The First of October

Fresh October brings the pheasant
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

On the first day of October the pheasant shooting season starts. all through September the pheasants can be seen wandering around the countryside without a care in the world, enjoying the feel of the sun and hiding in the corn. In October they have to be very careful not to land on the dinner table. The male pheasant is a splendid sight with his golden brown and red plumage glinting in the mellow Autumn light.

October was the eighth month of the old Roman year, but of course now it is the tenth.

By the first of March the crows begin to search,
By the first of April they are sitting still,
By the first of May they are flown away;
Creeping greedy back again
With October wind and rain.

In October dung your field
And your land it's wealth shall yield.

My poem for the day for the First of October is by Tennyson (1809-1892)

Calm and deep peace, on this high wold;
And on these dews that drench the furze,
And all the silvery gossamers
That twinkle into green and gold.

Calm and still light on yon great plain
That sweeps with all it's autumn bowers,
And crowded farms and lessening towers,
To mingle with the bounding main.

Wishing you all a lovely October, as Spenser wrote 'then came October, full of merry glee.'

Blackberries can still be found in October

The countryside is slowly changing colour

Rosehips brighten up the plants that are losing their leaves