Pigeon post.

If you look closely at the chicken run you will see a little grey pigeon that has found a place to sit.
I knew something was wrong with this chap because I could get very close without it taking fright and flying away. I left it for a few hours just in case it had stunned itself and needed to sort itself out again but with darkness falling at 6.00pm and 'our girls' wanting to go to bed but being too chicken (sorry, but there's a reason this term is used for scaredy cats) to go back up the ramp with this tiny bird on the roof I scooped it very gently up in a towel and popped him out of harm's way and into the greenhouse. This was a risk as he may have then taken flight and hit the glass but I felt I had little choice as Jack's cat was eyeing it up.
I know now that what I should have done is made it comfortable and safe and then sought assistance which is what I did when there was no improvement the next day. I just searched the Internet for a solution and found it in the way of a Fauna help charity. I rang the vet there who told me not to take it to a high street vet as they would just euthanise it (something I had expected her to say) and that if I could meet her in the vet's car park she would take it off my hands. To be honest with you I had grown very attached to the little chap but when I found him on the floor of the greenhouse and picked him up to check his damaged leg I was horrified to see that his entire breast skin on one side was missing and all I could see what the burgundy muscle underneath. He must have been in terrific pain and this is why I am so sorry that I didn't find the Fauna vet's details immediately, thinking it just needed to have a rest and gather it's strength.
Once the vet took  a look at it she assured me that as long as infection hadn't taken a hold he had a good chance of recovery. I know it's only a pigeon and can be considered by some to be vermin I still feel that every life has a chance or at least the right to a good death. This little chap was given oral painkillers and then some antibiotic cream, applied directly onto his affected breast. I have rung to find out how it is doing but am still waiting for a call back.
The vet said that they mate for life and she would like him released back where I found him in case he does have a mate. I hope I can report that it's a happy ending. Will keep you posted.

Will these be the last tomatoes of the season?

Somehow I doubt it. Much like I always believe each cut of the lawns from September onwards will be the "Last mow of the year" and then two months later I am still naively thinking this as I drag the mower out from it's hiding place in the shed yet again.
The tomatoes this year have been spectacular, juicy, sweet and prolific - I have what seems like gallons of them in the freezer, roasted, skinned and turned into a rich base for any numbers of dishes. My latest recipe is meatballs in tomato sauce and it's so easy to make - it's a Jamie Oliver recipe that calls for sausages or beef burgers pulled apart and rolled into mouthsized (and this depends on how big each person's mouth is, of course) balls and quickly browned in a frying pan. I tend to cook it all slightly differently because what does Jamie Oliver (net worth is probably about 100 million from his cookery empire) that I don't?
I wash and gently cut the skin of each tomato so it will shed it's skin easily later on. Then I pack them all in a roasting tin, add salt, pepper, basil or rosemary (whatever herb I have, really) and drizzle a little oil over them all. Next I put them in a hot oven to bring out the sugar in them and once they have had a good forty minutes I pull them out and with asbestos hands I pick each tomato up and slip it's skin off it before plonking the 'naked' tomato into a bowl.
As the tomatoes are in the oven I gently fry some garlic and onion before adding mushrooms and keep this on a low heat so they all go soft rather than brown. Then I pop them out of the frying pan (or wok) and quickly fry the meatballs before adding the onions and mushrooms and a good slug of red wine to cook off. Next go in the tomatoes, skinned and slightly mushed up (with clean hands or a clean spoon) and some herbs and this all cooks gently together until you are ready to serve with chunky bread or some form of pasta. Yum.
I have made enough for six of us from this pan of tomatoes which is just as well as we have four relatives visiting at the weekend. So easy to do and so tasty to eat - unless you know different.