The arborists have been. The whole place seems light and tidy. The three men had the right ladder, tools and skills. What’s more, they tidied up afterwards. All the clippings went into the mulcher and were taken away.

After their three hours of steady work, they happily wolfed down my hot, buttered hot-cross buns.

During the apple tree’s pruning, lots of apples were dislodged which I popped into a pot. They seemed to instantly turn into puree. No sugar added. I did put some lemon juice in – from lemons dislodged from their tree.

A piwakawaka flitted about, undeterred, as they worked. Catching dislodged insects, I suppose. One of the arborists said that only about 6% of fantails are of that variety: dark and slightly larger than the others. Every day’s a school day!

So strange to be celebrating the spring festival of Easter in autumn, when you stop to think about it! Hot cross buns come out of the oven again, and we’re eating windfall apples, raspberries, grapes, zucchini, spinach, beans, tomatoes and rhubarb from the garden.

Breaking News: Expired mouse discovered behind bookcase respectfully laid to rest in compost heap.

Mum said she didn’t mind Felix coming into her room at night, so I left the hallway door open, but barricaded my bedroom door with the laundry basket and a wedge (it doesn’t quite latch properly) because I can do without being woken by the unmistakeable sounds of Felix with a mouse (or rat).

At 2.30am I was woken abruptly by a mouse running over my elbow. I thought I saw its shadow disappearing behind the basket where I store my woolly mittens and scarves. To hell with burglars and rapists, I threw open the window and french doors and got back under the duvet. Luckily it was a warm night. I thought a bit sympathetically about how light and velvety the wee mouse was. I watched the radio clock count the quarter hours and half hours until falling into uneasy sleep at about 4.30am.

Has it gone out? Why didn’t it take its chance when all doors and windows were open yesterday? Has it decided to take up residence? Which would you choose: a compost heap or a basket full of woolly mittens?

Felix has just come in with that triumphant trot he has when he’s pleased with himself. He’s licking his lips – has he polished it off?

Felix brought in a mouse (or small rat?) last night. We suspect it is either hiding or dead under the armchair in Mum’s room. Vacuuming is on my list for today. Big girl pants on (tight around the ankles) and into it…

In January I posted a photo of my pink hydrangeas ‘as big as your head’. Now, they are sporting their autumn colours. Around the side, there are some green ones.

Last year I dried some hydrangea flowers which won’t win any flower-arranging prizes, but are still good.

What a mist there is this morning as I go out to get the paper! It has crept up against the house – even the doormat is damp. The air, thick with humidity, makes it a little hard to breathe. This is Halloween/autumn weather: ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’.

Spiders have spread their webs from one support to another. I imagine them flying, Tarzan-like, from clothes line to bird feeder to pear tree. And their webs are astounding – but hard to photograph. I learn a few things about my camera as I try to capture the awesomeness, such as how to tweak aperture, exposure, and lighting. I experiment with the ‘stage light’ option which, as you might expect, has a dramatic result, but the spiders’ webs disappear. I go back to the default settings.

There’s no sign of the spiders. Perhaps they are resting after the long hours of painstaking artistry, waiting in crevices somewhere until something is caught in their nets.

When I close the curtains on dark, the Japanese anemones outside have already closed up for the night. I’m fascinated to see that the anemones inside in a vase do the same.

In the morning, before long, the flowers open again.

Inside, the flowers are slowly opening too.