07:00 dog walk, I walk out of the garden gate and guess who I see? A beautiful roe deer just standing there.

I watched him a while trying hard to take a photo without looking like I was actually moving or taking the picture.  Of course he leapt away and then stopped again to look at me.  This time I made Lambie/Muzzah noises and we just watched each other for a long time.

Eventually I had to leave as Mum and Ted were well on their way with the dogwalk.

The weather was looming in a threatening way.

We upped the pace and walked fast round the agreed route.

Still, the morning first-light had it’s moments before the rain well and truly arrived so I took the opportunity to take photos of the beautiful old oak trees.

This is a “stag oak” for which the house is named.

From the National Trust website – “There is an old saying that ‘oaks grow for 300 years, rest for another 300 years and then slowly decline for a further 300 years’.”  So this tree is over 600 years old.  Wow!

Anywho, I am glad we got home before the torrential rain started.  I hope I see the deer again. He was nice.  I wonder if I could bring him home too (strokes chin), though I doubt Lambie would be too impressed.

Yesterday, Mr Foxy had two lovely rainbow trout skeletons plus the fish heads.  He was a very happy chappie.

Today, poor lad, he had two rotten tomatoes, a peeled over-ripe banana, a breadcrust (brown, of course, to keep Vulpes vulpes healthy) and two lamb chop bones with no meat left.

An interesting fact, foxes are not impressed with tomatoes – see how he throws it away but keeps going back hoping it is not as bad as he originally thought.

A robin was very happy with the fruit.

Another interesting fact is that both these films were taken is broad daylight and Mr Fox arrives in under a minute.  He knows. He is watching.  He is always there.  Just in the background but there.  I am very tempted to put out food, sit down and see what happens (though I won’t of course).

My back has “gone”.  I am not sure where but it is not a happy spine, all twingeing and owie. It’s all my own fault and I must admit that am struggling as I can’t take painkillers (they do awful things to me) so I went for a nice walk hoping it will help.

Hopefully I will feel better soon.  The volume on my Painpod is up so high so it will hurt more than my back.  This seems to be helping and the walk did me good.

Mum’s beautiful garden is slowly being “put to bed” for the winter. It is work-in-progress.

The Catalpa tree has almost lost its leaves and is now left with just the lonely swinging beans pods.

The enormous leaves will all be swept up once the last leaf has fallen.

Obviously, little Teddy followed me around while I took my photos.  He loves the leaves and runs up and down the garden to shout at potential invaders.

And here is the potential invader – aka, Mr Foxy.  I left the top of an eggbox-ful of leftover food beyond the garden gate.  The food is not suitable for man nor dog and Mr F iss the end of this house’s food chain as Mum can’t have a compost heap because of rats.  We think it is a young male fox who is looking very good.  I have a secret hankering to tame him down in the next few days and bring him home to Shetland, which obviously I won’t, can’t and would never do but I do ❤️ foxes.

Anywho, here are some photos of the rest of Mum’s beautiful garden.

It may be Autumn and everything may be dying back, but there is so much beauty and colour around.

And here’s Teddy.  Enchantment by any other name.

The routine is the same. We go out early to walk the dog on the municipal golf course that surrounds the house.  The golfers arrive as the sun rises.

Still, the Autumn colours are beautiful and as we don’t have trees like this in Shetland, I do enjoy the walk.

There is such a glorious variety of hues.

Is it going to be a harsh winter?

I do hope not but I was brought up with the folklore that an abundance of holly berries is a definite sign.

So will there be snow?  Lots of it by the look of the berries.

We had a good breakfast (just the one today!), and into the shed I went.  Nothing scares me these days.  Mum wanted me to find a trunk of old family photos and another marked “diaries” so in I plunged.

Like Captain Oates…. I am just going outside (well, inside actually), I may be some time”

I came out with the wooden trunk of photos (Mum and I have been going through them ever since. It is fascinating) plus I rescued a box of china in which I found this curious ewer/jug/pitcher.

Mum wondered if it was a vinaigrette because it has a strainer on the spout.

With handpainted flowers, porcelain, 8″ high (approx), gilding and background are transfer print.  Probably 19th century.

No mark on the base, but a number – 7861

Sadly missing a lid.

So, if you have any ideas, please say.  It is very pretty.

A really good day looking at family stuff.