Hot.

Still very hot and the smell from the algal bloom is getting worse. Mostly it smells like rotting seaweed but at times it is pure methane.

I had a late start today but eventually I cycled down to the zoo. Hot it might have been but I still wore my bright pink jacket. Better to be sweaty and safe rather than scraped and sorry. I stayed at the zoo for three hours working though the hottest part of the day and got the woodchip in both of the play areas cleared of weeds. I took breaks and as well as the good old Factor 50 wore a loose shirt (an old one of Peter's) over my vest top and of course I had a hat.

Back home I did very little except have a shower and sit out on the terrace working out the next steps for the garden. That in turn led me to look back at the folder marked 'Front garden' to see how the garden has changed over the years.

[I spent the evening singing with the choir, 15 of us tonight. Can't put this at the end for some reason.]

How the garden was in its prime with the last owners. Not my style but very well looked after. I'm trying hard to re-use both materials and plants where I can.

Above is how it looked the day after we moved in. The hard landscaping was still there but everything else was totally overgrown.

A while later the hedges had been cut back and the gate uncovered but the lawn was a mass of brambles.

Below is how it looks right now. Raised beds built (for a future when my back gets worse) and faced with salvaged blocks. They also give added support to the terrace and the side of the garden which is lower than the road. I wonder what the garden will look like by the end of the summer?