Putting By

A Buff Sussex rooster with golden-buff plumage, standing upright in a blue-and-white striped apron over a pale yellow shirt at a kitchen windowsill lined with glass jars of golden peach halves, a copper pan and a bowl of ripe peaches on the scrubbed wooden table behind him, a dresser with jugs and plates, warm afternoon light through the window

Twelve Jars Against November

The peaches were at their best on Monday and will not be again for a year, so the week has gone into putting them by. Twelve jars cool on the windowsill. In November he will open one, and for a quarter of an hour it will be September.

3 September 2026