Wind-fluttered leaves, bird-fluttered wings, water gurgling into ditches, one silent hare, bird song—and right at the end, on the home stretch, the sound of a dark blue car.

I wrote here before that my neighbour M had told me that you could plant potatoes as long as you could see through an ash tree, and today on this dry autumn morning as I was walking past trees, some bare and others still fully leaved, I was wondering what it is you are advised to do at this time of year in alignment with the vegetation. Perhaps this is about love (everything is about love). It may be said that if you are thus inclined, you can fall in love as long as you can find an ash tree that you can’t quite see through, when the winter sets in you need to concentrate on loving yourself, keeping your familiars warm and deliciously fed, your bird feeders full (with a good book under your arm at all times).