Autumn, April 8th

The air smells of Autumn this morning, and the light has certainly taken on a softer tone. We munch on our very ripe William pears for breakfast, the juice dribbling down our chins and running to our elbows. This is obviously best done outdoors, preferably while taking a walk around the backyard to see what's been going on. A meander by the chook run means we can toss in the pear cores, check for eggs and see how the youngest to the flock are settling in.

This may be the end of a run of fine days, so the washing is all hung out early to catch the warm breeze. They say rain's on the way again tomorrow. I'm glad of that, as our tank has actually run dry. The chooks had to have their water delivered by bucket from the mains this morning, which hasn't had to happen for a while.

Cheeky hens; they've found a new laying spot again. Since introducing the youngest birds to the flock, some of the older birds have decided to lay elsewhere. Well, I found them out today and collected the eight eggs they hid away from their 'intruders'. We thought it was a bit too early for them to go off their laying. It's usually in late May, as the cold southerlies hail the call of Winter, that our hens begin to lay more infrequently. Still, I'll start saving most of these eggs we collect now, in preparation for the scarcity ahead. Our neighbours will have to revert back to store bought eggs for a while.

We'll have lemons this year! This is a huge achievement. We've not been very successful with our lemon tree. One tree was given to us by my mother-in-law when we moved here 15 years ago. To date, we have only had one fruit. A few years ago, I moved it, where it's grown a little larger but still no fruit. I also planted a different type of lemon, which was very small at the time and has taken a few years to establish. But, now, it's fruiting!

Time for a cup of tea and a read-aloud. We're starting a new book: Tarantula in My Purse. That will keep Mariposa quite happy. Then we need to finish the last chapter of Maestro's book today, a nice way to end a term, ready for a two week break.