Windy.

It's been sunny for most of the day and even when clouds dominated the sky (just as I sat down for a rest) the warm wind made it pleasant to be outside. 

My gardening job for today was to  weed the grassy area where the hedge used to be and then to cut the grass. I did try the long handled shears but in the end I found it better to cut the grass clump by clump, with my garden scissors. That way I could could clear out even the smallest of weeds and remove any stones or big bits of wood. The last time I ran the mower up the bank it hit something and began to make an odd whirring sound. That means getting out the spanners to try and fix it. By the time I had finished hand cutting the grass the area looked rather threadbare but it should be okay now to mow.

The buddlias are coming into flower and should soon be attracting lots of butterflies. 

When I did get to sit down outside the swallows were flying overhead with lots of chirping. One pair were particularly noisy as they flew in tandem swooping and looping all over the place. Courtship  or a territorial battle?  

PS I've just been out with the spanners and as far as I can tell the mower is fine, that is apart from the 2 breaks in the plastic main cover. I had to plug in the mower and once I'd checked it was working I carried on and mowed the small lawn by the back of the house and the odd bits around the yard. Up at the scree garden there are ants swarming over most of the paving along 2 sides. I wonder if the swallows are catching those once they fly off?