Hunting and gathering

I feel as if I'm really one with the changing seasons this year. In particular at the moment, as I've been busy harvesting crops and gathering seed for next year. 

I've gathered in my pumpkins and butternut squash. There's just the leeks and the parsnips to water now. I also went on a little tour around the allotments, craftily collecting seed. People have grown very pretty cosmos, nasturtiums and dahlias, and it would be rude not to help with their propogation next year. I've also collected seed from my sunflowers, including the huge one in my new allotment. It was so tall I had to stand on one of the plastic chairs and hold a bucket under the seed head while I prised the seeds out. 
I've made a good start on the bonfire. I've been on the prowl for dry old wood and scrub.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm turning into an old wild woman.  Ah well, at least I'm happy.

There was a large amount of old wood in the new allotment, plus a good deal of scrub, which will make fine tinder. My bonfire is a structurally balanced layered design. I started with a pile of dried grass, balls of paper, and stems, then added a layer of sticks and small pieces of wood. then I added a layer of brushwood and stems, then another layer of planks of wood. I'll keep repeating these layers until I run out of material. This won't be for a while, as there are loads of tall dead stems in all the untended allotments, and my Dad has an old shed he wants to burn. I think it's going to be an impressive sight when it's lit.