"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes"

The end of September heatwave has long since evaporated giving way to what has been now been more than a week of wind, rain and even some hail thrown in for good measure. There has been little sunshine, everywhere is soggy, uninvited leaves cartwheel in whenever the door is opened and the last of my courgettes was eaten before I got to it. Not sure what it was but it must have been a big hungry creature!

Meanwhile before the sunshine left us there was much loud noise, extremely unsociable bonfires and various goings on next door, resulting in a blot on the landscape. Our neighbours are making changes to their garden. I am not sure yet what the outcome will be but the proceedings up to now have not been encouraging. They have consisted of much pruning, some of it rather drastic including the removal of a large tree. Not a special tree by any account - just a bog standard conifer but it provided both them and us with cover and a degree of privacy. Now it has gone we can see much more of neighbouring houses and gardens, including a view of a very uneven and bedraggled boundary hedge, ugly fencing as well as next door's shed and washing line. We are now very much in public view when we nip out to the bins, garage and to the cold frame which are all at at the back of the house. Finding a solution to this is going to be problematic as our garage is too near the boundary for us to plant something on our side. Himself does not understand why I am so miffed but living as we do down in a hollow, I feel that we have lost one area where we were not overlooked in the summer months.

I know nothing stands still yet I always find it disconcerting and somewhat upsetting when views unexpectedly change overnight. Still this weekend I gained some comfort from sowing sweet peas - one of the many forward looking and optimistic constants in the gardening year. I am slightly less grumpy and out of sorts than I was a few days ago!