As the weather is nice, one of those lovely late summer/early autumn days, I've been for a walk by the river and through the oak woods on the lower slopes of Peak Woo. Some of the pygmy hogs came with me, they wanted to snuffle for acorns and fungi. Some of the leaves from the weeping willow have already turned and fallen in to the river. There's an eddy in the lee of one of the willows that leans right out across the current. It's a good spot to tie up a boat, dangle your feet, have a picnic or even swim in the sheltered pool that's formed. It was a little cool for that but the fallen willow leaves have been made into a golden gyre, spinning and dancing. The water level is higher after the rain we had and I'm sure I saw a salmon leap. I definitely saw a kingfisher, a blue blur, flashing upstream. The oak leaves are also turning but clinging on, for the most part. No deep drifts of leaves to kick through yet. It made it easier for the pigs to find the acorns, although they told me they enjoyed rootling almost as much as finding a tasty snack. We returned via the goat paddock. The goats had recently eaten an old copy of the Guinness Book of Records. It seems to have inspired them. They were trying to beat their previous best goat pyramid record of 27. I passed Balrog discussing with some of the capybara if they had enough wood for the fires and if it was too early to light the fires in the bedrooms. The gerbils have unpacked some more blankets for the library, Pedant's corner and anywhere else where a bit of coziness might be required.
Butternut squash soup with a bit of spice, crusty bread with butter and cheese, please Bar Gerbil, and my usual pot of tea. Lovely.