September
September in the Tamar Valley can either show the last gasp of summer or present the first dank days of autumn. Swallows line up on the telephone wires assembling for their long journeys back down south, and freshening winds catch the first falling leaves. Spiders webs in all their intricate beauty are illuminated by heavy overnight dews and hang in the hedgerows with trailing climbing plants and ripe blackberries and purple sloes. Food for free in the local hedges also includes hazel or cob nuts though it can be hard to compete with the grey squirrels that scramble to reach the nuts while still green and cast half-nibbled nutshells to the floor.
For some of the Valley farmers the corn harvest is safely in, but for others the work of baling damp straw lingers on with shorter days making the work more of a challenge. The forage maize harvest is mainly this month leaving bare stubble fields that can develop soil erosion problems if no cover crop is provided to soak up the winter rains. Badgers love the ripe corn cobs and will carry them over the fields back to their dens on the edges of the woods.
September is a good month for digging and clearing ponds as the aquatic inhabitants have completed their breeding cycle by this month. If clearing weed make sure that the weed is left on the banks for a few days to allow any newts or frogs to return to the pond. The job is also more pleasant when the water is not too cold when it inevitably penetrates wellies and clothing!
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