We had a cool dry start to the opening day of the month; a weather pattern that was to continue for a while, and the river level continued to drop back during this time.
As the grass cutting season was winding down, a lot of the big hedges about the riverside were also getting their final cuts of the season,
always happy to see them done and dusted for another year.
The 15th saw the end of a successful rod fishing season up on our Cargill beat; catches were up on last year, and the boats are all now safely off the river for the winter, and they will receive any maintenance required to have them already to go again for the start of next season.
The weather broke just after the season ended and there was a quick rise in the river level, hitting six feet on the gauge at one point, but that was as high as it got, and it spent the rest of the month slowly receding.
Our old cobbles did need to be pumped out with the bilge pump a couple of times during that spell.
The big tides peaked on the 18th during a stormy spell but luckily there was no flooding or storm damage to affect us. We were soon back into a decent spell of autumnal weather again, and as the leaves were coming down thick and fast in the woods it was weird to see a few crocuses out in flower in some places!
It has certainly been a very different year for a lot of things growing and fruiting over the seasons. There has been a lot of movement of geese along the estuary this last while, and the redwing and fieldfare are back in the country too. There are a few more deer around,
and it has been good to be seeing a bit more of the red squirrel, they are making the most of all the acorns about just now.
The month closed with a cold dry day and the river level was sitting around the two-foot five-inch mark on the gauge up at the Cargill beat.
Dago