Summers end

'We're only making plans and arranging things. Talking it over, you know-what route we are taking this year and where we'll stop, and so on. It's half the fun.'


Kenneth Grahames' wayerfarers now line the telephone wire outside the house. I can't look at them without imagining their chattering concerns over this years' route to Africa.

The first elm turned yellow prematurely over 3 weeks ago but now the sycamore is yellowing too and the trout are acting very strangely. Look into any crystal clear pool and you will see a dark, fish with mottled sides lying flat on the bottom. Her eggs are developing rapidly inside her and she has no wish to feed now until spring. Cock fish are all the time gesturing, with tails held high, sometimes breaking the surface, and swimming slowly alongside each other. If well matched in size all hell will break loose with each pair fighting it out every afternoon for a month. The season is changing.