I am in the market for guest pictures again and at the moment I am relying on my brother and sister. Today’s picture is from my brother’s visit to the Lake district and shows a splendid view of Coniston Water.
I was a bit wrong footed by the weather today. It had rained during the night and it was still gloomy and damp when we got up and the forecast had suggested quite a lot of rain during the rest of the day.
As a result, I had no great plan to do anything interesting and with quite a lot of things needing doing indoors, I was even looking forward for an excuse to get on with them.
In the end, I fell between two stools and when it didn’t rain, I didn’t get all the things that I should have done indoors done but I didn’t get out for a walk or a cycle ride either.
I did take time to look at the dahlias. They have not enjoyed our weather but some have battled on…
…without ever looking very happy.
Mrs Tootlepedal had gone for some with spikier petals than normal this year…
…and the spikiest ones are looking a bit wild eyed…
…and are growing with their heads down and their backs turned to the wind.
More clematis are arriving and we have now got quite a nice set of blue/purple ones.
We have still got one more clematis waiting to come out. It hasn’t flowered before but it has buds on it so we are quite excited.
The weather brightened up after lunch but unfortunately, I had an optician’s appointment ten miles away in Longtown, bang in the middle of the afternoon and there wasn’t really time to cycle before it or enough good light to take a walk after it.
Instead, I helped Mrs Tootlepedal in the garden and mowed the front lawn. I went for an unusual pattern of mowing today…
…and quite liked the result.
The top left corner flowerbed remains stubbornly poppy free although there are plants there. They just won’t burst into flower for some reason.
The Japanese anemones behind the hedge are doing well and Mrs Tootlepedal is thinking of expanding them right along the back of the garden.
Once again, we were well supplied with butterflies. A red admiral visited the sunflower again. I wonder if it is the same one as yesterday.
It wouldn’t spread its wings for me but one on a buddleia was more co-operative.
I like the way that their antennae apparently have little light bulbs on the end.
The peacock butterflies seem to be wanting a bit more heat and I have been finding them resting on stones or wood with their wings spread out to the sun when they get the chance.
I have been keeping an eye on the Michaelmas daisies because they are great butterfly magnets but they have only provided with me bees to look at so far this year.
I also kept an eye for blackbirds but for once the garden was not full of them and I settled for a collared dove from above.
We dug up a couple more of the Sarpo plants and they have cropped well with good clean potatoes. We only found one with slug damage.
I had one for my tea and it tasted good too.
In the evening, Mike and Alison came round and while Mrs Tootlepedal and Mike chatted over a bottle of beer, Alison and I played music, often playing the right notes at the same time as each other. This created a very harmonious effect and we enjoyed ourselves.
The flying bird of the day was very low and noisy.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Yes, the new lawn pattern is pleasing.
It stopped me getting bored anyway.
The dahlia in the lower left pane still shines from within. It’s a beautiful flower.
Getting those square corners isn’t easy with a lawn mower. I like the labyrinthine pattern.
I wonder if the poppies that aren’t blooming might get a little too much shade. I can’t think of any other reason they wouldn’t bloom.
I think that shade might be a problem in that corner.
I thought that I was the only one who cut their grass in odd patterns. One of my favorites was a serial pattern, easy to do on a riding lawn mower. I couldn’t have done the square corners as you did , I like it a lot.
Dahlias do need lots of warm weather and sunshine, but yours are looking good despite the weather there this summer. I like the clematis too.
The dahlias were so good last year that they have been a bit of a let down this year. A ride on mower would be nice but I would need a bigger estate.
I tried dahlias one year, but did not have good luck overwintering them. It is too wet here in winter.
Mrs T grows them from seed each year as they have to be dug and stored over winter otherwise.
Growing from seed sounds much better than what I was attempting.
Loved the colour of that clematis, the wonderful shots of the butterflies and the interestingly patterned lawn, a great success all round.
Your lawn looks spectacular.
Excellent picture of the peacock butterfly.
Spicky dahlias attract more bees ect, or so I saw on gardeners world, I like them better any way, great photos to. Hope you haven’t had the rain that we have had , torrential, off to Peebles area to day will try and send you an interesting photo during my 2 week stay looking after my 5 year old granddaughter.
That would be good. Plenty of photo opportunities round Peebles.
I spent way too much time trying to work out how the wonderful lawn pattern was achieved…surely levitating was not employed
Going round on circles which I am very good at in real life!
The lovely lawn pattern might confuse the pecking birds and deter them from messing up your grass. I love the the bee and Michaelmas flower,the range of clematis flowers and the dahlia photos…in fact I like them all!
The birds seem to have given up pecking the grass for the moment which is a welcome development.
Beautiful photos..,
A local lawn expert says that mowing in different patterns helps one’s lawn to thrive.
It does indeed.
When I was doing it for a living I used to do a four week rotation – end to end one week, side to side the next, then diagonal left to right and diagonal right to left. It supposedly keeps the cut more even. I’ve never managed to cut such a neat pattern as yours though.
I use your method in general but the fancy took me on this occasion.
It was a fine pattern, and a pleasure to see someone take pride in his work. 🙂
A nicely mown lawn and some spectacular butterflies!
I love the post, as alway, and the butterflies in particular.
It is great to see a good lot of butterflies at last.