privet-hawk-mothaug20.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6447" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/privet-hawk-mothaug20-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>Out in the garden there are still wonders to behold like this Privet Hawk Moth caterpillar that I found in the grass. It is alive and I put it back amongst some foliage.