Think that was summer...

Yes, it definitely feels like the nights are drawing in and autumn is imminent. The blackberries are nearly ready, the plums on my tree are ripening, and I'm starting to get some raspberries too.

But, on the wildlife side, there's still a lot of summer going on out there. From my quick walks after work down to the river - accompanied by the second brood of speckled wood butterflies flitting along the tree-lined path - to the flowering buddleia attracting tonnes of butterflies in my garden.

And when we walked into town in the drizzle on Saturday, the riverbank was looking beautiful - a mosaic of purple loosestrife and fleabane, proving that nature completely gets the colour wheel (purple and yellow are on opposite sides - a perfect compliment).

However, what with the patchy drizzle, wind, and very-active butterflies, not any pictures I'm afraid.

But on Sunday we braved the weather - and the tourist hordes - and pottered around Bath for the day. One way of avoiding the crowds was to walk through the lovely botanic gardens - the residents of Bath are very lucky to have this enormous greenspace on their doorstep. the highlight of our walk around here was actually the leopard slug hiding in one of the monuments in the park. This large slug is known to pursue other slugs for dinner at the top speed of 15cm a minute (thanks Wikipedia), and mates suspended on a mucus string. I bet you'll all be looking for leopard slugs now!