Wet.

The forecast this morning was "overcast with sudden showers" and that is exactly what we got. It did mean that I didn't spend too long gardening on my knees at any one time and each time it rained I came inside and got on with my mending. I'm putting a large patch on a fitted sheet for our super king bed where it has torn yet again. This  might sound like excessive thriftiness but it's a good quality sheet and I think that it's Peter's rough heels wearing through the fabric. As I'm not likely to get him to moisturise his feet a patch seems like a reasonable solution. I'm sewing by hand which is quite relaxing and my sewing machine has a tendency to mess up the tension especially if I'm doing something other than a seam.

I've read/heard a couple of articles recently which put me at the forefront of the latest trends. First I read that digitally weary people are buying 'dumb phones'. I never moved on from my dumb phone which sits turned off in my bag in case of an emergency when I'm out in the car. It's not that I'm morally opposed to smart phones just that I really have no need of one. There isn't any time of day, except perhaps late at night when I would have the time to be looking at a smart phone. I much prefer accessing the internet on my extra large monitor. I can see how handy a smart phone would be for anyone who has a long and boring commute to work or a large group of friends who need to be constantly in touch but neither of those apply to me. Plus I don't like the idea of being constantly monitored 

In the same vein people are being advised to turn off all their technology once in a while and listen to the world around. That's me every day when I'm out gardening. I have an MP4 player but I prefer to listen to all the sounds around. Today there was the peaceful cooing of a wood pigeon and the chink-chink of a flock of coal tits. The wind sang through the trees and the leaves on the ash tree sounded like running water or a crackling fire. In the distance were the sounds of cars and planes, why was that one rumbling for so long? Then a new mechanical sound started up and led to wild flights of fancy- an almost rhythmical banging like Zulus thumping their shields with assegai , a very slow River Dance or enthusiastic clog dancers. Or was it merely one of those machines that harvest root crops? There were voices too, the sound of youngsters playing in the field and once in a while instructions to riders in the indoor school to bring back memories of teaching and being taught. That's more than enough for me to listen to.