We don't live here anymore.

We have had a challenging year. (A good example of English understatement!) Health concerns made us heed our daughters' wishes that we move near to family and we put our much-loved home - and garden - on the market.

There was a great deal of 'stuff' to pack! How strange the rooms looked when they were stripped of our belongings.

A great many books were taken to the Oxfam shop.

A rainbow appeared over our familiar landscape to wish us on our way. All change from a small hamlet in the countryside to a very busy town. Adapt and survive!

St Swithin's Day

Yesterday was St Swithin's Day and not a drop of rain fell. Quite different from 55 years ago when we were married! (But they say that rain on your wedding day is good luck and it has worked well for us.) We celebrated with lunch at one of our favourite local places, the Talbot in the lovely village of Mells. We always take a look in the church and churchyard when we visit. I usually take flowers for the 1st World Wat poet, Siegfried Sassoon's grave but, because of the extreme heat, had decided not to. I regretted my decision when I saw that no one had left a remembrance. There are well-known names to be seen in the church interior. Most stricking is the equestrian statue by Alfred Munnings and most moving the simple wooden cross brought home from the battlefield.

After out meal (the chocolate dessert was good!) we had a wander round the walled garden.

Summer living

The sun shines, we are gorging on fruit from the garden, the roses are blooming, so life is sweet! The rose, 'Cinderella' flowers well in fine weather but is miserable in the rain. The little 'Raubritter' flowers is a 'good doer' and behaves well whatever the weather. It is unusually warm at the moment. Sun hats are being worn. My friend Janet, seen here with her two Irish terriers, arrived with the present of a headband for my hat. We were out and about socializing at the weekend, hat and headband on throughout. Take a look at my Miss Cellany blog to see our musical weekend.

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Eating well

June is when things get really tasty. We are eating the first of this season's potatoes, good pickings of mangetout and peas and the last stems of asparagus. I'm especially pleased with the peas, 'Walter's Show' variety which I got from the local seed swap event this spring. It's not a variety that I've ever heard of, possibly not one available in the shops, so I shall let a few pods develop to keep for planting next year. My father's name was Walter so I am especially pleased that these peas are so good!

I've planted another row of peas to follow. They are protected with netting to keep away the pigeons. In the fruit cage its a great year for strawberries and raspberries. We are gorging! So is a young thrush and a sparrow. How they get into the cage is a mystery. I open the door and they both fly straight out, they certainly know their way about. They are in the cage nearly every day. In spring I spread two sections of the veg plot with our homemade compost and it has now produced a fine show of poppies! They are far too nice to root out. I've put squash seedlings in amongst them and shall remove the poppies once they have flowered.

There is no sign of the wild flower seed that I planted to thread through the grass that we've left to grow. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with this space, even when the grasses are wet and soak you as you pass!

But there is one small, pink flower. Is it an orchid?