The Joy of Ceps

It's the end of an amazing weekend in the garden and things are definitely turning autumnal. I spent some of the time cutting back spent asters, lifting and dividing then replanting some of them. Then removed some of this year's hellebore orientalis leaves - after all the wet weather earlier in the year their growth was lush and they have been badly infected with hellebore leaf spot - a fungal infection similar to black spot on roses. The old hellebore leaves will definitely not be composted. One bed is pretty much sorted out for the autumn, but there is still lots to do.

As dusk started to fall I took the dog for a walk across our neighbour's fields. Last year at this time they were vineyards, but our neighbour has pulled the vines up and harrowed the ground, allowing grass to grow. It is a similar story across Entre-deux-Mers, where we live, as Bordeaux vignerons struggle to make ends meet. The government has compensated them for taking their vineyards out of production and is encouraging them to grow alternatives such as olives and almonds - a strong indication of their belief that the planet is warming at a significant rate.

Yesterday our village chasse was hunting across the fields where we walked and I could see why - a lot of the ground had been riven up by wild boar and will probably need to be harrowed again. A farmer's lot is not a happy one at the moment.

Anyway, as I walked the air was heavy with the scent of mushrooms which are thriving in the damp but sunny autumn. The other day I bought one cep mushroom (quite an investment as they are not cheap) and came home and made a cep omelette for lunch. It is one of my favourite autumn dishes and sitting in the sunshine, with a cold glass of white wine, enjoying my omelette was as close to culinary paradise as I could imagine being possible.