Hay, there's Baley

NOW the summer is ending and things are winding down, Herm is looking forward to a warm autumn.

This is a beautiful time on the island, when the bracken on the common starts to turn golden and red, and blossoms and pine needles fall from the trees to cover the paths.

A sure sign of the end of summer is the cutting of the hay. The fields are suddenly green again and bales like huge cotton spools appear on the hills.

Over the weekend, certain mischief-makers used two of the bales to build a little man, complete with smiling face and top hat.

'Baley', as one of the children named him, was visible from most of the main paths and was a talking point among visiting children all day.

It just goes to show that no matter how many times you walk round this little island, there are often surprises and new things to see.

This is a perfect time for walks and blackberries are already appearing in the bramble bushes. Suddenly, all the island homes are filled with the smell of warm jam and home-made bread and blackberry pies and tarts are a daily staple.

The bee keeping and honey making has been a great success over the past couple of years and we have dozens of jars of honey from this summer.

Whenever I tell guests how much I love living on Herm, they always ask, 'Even in winter?'.

Autumn and winter are lovely in their own ways. Although we love summer, with its visitors, beach trips and extra boats, winter has its own charms. The island becomes a very different place.

Although Herm is certainly still open in winter, it is a much more peaceful place and far more slow-paced.

Once the school holidays are over, we start to think more about the community and winter events.

This is the time for islanders to come together again, now the rush is over and the seasonal staff are starting to leave.