September 23rd – At Calton, high in the Weaver Hills, I was surprised to find a tree with a huge crop of ripe plums, so ripe that they were falling off the tree and rotting on the ground, food only for birds and a huge army of wasps.

A taste of one of the purple fruit told me why they were untouched – so tart my face nearly turned inside out.

This was no deterrent to the wasps, however, who were too busy to bother the inquisitive human with the camera.