Tucking Things In - Karen's Corner - 27.09.26

September always feels like a month of shifting gears ... summer hasn’t completely disappeared, the garden is still producing and there are still plenty of jobs to be done outside, but there’s a definite sense of things beginning to tuck themselves in for the colder months ahead and, if I’m honest, I kinda like it.

As I write this, I’m actually tucked up in bed ... it’s Sunday, the rain is absolutely pouring down outside and I’ve got my laptop balanced in front of me while I catch up on some admin. After a very full few months, there’s something quite lovely about having the weather make the decision for you that today is a day for staying put.

September has been another busy mix of work, family, food and the general rhythm of life here at Fossoway.

Around the estate, you can feel the season changing almost daily now. We are edging ever closer to the final grass cut of the year, something I will be VERY happy to see arrive, and attention is turning instead to clearing and tidying paths, creating a few new ones, repairing fences and, inevitably, pulling weeds. I’m not entirely sure there is ever a season when weeds aren't part of the story here!

The daily animal routine is changing too ... our lovely little herd of retired horses have had their first rugs of the season put on, their feeds are getting a little bigger and we’re starting that gradual process of preparing everyone for winter. I always find something very comforting about those little seasonal rituals - they mark the passing of time in a way that dates on a calendar don't ... ou suddenly realise you're putting rugs on horses at teatime, closing doors a little earlier and reaching for a jacket before heading outside.

The market garden is still giving us plenty, but the frantic growth of summer has slowed a little. That breathing space gives us time to start tidying beds and thinking about next year, what worked, what didn't, what we want to grow more of and what we need to do now to give ourselves the best possible start to the 2027 growing season.

Our veg boxes have continued to be lovely and busy, and I’m still really enjoying my delivery days. Obviously, I love actually meeting our customers, having a quick chat on a doorstep and seeing our veg boxes heading into local kitchens is still incredibly satisfying but I’ve also discovered that driving around Perthshire delivering vegetables gives me rather a lot of uninterrupted podcast time.

I listen to plenty of business podcasts and usually come home with another three things I want to try but my absolute favourite is "Heavyweight". If you've never listened, it’s essentially beautifully told stories about people and the things from their past that they’ve never quite resolved. Funny, sad, moving and heartbreakingly human. I think ultimately I'm just a sucker for a really good story!

While outside everything is changing, work-wise my head is already somewhere around December! I’m busy planning Christmas promotions and creating festive content, which means that sometime in the next week or so the Christmas decorations will be hauled out of storage ready for photoshoots and it always feels slightly ridiculous decorating for Christmas when it's still September, but I also know that future Karen will be extremely grateful to September Karen for getting organised!

Every year around this point I start making what inevitably becomes a fairly substantial list of all the projects, jobs and loose ends I’d like wrapped up before the end of December. There’s something very satisfying about getting it all out of my head and onto paper. Once the list exists and I can start ticking things off, my brain naturally moves towards the next stage ... planning the new year.

I know January is traditionally when we're supposed to emerge from the Christmas fog and start thinking about what we want from the year ahead, but that has never really worked for me. I like arriving in January already knowing where we're going so while the land around me is slowing down, my brain seems to be doing the opposite ... finishing, organising, planning and quietly laying the foundations for what's next. Perhaps that's my own version of autumn preparation!

Food has featured rather heavily in September too, which is never a bad thing. John and I had a wonderfully inspiring evening in Edinburgh seeing Yotam Ottolenghi as part of his book tour.

Obviously the food looked completely delicious, but I also loved listening to him talk about the role food plays beyond simply feeding us ... eating well, gathering people around a table and sharing good food with the people you love ... it all felt very Fossoway.

So much of what we're trying to build here ultimately comes back to those simple things ..good food, grown well, people gathering, conversation, community and taking a little more pleasure in the everyday.

A very different evening out came when John and I took Cora and her friend through to Glasgow for a concert. We dropped them at the arena and suddenly found ourselves with a few child-free hours to fill, so headed to the West End, grabbed something to eat and then went to see a film at the gorgeous Grosvenor Picture Theatre on Ashton Lane. The film itself was not for us but sitting in a beautiful old cinema, wandering around the West End and knowing the girls were off having a brilliant night somehow made the whole evening rather lovely anyway ... sometimes the plan doesn't have to be particularly spectacular to be really enjoyable.

Callan had his end-of-season golf prizegiving this month and came home with three trophies, which was brilliant although calling it the “end of the season” seems slightly optimistic given that he's still on the golf course most days. Apparently weather and seasons are largely irrelevant when you're 13 and golf obsessed!

September is also Mum and Dad's anniversary month, and this year Callan and I joined them for dinner at the Andrew Fairlie restaurant to celebrate. It was such a special evening ... beautiful food, wonderful company and, to top it all off, we were invited for a tour of the kitchens! I love seeing behind the scenes of places where people are exceptional at what they do and there’s something fascinating about seeing all the thought, skill, preparation and teamwork that sits behind an experience that, from the customer's side, appears completely effortless. Another year, another anniversary and another reason to stop what we're doing and actually celebrate it.

Perhaps that's what I like about September ... it sits somewhere between doing and resting.

The veg boxes are still going out, the garden is still producing, Callan is still golfing, I'm planning Christmas campaigns while simultaneously thinking about 2027. There are fences to mend, paths to clear and approximately a million things still on my end-of-year list but the evenings are drawing in, the horses are wearing rugs, the growth is slowing and today, the rain is hammering against the windows while I sit in bed with my laptop, feeling absolutely no desire whatsoever to be outside.

There’s a natural invitation at this time of year to draw things in a little closer - to finish things, prepare things, feed everyone a little better and make home feel warm and I'm ALWAYS ready for that ... although perhaps ask me again after six months of Scottish drizzle!

Until next month,

Karen x