Today’s guest picture is another from our daughter’s visit to Knightshayes. There were animals everywhere.
Yesterday had left my legs feeling rather elderly so I was quite pleased to spend most of the morning sitting quietly in the Welcome to Langholm office.
I took a picture of the two roses beside the path from the front lawn before I went up to the town.

Lilian Austin

Rosa Wren
I was working away at the Langholm Archive Group newspaper index, largely untroubled by having to welcome any visitors in the office. The only downside of this quiet spell was that it was extremely warm so just sitting there felt like quite hard work. It did give my legs a break though so I mustn’t grumble.
I spent the afternoon pottering about in the garden watching Mrs Tootlepedal work. I sieved a bucket or two of compost and was pleased to find that it was in good condition. It has been so warm that I set the sprinkler onto both the front and the middle lawn.
In between times, I tried to turn the bright sunlight into a photographic bonus rather than a hindrance. The roses drew me to them.

Rosa Wren at lunch time

A young Golden Syllabub

And a grown up
We have been visited by royalty.

Queen of Denmark

She leads a complex inner life
Things caught my eye as I passed them…
…on my way between roses.
A new clematis has joined the party.
The butter and sugar iris is doing well…
…which Mrs Tootlepedal is very pleased about this as she transplanted them and that is always a risky business.
The Rosa Complicata is bursting with flowers.
The new petunia is in the greenhouse waiting for a home…
…and you can probably see why it attracted Mrs Tootlepedal’s attention.
The peonies are in various states of dress and undress.
The white ones offer bees every chance of a profitable visit.
In the evening, Luke came for his flute lesson and we battled away in the heat without making much progress but as always, it was enjoyable to play a duet with him. He had been playing for the old folk yesterday and told me that his performance had been received well.
I was hoping to go for a pedal in the evening again but couldn’t summon up the energy as it was still pretty warm and my legs, when consulted, were against unnecessary exercise. They are much improved after a day of rest though.
The flying bird of the day is a bee which is definitely not flying any more as it has fallen victim to a spider lurking among the astrantia.