Hello, thank you for calling in and thank you for the kind comments left on my last post. I am slowly catching up with your blogs. The weather here has improved and June is turning out to be much drier, warmer and sunnier than May. We were forecast rain on Wednesday and it finally arrived on Saturday evening, very light rather than the expected storms, but persistent and the ground was wet when we woke up on Sunday. The garden is grateful. I have kept up my intention of spending some time outdoors every day and every buzzing bee and trilling bird has been a delight. During one exciting day I saw both a skylark and a red kite! I have never seen a skylark before but the Best Beloved says that the song of a skylark is the sound of his childhood springs and early summers so I identified the distinctive sound easily after watching the bird rise over the field and flutter its wings furiously as it hovered. I was also very happy to hear that the swifts are back - I always hear them before I look up to see them and I know that summer is almost here when I do.
For the first time in several years we have foxgloves in the garden and the bumble bees are thrilled. They had to wait longer than usual for the geraniums and weigela they love to flower this year, presumably because of the cold weather in April and May, and for the first time ever the mock orange blossom is flowering at the same time as the weigela so the garden looks different, as if she is wearing all her best clothes at the same time. Its scent almost knocks me out in the evenings, I think the philadelphus is my favourite June flower.
So here we are on 21st June, the longest day of the year, and I set the alarm early so that I could watch the summer solstice sunrise. The temperature was eight degrees and I noticed that there was a touch of frost on the cars as I sat on the front doorstep and listened to the dawn chorus which was almost deafening, although the only bird I saw was a crow which flew down the street. In the distance, a cockerel was crowing, greeting the summer.
See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x
It's been a funny old year. There's just cloud here today so you were lucky that your early morning provided a lovely view of the sunrise. Foxgloves are so spectacular especially with buzzing bees inside. x
ReplyDeleteI love foxgloves, these ones came by themselves and I'm delighted. I can't help but think of Jemima Puddleduck. x
DeleteThe weather here has been rather unusual too, particularly for this time of year. So nice to see all the flowers and the bees. So nice to catch the sunrise.
ReplyDeleteI love to catch a sunrise, it's so full of promise and optimism. Last year we watched the summer solstice sunrise from the field behind my daughter's house and it was utterly spectacular, I knew I couldn't beat it from my doorstep this morning but it was still worth it. x
DeleteI lie in bed and listen to the dawn chorus then I get up and enjoy going into the garden and seeing the bees flying from one open flower head to another. There were two bees going crazy in the centre of the oriental poppy. We are blessed to have gifts of honey from granddaughter's boyfriend's parents bees. It's good to catch up with your news. Have a lovely Summer.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda. A gift of honey is a blessing indeed. x
DeleteOur field has gone foxglove crazy. I wish there were some of the white ones though - they are so gracious. we regularly get a red kite here but I will keep my eyes peeled for sky larks.
ReplyDeleteI've got white foxgloves too, they've appeared by themselves in a dark, ivy-clad corner and they've really lightened it up, quite beautiful. Keep your ears peeled as well as your eyes for skylarks. x
DeleteThe Mock Orange Philadelphus is one of my favorites too, I love the white petals and orange centres. There is a hedge of it at the bottom of our Crecent and it is looking and smelling lovely at the moment. Bees buzzing in and around foxgloves is just a wonderful sign of summer:)
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a large, blowsy Philadelphus in the corner of our churchyard next to the boundary wall, it was just beautiful but someone who didn't appreciate it decided that it was obscuring the view of the church too much and took it out. It's such a shame. I love the idea of a Philadelphus hedge. x
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