Sunny.

The day started by being overcast and cool but before long the sun and its welcome warmth had reappeared.

Peter had been due to row in a regatta at Ilfracombe but it had been cancelled by the coastguards due to the the wind winds and swell. It has only been postponed so he won't miss out rowing in the super-vets (50+) race. Instead he mowed the lawns which he had planned to do tomorrow.

My knee has been playing up so I thought it unwise to spend the day kneeling in the scree garden. Instead I worked with a hoe, broom and shovel to clear the concrete slab in the hen's run. It was quite a challenge to sort out my broom. You can buy all sorts of brooms at Mole Valley but they don't come with a handle attached. And I never seem to be able to fit the handle properly. My good yard broom has a screw-in fitting but the metal handle, from a mop I think, was old and rusty and kept falling apart. Of the 2 other handles one was in a similar dilapidated state and the other one had a different threaded screw end. In the end I cut off the rusty end of one of the old handles and it has stayed in. It was a dusty job clearing the weeds and soil (and dry hen poos!). When I finished the main section the hen had a lovely dust bath in the dirt I had swept off the slab and I went and had a shower. Apart from hanging up washing that was about all I did today though the good weather puts me in such a positive mood that every time I came into the kitchen I did a little cleaning or tidying.

It was so lovely to sit and read out in the sun by the scree garden. I would get nicely cooked by the sun and then cooled just sufficiently by the breeze. Apart from the somewhat raucous crows it has been a tranquil rural idyll. More of this lovely weather please.