Today’s guest picture comes from my sister Mary. It shows the Houses of Parliament which is nominally the seat of our government. Sadly, we are currently not being governed at all.
In a shocking challenge to the established order, it rained today…
…but as it only rained for about five minutes and not very hard at that, it didn’t make any difference and I still had to potter about watering anything I thought might benefit from it.
I also managed some weeding and a little strimming of the paths in the vegeatble garden and I edged the middle lawn.
It was cloudy and definitely a bit cooler than it has been so that was very welcome. Encouraged by this, I got my bike out after coffee and the crossword and set out to see how my legs were feeling.
They were feeling fine so I did a 32 mile circle of familiar roads at a gentle pace (I was trying hard but the pace was gentle), keeping an eye out for anything interesting. Once again, I found that if I stopped and looked around, there was usually something to look at.
My first stop was not far from the town.
There are orchids and red soldier beetles all over the place.
I stopped about 2o miles further on to check out a verge.
There was a good variety of flowers to be seen.
On my next stop, about 4 miles from home, there was an even greater variety.
There were all these…
…and many more.
Looking at the hedges and verges certainly keeps me occupied while I am pedalling along….and give me a good excuse for stops for a breather.
The light wind and cooler temperature made for very agreeable cycling conditions and I had worked up an appetite for a sardine, lettuce and potato salad for a late lunch when I got home.
I watched the bird feeder while I was in the kitchen.
Two sparrows posed artistically for me.
An interesting time trial in the Tour de France gave me a good excuse for a rest after lunch and then a visit from Mike Tinker caused me to stir my stumps and get back out into the garden.
The sun had come out by this time and it was a lovely afternoon.
I mixed a little more watering with some flower watching.
The new iris is adding to its charm…
…and the tall sunflowers are reaching ever higher into the sky.
The calendulas don’t seem to mind the dry conditions…
…and have a nice assortment of styles.
Then I had to go in and have a shower and get ready for my flute pupil Luke to arrive. As I hadn’t done any practice for a fortnight, I couldn’t complain too much about his lack of practice. He has just started his first job so I suppose he has other things to think about at the moment.
I picked some peas and beans for my tea and enjoyed them with some fish cakes and then I had a selection from the cheese board to round off the meal.
One last expedition to the garden for watering followed, where I noticed that a leycesteria has flowered underneath the apple tree….
…checked out another of Mrs Tootlepedal’s new nicotianas…
…and discussed the political situation with a couple of blackbirds.
The flying bird of the day picture is provided by the aerial ballet department.