The Quiet Rhythm of Summer Days

 

Isn't this gorgeous?  It's called Princess Diana.  Perhaps my favourite amongst my Clematis plants.  They have all benefitted from a good feed of special Clematis feed this year.

The beautiful wild Mullein in the yard - I don't know how I thought it was a Hollyhock the other day as the leaves are nothing like!!!  Silly mare.

I am picking cherry tomatoes just about every day now.  Here is the first Cucumber too.  A Ridge sort, but grown in the greenhouse.  I have another (Telegraph) growing well and lots of babies.  Just found out I can use Tomato feed for the Cucumbers (AND the runner beans) so will be trotting round with that shortly.  Beans fed/watered.  Roses out back deadheaded - Belle de Crecy did exceptionally well too.  Lavatera flowering its socks off.

Raspberries still coming out of my ears.  Even a brilliant year for the wild ones and this was one picking of wild ones from up on the bank!  I like free food.

Main crop.  I have frozen them for the moment but need to gird my loins and go into the Utility room cupboard - which means moving LOTS of stuff which has been Bunged in the Corner, so I can open the door.  I remember putting my dehumidifier in there and want to try my hand at fruit leathers. UPDATE: I've been good and had a clear out and found the dehydrator.  A bit less dross in the cupboard but lots of camping stuff I don't need, and Tam's food processor and steam cleaner, which I also don't need . . .  It's cheered me up no end to do a job that really has needed doing for ages.  I've been into the corner to look for stock, but now know what I have in a box there and that can go next time - it's been there about 3 years (covered over with detritus.)

I got given some courgettes, and had tomatoes to use up so threw together a pizza sauce and made 4 individual pizzas for the freezer.  One, the mince one below, used up a couple of spoonfuls of mince and onion and made a very tasty tea with some Hunter beans.  Cost - about a pound for all four I should think. Biggest expense the cheese grated on top.

I had a walk in the cool by the River Wye yesterday, down on the Groe in town (park).  Umbellifers and the soft blue-purple of Tufted Vetch, perhaps my favourite wild flower (if only for the colour).

These summer days pass by slowly, and I dead head roses and cut back the Hardy Geraniums when they are down to one flower per stem, hoping for another flowering.  I am going to have a slow walk up the hill (it's hot already) and see if there are lots of wild raspberries on the canes where the lane splits.  Waste not, want not.

Lots of butterflies about - only one or two of each sort but I have had Small Tortoiseshells, Ringlets, Red Admirals, lots of small Whites, Meadow Browns, a Peacock.  Several big dragonflies too, over the pond.

No bats last night - I tucked a towel under each doorway to make sure that they couldn't creep under and into the towel. I haven't seen the Hornets flying around lately but doubt they have gone away.  I think they may nest under the roof slates too. 

The badger(s) returned and there were dead red-tailed bumblebees by the entrance to their nest, so they must have been successful on Sunday night.  Such a shame, but I guess they have to eat.

Isn't this cute?  Part of a bigger embroidery.  May try this for a little picture for Rosie.

I finished Elly Griffith's The Frozen People last night.  I think she struggled a bit with this - it certainly doesn't flow like her books about Dr Ruth Galloway (nice to have the archaeology link too).  We will see if Ali Dawson is her new heroine, and where she may time-travel next . . .