Half term has finally arrived, and I took the opportunity of a dry day yesterday to begin clearing the front bed ready for my spring bulbs to be planted. I cut down the sunflowers – one was still flowering so I cut off the flowers to bring indoors (pic above) and have also hung up a couple of big heavy seed heads out the back, and also out the front and I was encouraged that today a couple of Great Tits seem to have found the ones in the back to start feeding from.
Bumped into Sam delivering team – teas at Kingweston on Wednesday. He’s on a term-time only contract so is also enjoying half-term, yesterday he went up to Bristol. In true start of holiday style, after a prolonged period of dry weather, today has been wet, with heavy mizzle pretty much all day, which has now turned to proper rain. Tomorrow and Tuesday don’t promise to be much better so my trugg clearance and bulb planting will be on hold until after we return from Lisbon.
Today I ran 10K for the first time in over a year – 17 months to be precise. Checking my logs, I last ran 10K on 12 May 2024, and today is 12 October 2025.
As I wrote last week, my running has picked up of late and whilst I have been thinking that running a 10K is no too far off, I didn’t intend to do so today, however I had a bit of a Forest Gump moment and it just seemed right to keep running. After about 5 or 6 K I was thinking I might add in the extra K on top of my seven to make an 8K run – a stepping stone to future distance – but as I ran up the hill, past our house to the traffic lights it just seemed right to keep going straight ahead for the 10 rather than turn right to make it 8.
It had promised to be another nice day – yesterday afternoon was sunny and warm and today’s forecast was for similar so I set off running in two t-shirt layers which was fine, apart from my hands which were cold for most of the time, only warming up for the final three kms. The promised burn through of the sun hasn’t happened, and I would say its been cold today, with a stiff, chill breeze. Becky also got up early to go for a walk along the river, hoping to see the mist lift. It was just damp! But she did get the above photos of a sign that has appeared on the bypass roundabout.
The garden, particularly out the back, continues to bloom and flourish, my Bizzie Lizzies flowering fully, and the geraniums still looking strong and colourful. The sunflowers at the front are still bravely blooming, but they are beginning to look a little threadbare. There days are numbered – soon I will be taking them up to get my spring bulbs planeted.
The trees are defiantly all turning, time to soak in the sight of their colourful display as, before too long, they will be bare and barren – summer is over, autumn is upon us and winter is coming! The pic above is of the tree on the road outside the house – taken today 12/10/25, full of berries!.
Today, I went for a run – 7K, not especially quick, but for the first time in a long time (say about a year or more) I felt strong and fit, and that I had something left in the tank at the end of the run. None of my splits were sub 5 mins – those days seem an age ago – but most were sub 5m 10 sec. I’ve also felt quite fit whilst refereeing of late, still able to put in a sprint in the last 10 mins or so of a match. I’ve also been doing some weights – that probably sounds more than what I am doing, but after my run today, and a few evenings (when I have remembered!) I’ve spent 5 -10 mins with x 2 3Kg weights, and also have done a few sit ups as well. Looking back through my exercise logs, I think things really began to drop of throughout 2024, which was then compounded at the start of this year when I seemed to be pulling muscles for fun in the first few months of the year. I do feel fitter than I have for a long time, and that feels good.
Sophie’s also been exercising, her is a picture of her following her first Korf ball fixture of the season.
Weather wise, its been a typical end of September and start of October. Monday morning we woke up to cobwebs festooned across the garden …
and then the day ended in still, calm sunshine …
Note how the Tor has returned to green from the summer brown …
and we’ve been treated to some beautiful fiery orange, or perfect pink, sunsets.
… and then the next day dawned with the Tor emerging from the mist
Then, on Friday and Saturday, the first storm of the season struck. Friday was very wet, Saturday was very windy, and today has been, on and off, pleasantly sunny with a stiff breeze.
And Becky was delighted today to discover a second, if small (circa 3 or 4!) crop of figs
And the sunflowers keep on flowering (along with the geraniums and Bizzie Lizzes) – the pic at the top of the page was from today, the garden still looks lovely in full bloom.
