Tuesday 21 June 2022

Summer solstice in the garden

 












I just love this time of year, love, love, love it. And yes, I know I say that every time. 

I pootled round the garden earlier with the dog, taking a moment to enjoy it all. I love how still it often is out there. I stood at the door in the rain at the weekend and it was magical. Summer rain is fantastic, making everything green, green, green.

The clover in the grass is doing beautifully and there are bees there all day long. The wildlife pond is full of frogs and newts, it's fascinating to watch them. It really needs to be bigger. Ten times the size. Twenty! And every garden should have one. Which is also something I say all the time. But they should! 

I picked some yellow and white solstice flowers and lit a scented candle, just to mark the occasion. The littlest boy and I watched the sun setting behind the distant hills on the other side of the river. That was magical too. All magical! All the exclamation marks! The sun literally disappeared as we watched. Well, of course it did, but the last bit was fast. You know what I mean.

Otherwise today involved a bit of overwhelm. Loads of phone calls and emails and trying to get plumbers and movers and decorators and so on to do small jobs and really, not being hugely successful and trying to shoehorn work in around it all and laundry and food and garden and dog and on, as life does. I am hoping to feel a little calmer tomorrow. Or at least more organised.

The toilet cistern has taken to pouring water constantly down into the toilet, which apart from being un-environmentally-friendly is a bit noisy. I am trying to view it like one of those indoor water features you can get (which actually I would probably quite like)(until it went green and had to be scrubbed). Maybe I will put some crystals about the place to add to the spiritual ambience. 

A plumber has said that he will come. At some stage. Maybe one afternoon. That was as much pinning down as I managed to do. I am hoping that he doesn't forget me and wondering how many afternoons need to go by before I can politely ask if he will be fitting me in soon.

I thought the fridge seemed a bit warm earlier, but I am ignoring that for now. If the worst comes to the worst I shall eat all of the ice-cream and try to formulate a plan.

Leaving you with an outtake from the solstice flowers shot and hoping that it was a good day with you. Enjoy the summer my friends!



11 comments:

  1. Love the photo of Bertie admiring the flowers! Happy Summer Solstice to you; it is indeed a lovely time of year. I love the clover flowers too - my Dad used to call them 'milky-bobs'. I don't know if that's a Northern name for them or if he just made it up.
    Shame about the toilet - if the plumber fails to materialise maybe there's a useful YouTube video that could help. It might also be cheaper! xx

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  2. Bertie is so cute, I could eat him up! I am not loving this time of year for many obvious reasons but it is just so horribly hot here in Florida and it isn't even July or August yet, the grass is green, but needs lots of mowing. Our flowers are starting to wilt with the heat, still we all carry on because sometime in October it might be manageable outside again. Stay safe.

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  3. I like this time of year providing it doesn't get too warm. Good pictures, especially the pot marigolds. Enjoy the strawberries. I hope that the minor niggles get sorted without much hassle.
    Thanks, and you too. xx

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  4. The intensity of June green is astonishing, isn't it? I would love to have a pond. Our garden is on a steep slope and what flat bits there are, are used for veggies and kids play. But will have a wander later and see if I can find a wee corner. I have one of those toilet cisterns, too, although it is not continuous but about 5 minutes after a normal flush. It sounds like the Niagara Falls in the bathroom.... Christina xx

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  5. The cistern thing is probably the valve that all loos had to have because of an eu directive. I've had several go. Fairly quick and straightforward once the plumber person arrives!
    I love your red flowers! Opulent is the word I think. And Bertie is gorgeous - all soulful and spiritual!

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  6. We always stay up late until the sun goes down on solstice to ensure we have used summer to the best we can. I love your moody photos...and especially the last one. Jo x

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  7. Your summer solstice celebrations sounds wonderful. I love the photo of Bertie appreciating the flowers.

    I hope you are able to get a plumber to stop the water flowing, I suspect it is due to a value that is one of the smallest parts in a cistern and is often the bit that fails. Said value costs about 20p and is a two minute fix for a plumber, maybe look on YouTube to save yourself a large bill? You could add plumbing to your long lists of skills and things you are good at.......

    We have a pond they are wonderful aren't they, we don't have frogs and newts but we do have toads resident in the garden, not in the pond, they mostly live in the polytunnel they are doing a great job at keeping the slug population down.

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  8. Lovely photos of a lovely time of year. Your red-filled pot is stunning x

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  9. Just realised I missed this post. And such a lovely one too. Hopefully your cistern problem has been solved. We had something similar while we were cat sitting and the constant running water made our neighbours think the house was flooding. Enjoy your long summer evenings. They are stunning. B x

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  10. Awww, love the photo of Bertie. I love this time of year too, yes, it's been quite hot just lately but I do try not to moan about it because it's preferable to the cold. Summer is definitely my favourite season. I hope the plumber has been by now, it's electricians with us, can't find one willing to do a job for love nor money.

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  11. Oh for some summer rain. Good luck with the plumber and the fridge.

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