It will soon be time to make chutney from those last few tomatoes that refuse to ripen. We have about a dozen ripening on the vine and perhaps 4 dozen that don't look like they will. I'm a little disappointed with yield this year, but perhaps that's just because I've been taking them as they ripened so haven't really seen a bountiful quantity in one place. More plants will be grown next year, and more varieties. More on this in another entry, it's turned into quite a big subject for me (a huge excuse for surfing seed catalogues).
Cleaning up in the greenhouse today I found this fine example of Nuctenea umbratica (Walnut Orb Spider) hiding under my seed trays. Very large (about 4cm from front leg tip to bum) but very, very quiet and I don't think it meant me any harm, which is just as well really, as it can do some. (Warning: Not safe for arachnophobes!)
We've also got quite a nice garden spider residing in the greenhouse. This one's a bit more active, but we coexist quite happily.
I emptied my long dead Savoy seedlings into the compost bin, and put the empty trays back on top of the spider, who hadn't moved. Hopefully I was gentle enough to allow him/her to get comfy again (they were empty and very light.)
