The skeletons of summer...

No dragonflies today - the only ones I saw were hawking over the river and didn't want to stop and be photographed! These dry hogweed stems were the best my morning walk had to offer, but somehow they seem quite appropriate for my mood today.

I've been feeling quite unsettled and just a little anxious about the impending autumn - not uncommon for me at this time of year. Chris went to Leeds today to see his girlfriend, and is then going back to Sheffield for a few days to finish writing-up his Swedish field trip.

Alex is off to the Leeds Festival on Wednesday, which meant we spent the afternoon in town hunting for cheap shoes which were also acceptable to his discerning eye - unsurprisingly this proved almost impossible!

Tomorrow I have the delight of taking him and his friend to a supermarket to buy all the food and drink necessary for five days of camping....lots of pasta and noodles I expect!

He's been to the Leeds Festival twice before and loved it, but this is the first time without Chris. I'm always glad when he comes home, usually muddy and exhausted, but will be even more so this time.

I thought my fieldwork was coming to an end but, as usual, a few clients have suddenly realised autumn is approaching and want rush surveys, which must somehow be fitted in. And I have an awful lot of reports to write! Still, it'll all get done - one step at a time!