Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable - Oscar Wilde
September brought a welcome change in the form of rain. After a period of six dry months in 2025 (March, April, May, June, July, and August), I think everyone appreciated that feeling of 'soft' rain on the skin. Temperature and sunshine levels were typical for the first month of Autumn.
The garden photo for September (Photo 1) was taken as the month drew to a close. Leaves are still predominantly green with shades of autumn colouring beginning to appear.
Photo 1: View of the Rear Garden (27th September 2025)
Daily garden photos taken from a rear window are collated in Video 1.
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (September 2025)
Selected weather statistics for September 2025 are summarised in Table 1. The change in season from summer to autumn was very noticeable in terms of temperature; the maximum daily temperature for September (24 ℃) being a pleasant change from the summer months (June, July & August) where the maximum daily temperature exceeded 30 ℃. Nighttime temperatures were also much cooler.
Table 1: Summary Weather Statistics for September 2025
As Figure 1 illustrates, daytime temperatures held up well thanks to reasonable sunshine levels (Figure 2). However, in the last third of the month, those same sunny days meant much cooler overnight temperatures (Figure 1). Click on the Figure to enlarge.
Rain was restricted to the first 20 or so days of the month with most days experiencing some precipitation (Figure 2). The last ten days of September were much more settled with plenty of sunshine.
Figure 2: Daily Rain/Sunshine Data (September 2025)
Long-term trends, in a selection of Hereford weather parameters, for the month of September are shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. The limited time series data suggests September may be getting a little cooler (Figure 3) though not without an anomaly here and there (i.e. 2021 & 2023).
Figure 3: September Temperature Data for Hereford (2020 - 2025)
Precipitation is highly variable (Figure 4). The number of dry days decreases from 2020 to 2025 indicating that September is starting to experience more unsettled weather (i.e. more showers and stronger winds).
Figure 4: September Wind, Rain & Sunshine Data for Hereford (2020 - 2025)
The next three figures are taken from the Met Office's monthly report for September 2025. Figure 5 shows the mean September temperature for the UK which was close to the average temperature for the 1991-2020 period. Since temperatures have increased over this 30-year period (due to climate change), this means September 2025 was cooler than expected for the UK generally and Herefordshire, in particular. This ties in nicely with the Hereford City data (Figure 3) from my Davis Weather Station which shows this month was the coolest September of the last six years. According to the nearby official Met Office weather station at Credenhill, the September mean temperature is 14.0 ℃, in excellent agreement with the value recorded by my back garden weather station (Table 1 and Figure 3).
Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (September 2025)
According to Figure 6, some parts of the UK (SW England, Northern England, Wales and Northern Ireland) had higher than normal precipitation while other regions (Scotland, Midlands, East Anglia and parts of Southern England) received a normal amount of rain. Herefordshire received close to its expected September rainfall, perhaps a little above normal. Historical data from the nearby Credenhill weather station reports a 30-average (1991-2020) September precipitation of 50.62 mm. Hence the 59.0 mm recorded by my Davis weather station (Table 1) was 116% of the typical September rainfall in good agreement with Figure 6.
Figure 6: UK Rainfall (relative) for September 2025
Eastern parts of Great Britain had the best of the sunshine during September 2025 (Figure 7). The remainder of the UK, including Herefordshire, had to make do with average sunshine levels (c.f. Figure 4).
Figure 7: Sunshine Hours (relative) for September 2025
Harvesting fruit: pears, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, apples
Cut back raspberry canes, make a start on pruning the hedge, de-weed the drives
Increasing composting throughput - now taking in garden waste from 10 extra gardens
Flora & Fauna in the Garden
Blue Tit (x5)
Collared Dove (x2)
Crow (x1)
Great Tit (x1)
House Sparrow (x12)
Photo 2: Here's Looking at you, Kid (29th Sept 2025)
Jackdaw (x2)
Robin (x1)
Starling (x10)
Wood Pigeon (x2) - A pair of wood pigeons built a nest in the spring-flowering cherry tree. The third wood pigeon nest in the garden this year! After a month sitting on the nest, this pair produced no offspring so possibly phantom pregnancy?
