Dry.

It was lovely to wake and see the sun in a blue sky calling me to spend the day outside. It soon became overcast with a bit of a breeze but that didn't stop me from doing another couple of loads of washing. Now that I've started on Peter's clothes I thought I should do a proper job (local Devon term) and I took all the boxes and lids outside and gave them a wash. I have the same boxes for my clothes but every now and again I go through them trying on clothes to see what fits and often I find a few nice surprises.

I'm so relieved that I can get on with some gardening jobs,  albeit with long rest breaks.  Today I did some cutting back and then got out my bow saw and chopped down some more of the yew tree that grows in the hen run. I shan't bother taking out the stump but will leave it to grow into a small tidy bush.

The cooler conditions slowed the butterflies right down and I was able to photograph a Small Copper (top) , a Gatekeeper (middle) and a Ringlet (bottom). Normally they are very fluttery and when they do stop they tend to close their wings making it hard to get a decent photo.

I'm wondering how long the surfinias in the hanging baskets will last but the lobelia that I grew from seed has begun to flower making a nice contrast with the bright colours of the surfinias. I got the vax out again to hoover up the leaves from the raised bed but I used a brush and pan to sweep up the leaves on the patio. Reports are that Hurricane Bertha is headed our way and we may get a lot of rain this weekend, or worse!