Wednesday 23rd June - After the monsoon

 It has rained. You may well have noticed it. 

I gave in, found socks, put the summer sandals to the back and fetched out my proper shoes, discarded the summer night-dress (short sleeves) after being too cold and replaced it with a winter one (long sleeves).

And now it is sunny, like June did ought to be. 

I now have two sets of clothes left out ready for the day - tee-shirt, light-weight top, jeans, sandals, thick short, heavier fleece, thicker jeans, shoes and socks. Both nightdresses are at the foot of the bed.

The Man who Mows (he knows who he is) has finally been able to get the grass cut. It was looking extremely pretty - mostly white clover at the back, and mostly what I have always called 'egg and bacon' at the front, but I have no idea if that is its name - oh! how about that! 

It is Common Bird's-Foot-Trefoil, or even 'Granny's Toe-nails' - which describes the seed heads, and, really, Eggs-and-Bacon'!

Thank you internet - whatever did we used to do? 

I know what we did; I have shelves full of mighty tomes about history, atlases, Roget's Thesaurus and the Oxford Companion to Music. I can't bear to chuck them out (although I think I would scrap a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica if such a thing was consuming shelf space).

Anyway, it has all gone now, apart from some secretive stalks that managed to lay low as the blades passed overhead.

The garden is a constant source of delight - we have cranesbill flowers, or geraniums, depending on how up-to-date you are, and pelargoniums (or geraniums, depending on how up-to-date you are) and clematis and salvia hotlips and one rose and also the patio tubs I planted bedding plants I planted up a few weeks ago all in flower.

We have been eating salads - lettuce and spring onions from the garden, and we have had strawberries again, one or two as they ripen.

There are promising signs of french beans, broad beans and peas, and half a dozen courgette flowers are looking sunny, even if they never turn into courgettes - who knows...

Having the garden sorted out by a professional was one of the best things we ever did for our house. It has made sitting out there, and pottering about doing a bit of weeding or planting such a pleasure (apart from the weeding bit obviously...)