Apple sorting day

I walked up the hill in lovely light at the end of the day and photographed landscapes with good clouds and autumnal details of leaves and trees, but this is the photo which epitomises my day. P continued to pick apples, box after box, and I sorted them into boxes to go for juicing and fruit to keep, subdivided by type - dessert or culinary -and condition. Very small ones, unsuitable for juicing, will be used for jelly if I have time; damaged ones will, as far as possible, be used immediately, for chutney and stewed apple. This shield bug was sitting placidly on top of a box of apples picked yesterday, and waited patiently while I fetched a camera, changed to manual focus and messed around with his framing. I didn't try to change to the macro lens, which might have given a better result; after his photo shoot, I carefully moved him onto a leaf and returned him to the garden.

Meanwhile, J had her PA S supporting her and was very pleased with her painting, which is the extra. It's for her September art challenge, which is to create a landscape with a night sky in any medium. This one used wax crayons under a dark blue watercolour wash, a technique she probably hasn't used since primary school firework paintings, and I could hear the squeals from her room when the stars appeared. She asked if I thought it was a little bit like Van Gogh's Starry Night, which has long been one of her favourite paintings.