Photo 3: Brooding Wood Pigeon (19th Sept 2025)
And, finally, some photo from the garden ...
Photo 4: Some of the Pear Harvest
Photo 5: Grape and Pear Harvesting
Photo 6: Dahlia Flower
Photo 7: Cyclamen in the Mini-Wood (15th Sept 2025)
Photo 8: Cosmos (15th Sept 2025)
Photo 9: Honey Bee on Salvia
Photo 10: Cyclamen in the Mini-Wood (16th Sept 2025)
Photo 11: View from the Patio (20th Sept 2025)
Photo 12: Cosmos (30th Sept 2025)
Photo 13: Cosmos & Fuchsia in the Paradise Garden (30th Sept 2025)
As we reach the middle of autumn and the weather turns a little cooler, it is time to harvest the last of the 'Mediterranean' vegetables (sweet peppers, aubergines and tomatoes) in the polytunnel. The sweet (or bell) pepper crop has been very good this year with over a hundred 'fruits' from the ten plants. The bulk of these will be processed and frozen for use over the coming winter/spring.
Photo 1: Sweet Pepper Harvest
The tomato crop has also been good this year thanks to the warm sunny summer months. The sweet cherry varieties have been great in salads and the plum tomatoes ideal for cooked dishes (curries, moussaka, lasagne, etc) and for making passata for freezing & storage.
Photo 2: Super Sweet Mini Plum Tomatoes
We have been enjoying the aubergines over the summer although the crop yield suffered from a later than normal sowing. One of my next jobs is to pick the last of the 'fruits' before clearing out the polytunnel.
The courgettes were somewhat neglected this year and suffered a little from the lack of rain. The plants have stopped producing earlier than normal and we have ended up with quite a few marrows; about 15 kg in fact. Not a problem as these will keep us in soup and broth until Christmas and the New Year. The marrow is an underrated vegetable; it stores well, is an excellent base for soups and bulks out stews, curries, hotpots, etc. Just remember to add plenty of flavouring as it is rather bland on its own.
Photo 3: Marrows for Winter Storage
Some vegetables such as potatoes, beet and turnips can stay in the ground until for a little longer while the parsnips will benefit from some frost (i.e. taste sweeter). The Swiss Chard has been a big disappointment this year with a strong tendency to bolt due to the hot dry weather. Fortunately, the perpetual spinach beet has cropped strongly and is still going strong.
With the exception of the red cabbages, the brassica plot has been very disappointing. The plants have suffered from the almost desert-like weather conditions this summer. The calabrese and cauliflower heads have not set well and the plants have undergone a severe whitefly attack. I will definitely grow red cabbages next year but will probably give the other brassicas a miss in the hope that the whitefly population will die out/down.
I did grow a few Roma F1 plum tomatoes outside (spare plants) and they have produced a decent crop of unripe green tomatoes. These might ripen up indoors; we shall just have to wait and see.
Photo 4: Unripe Green Roma F1 Plum Tomatoes
As plots are cleared of crops, I need to decide on whether to just cover with black plastic to suppress weeds or plant a green manure crop. Field beans and rye grass worked very successfully last year so I plan to do the same this year.
Photo 5: Field Beans For Autumn Planting
The mixed plot (French beans, courgettes, Swiss Chard, outdoor plum tomatoes) was the first to be cleared. Preparation was to hand weed before raking level and dibbing in the field beans (10 cm apart in rows 20 cm apart). No need to to be too neat with the rows!
Photo 6: Long-handled Dibber For Sowing Field Beans
Finally, lightly rake to fill in the holes and wait for rain!
Photo 7: Field Bean Plot Waiting for Rain!
The next few weeks will be busy harvesting the last of the tomatoes and aubergines in the polytunnel so it can be cleared and cleaned before winter. I am hoping to put my feet up while it is cold but there are always some jobs that need to be done during the winter months.
At the beginning of October, we spent a few extremely pleasant days with Mary's sister and her husband at their place in North Devon. It was a bit damp on the drive down and the following day was bit on the windy side due to Storm Amy. Fortunately for us, though not for others, the strongest winds and highest rainfalls were further north, particularly Northern Ireland and Scotland with wind speeds up to 90 mph. The Davis Weather Station in our back garden recorded a highest wind speed of 51 kph (32 mph) around 11 o'clock on the 4th October.
