Summer Heat

A hot day. Merlin was walked in the meadow early this morning, then late in the evening. The cool air trapped in the grasses felt wonderful as it wafted around our legs. The marbled white butterflies are flying now and are always a pleasure to watch as they flit through the grass and flowers.

I watered the allotment first thing in the morning, then spent a couple of hours picking blackcurrants. It felt tiring work stooped over in the sun and I thought of the resilience of the people who must do this day after day to supply us with fruit for the shops. Later I put half of the currents in the freezer and made 10 jars of jam with the remainder, leaving a few for Andy who made a summer pudding with various fruit from the allotment.

My sister’s birthday today so we had a long chat on the phone. My niece sits her final A-Level exam tomorrow (chemistry) and my nephew says he enjoyed his Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award expedition at the weekend. His group did well until the end when they took a wrong turn and had a few extra miles to walk with their packs in the heat!

We sat in the garden until late watching bats fly overhead and waiting for the house to cool a little before going inside.