It’s taken a while for autumn to arrive. Every time we had a few cooler days and thought it was autumn, the weather has changed again and we’ve peeled off our sweaters to revel in yet more shirt sleeve weather.

But now it looks like autumn as the leaves turn colour and drop to the ground, the fruits on the quince tree are losing their downy covering and the fields are greening up as the tiny shoots of newly sown wheat push through. It feels like autumn with cooler, slightly greyer days and it feels that we’ve left hot, summer days behind.

Autumn is always a time for change on the farm and this year we’ve had the additional upheaval of the electricity company contractors working on the overhead high voltage lines that cross the fields. Part of the line is to be buried, so the contractors have been digging trenches and laying a new line. It’s caused a bit of disruption along the bridleway and I regularly meet white vans and negotiate past complicated looking machinery along the track while I’m walking the dog.

With luck, all the wires will soon be laid …

… and the contractors and their machinery will disappear, along with some of these poles that march across the field.

Last week, in the Barley Barn, students were taking part in the last printmaking course of the year, making fabric prints like these. This week, it’s all change for autumn as the printmaking equipment and paraphernalia is stored away to make way for the Christmas shop. At the moment, the barn is an unglamorous sea of cardboard boxes but, by the end of the month, it will be transformed into a sparkling abundance of decorations and Christmas delights.

You may also have noticed some changes to Slamseys Journal. As well as sweeping away the cobwebs in the Barley Barn, there’s been a little dusting and tidying here. The Journal has a slightly different look and you can now buy prints online.

All change for Autumn!