During our visit we managed to visit 3 National Trust properties ...
The house was built for the Heathcoat-Amory family, who made their money from lace manufacture, in second half of the 19th Century. Knightshayes was located on the opposite side of the Exe valley to the factory so that the family could keep a watchful, if distant, eye on the factory (Photo 3).
We had called in briefly on our way to Devon (toilet break!) but didn't have enough time to explore. So we decided to revisit on the journey home. Dunster Castle is built on a tor and hence is a prominent feature in the landscape (Photo 9).
Photo 9: Approaching Dunster Castle
Its position perched on a tor also means its gardens are fairly compact albeit with a few ups and downs.
Photo 10: National Trust Map of Dunster Castle
Photo 11: Entrance to Dunster Castle with the Coat of Arms
There are many fine views form the elevated position of Dunster Castle such as this one looking north over the Bridgewater Bay & the Bristol Channel towards Wales. The islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm can be seen in the distance. On occasions you will hear, or even see, the steam trains on the West Somerset Railway.
Photo 12: View from the Castle Looking Northwards towards Wales
The paths through the gardens are very accessible ...
Photo 13: Winding Down the Gardens at Dunster Castle
... and may lead you to the Watermill that still produces flour ...
Photo 14: Dunster Castle Watermill
From certain vantage points, the Conygar Tower, a folly, can be seen. This tower has no connection to the Leaning Tower of Pisa; it is just the photograph taken at a funny angle!
Photo 15: Conygar Tower Folly, Dunster Castle
The village of Dunster is right next to the castle and well worth a visit.
Tintern Abbey
Our final stop on the journey home was Tintern Abbey, founded by Cistercian monks in 1131. Much of the Abbey is undergoing conservation work and is currently out of bounds and heavily scaffolded ...
Photo 16: Scaffolding at Tintern Abbey (October 2025)
There is no denying this would have been an imposing and domineering building while it was in use ...
Photo 17: Tintern Abbey (October 2025)
Photo 18: Tintern Abbey (October 2025)
Photo 19: Tintern Abbey (October 2025)
The trees surrounding Tintern are just beginning to turn as we enter Autumn ...
I recently upgraded my Pixel 7 Pro mobile phone to the Pixel 10 Pro, predominantly to take advantage of the better camera and improved battery performance. I managed to get a good trade-in price for the Pixel 7 Pro (£402) and the deal included a £100 voucher for the Google store. Updates are guaranteed for another 7 years so I'll be stuck with this phone for some time.
As a Google product, artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Pixel 10 series so it will take me a while to understand how to get the best out of the camera. It has been a while since I logged onto my Blogger account as we've been away on a short break. In that short period, Google has added some new 'beta' features to Blogger 'to create a more engaging reading experience with the help of Google'. This is another example of AI in action. With just a single click, Blogger will add a Google search link to any keywords that its AI has identified. I have used this function to provide all the links above. This new feature will be of fairly limited use to me since my links will, in most instances, be to specific websites or web pages.
As mentioned above, one of the main reasons for upgrading the phone was to take advantage of the improved camera quality and features. The Pixel 10 Pro offers up to 100x zoom, albeit using the lower resolution (12 MP) sensor; AI is used to sharpen up the image. When using the 50MP sensor, optical zoom up to 30x is possible. Our recent Devon holiday included a short walk along the Tarka Trail with plenty of opportunities for a bit of bird watching. As we walked alongside the River Taw estuary, I took this picture of an oystercatcher using the 30x optical zoom with 50MP sensor (Photo 1).
Photo 1: Oystercatcher, River Taw Estuary, Devon (5th Oct 2025)
Using the lower resolution sensor (12MP) with 100x zoom, the photo is grainy and fuzzy (Photo 2).
Photo 2: Oystercatcher, River Taw, 100x Zoom without AI (5th Oct 2025)
Fortunately, the AI algorithm sharpens up the picture sufficiently to enable bird identification (Photo 3) ...
Photo 3: Oystercatcher, River Taw, 100x Zoom with AI (5th Oct 2025)
I'll be looking at other features in the near future.
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