Sluggish day: blame the very close sticky weather. We finish tomorrow, then forty days.

Photo from last Sunday’s bike ride, taken on my phone. You can tell really, blurring into the corners, blue fringes and so on.
Okay, conditions lead to a lethargic evening so I sit to watch the Tour De France on TV. I odn’t last the show though, it’s adverts every few minutes- I can’t stand it.

Mr Toad was disturbed tonight by my watering. They don’t really jump, more an elbow-full clamber, from the corner of your eye, you’d swear they have three sets of elbows. What can I give him to keep the little amphibious guy going? Nothing I know, but I can make my garden a good place for the stuff he eats to grow.

We’ve had no real rain for weeks and weeks. It’s been the driest 6 months since 1929, say the weather man on the TV. Watering plants daily.

Don’t actually know what kind of rose this is, but it’s quite like dog roses in the wild. I didn’t really like roses much before, but on watching this develop, I’m converted.There is a white-tail bumble bee in there somewhere. I even like the smell, now that’s really unusual for me.

The air is wet, it feels viscous to move through, it’s as if you need to lean into it to make headway. Our bodies want to take it slowly.
I have met another resident of my home: I saw him a few times while I was preparing a planting bed near the bottom by the trees. There is a pile of well rotten woody compost/soil near the bottom fence which I used to fill a hollow left by the 3 slabs I removed yesterday. There is black soil with shavings and woolly looking fuzzy bits of decayed branch cuttings. Moving these disturbed the toad. He stood for a while on a dead branch in the ground, long enough for me to take a photo on my phone. I can post that here soon, even though it’s blurred. What a charmer, does he get the credit for my relative lack of slugs & snails?

Blurred I know, but it was getting dark

Bulk order of CDs on its way. Includes Chopin piano, Schumann, Nils Okland, Humcrush, & Eric Satie, piano again. this is last orders before the summer holidays.
Tired out: humidity doesn’t help, & been digging the garden. Same pattern as before: try to plant a something from a pot and so dig. Then spend an hour digging up slabs. I got two plus two barrow loads of gravel. This garden will, eventually, be lush and fertile.
The washing machine is mended, credit to me for this!

I have a little friend: he watches me in the garden, he looks at what I do, first with one eye, then the other. He is a Robin. He hops along as I potter in the garden, his interest is especially noticeable when I turn things overso he can look at what is revealed.
I suspect that he has a nest here, perhaps at the top left in the Pear tree. When he’s feeding, I back off to let him finish. One day I awoke in the hammock to see him standing on the ropes by my feet.

This morning’s walk in the new meadow.

Dawn soon, warm humid sleepless night. Trying to order new road tax but the site is down. Damn, it’s overdue now.
This is such a fine time of day, birdsong has reached its crescendo & the sun will appear in 20 mins.

Planted: the pot said it wanted a hold twice its size to go in along with fresh soil/compost, please. That would be easy if it were not for the usual problem in my garden. First swing of the spade clanged on a slab 6" beneath the surface. Getting that out took ages but did explain the large dry barren patch . There were two large slabs in all- so they propagate like tubers?
Have I got a pest crop of Pavis Slabula?

Here is the Berberis, the leaves are similar to Mahonia’s in shape, don’t you think?
Things escalated- the soil was full of gravel, but I have a sieve. I got more than three wheel-barrows full of gravel out of that. Okay, the patch I dug did grow in size somewhat so now there is a decent empty patch to plant up.

 Up early for about a month now. Wake at 04.00 and get up ½ hour later. Such a fine time of day: all’s quiet and the dogs get an outing before work; hence these photos.

It filled up fast: the water butt filled to the brim in only 1 day of rain. Problem now is that it’s tilting, the slab it stands on has given a little under the half-tonne weight. I may have to empty it and make the foundation stronger.

Hornbeam: is now planted. I raise a glass to its good fortune.

The Eucalyptus tree is now sawn logs. Some are huge, storage might be slightly awkward.

They’re gorgeous though, such nice wood. I may polish up a few and have them in the house.