I was working in the garden yesterday and a thought struck me - can you really have an Indian Summer in October?  After the miseries of the wet summer that has just gone the past few days have been  exceptional with warm sunshine, just a light breeze and no sign of rain.  Much to the delight of the local bat population the midges are out in force with literally clouds of them gathered in the shade of the sycamore in the garden.  Of course, the bats now have no daytime competition for this feast as the swallows have gathered and left for Africa.  I was puzzled by the lack of birds in the garden during the week.  They do seem to come and go, but the resident tribe of dunnock are always around and their shrill call usually forms a soundtrack to whatever you happen to be doing in the garden.  All was explained yesterday when a neighbour told me that a sparrowhawk has taken up residence in the trees as you enter Newhouses from the south.  Clearly the small birds are keeping their heads down.

I also learn that a buzzard is now living up at Fawber above Newhouses and this is probably the same buzzard that I have often seen soaring above the Tarn.  It's a pity that it has no deterrent effect on the cormorants which are gathering at the Tarn.  As I breasted the rise to drop down towards the hut yesterday three of them lazily took off like rags of black bale wrap lifted on the breeze.  With rainbows at 35p a lb and rising to 40p next year it's an expensive way of feeding cormorants.  It has puzzled me how a bird that's supposed to be either coastal or esturial in habit can find a fishery so far in land.  I suppose that they follow the fish up river and settle on any likely looking body of water.

Also for the past week or so there has been a heron stationed at the foot of Settle weir.  It seems totally oblivious to passing traffic and to all intents and purposes looks as if its a model that  has been planted in mid river.  It stands there staring intently at the fall coming over the weir never seeming to blink or move.

We had a really thick mist this morning which is now being rapidly burnt off by the sun to give another glorious cloudless sunny day.  Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness it certainly is this year.

Ian