Mid summer is nigh

Oh, how I do love an English summer with the mix of burgeoning flower beds, roses aplenty, the air scented with philadelphus, birdsong and bees abuzz with delight at the plentiful nectar; all so delightfully interspersed with a fine English downpour to refresh the air, blow away the cobwebs and start again. If we are fortunate, there are big blue skies with cotton wool clouds, or more oft than not, grey with darkening, looming clouds building to drench the land. No matter, for the light fades late in the evening and the dawn is announced with the sweet melody of birdsong at an early hour. Mid summer is nigh upon us and the summer solstice announces the beginning of shorter days. I can scarce believe we are here already, but here we are, my dears.

Our busyness continues with boundary hedges given a light trimming, lawns kept tidy and short, new growth monitored, plus regular dead heading of faded blooms. Such a joyous and plentiful time of year.

As I await the return of the male guardian from his professional toil, my hands are kept busy at the needles and lo, the first garment bound for the Australias is complete with the second begun. I am most pleased with the result and cannot wait to have it delivered to its intended recipient once the second is also complete. Click, click, click go the needles at any slight opportunity - a row here, a row there, all increasing the garment stitch by stitch. The male guardian can oft be heard quoting,
 "slow and steady wins the race" a maxim I am sure many of you are familiar with in the wisdom of the Aesop Fable,  " The Tortoise and The Hare", a most delightful maxim and lesson in morality for life itself. How interwoven in one's psyche they become, barely discerning when or how they were taught or, indeed, learnt. My dear late parents, however, were ardent readers and I remember a most delightful copy of Aesop's Fable residing in the bookcase on the upper landing, complete with beautiful illustrations. Why, one really should obtain a copy for one's own library.