Sunshine on my shoulder...

 

All set up for our first overnight houseguests since early 2020!

In an absolute swing of weathers, it's now blazing hot. The plants seem to like it, at any rate. 

I, on the other hand, appreciate it without question but also kind of don't do well in it. In spite of my post-houseguest/heat-induced lethargy, though, I managed to get a few things done:

• in a stunning act of optimism, I loosened up the soil and re-planted haricots verts and a few more peas.
• more radishes to replace the ones what I et
• the basil had given up, so I replanted that too

All between bouts if sitting under the parasol and drinking water. I KNOW. I deserve a medal, or something.

The chupacabrae shenanigans have been much minimised, this year, starting with what I believe is the identification of The Mad Pooper. Farmer Goth and I were sitting outside, the other evening, enjoying the Courtyard, when there was a scrabbling sound, and over the top of the fence by the Dalek popped a very fluffy ginger cat face (that looked eerily human, which made the rest of this extra super hilarious). It froze the minute it saw us and stared, alarmed and bewildered, for at least a solid minute, before awkwardly turning around and leaping back down the other side with a loud yelp. I wish I'd had the wherewithal to get a photo of the face, but we've not had any renegade poop since. Apparently it didn't expect humans to be hanging out in its toilet. 

It is Awkward Adolescent Fox season, and a few nights last week had the idiots getting into our garden, and then struggling to get out again. Thankfully, the only casualties were a the netting at the back falling over in a couple of spots for a few nights running, and a pot knocked over, with the most infurating thing (besides the loss of sleep) being a bit of a dig in the planter I have the Chocolate Cosmos seeds in. They're incredibly expensive, for seeds, and I planted all four that I had. I'm now not certain they'll survive. 

Everything else seems to be getting going. The third round of Harrier squash has finally yielded results, so I'm optimistic about that.

Squish

The sunflowers are coming along.

I can't wait for these fellows to be tall and sunny!

The feel good story of the week is The Little Oregano That Could: 

Came back from the brink of death, I tell you!

I have high hopes for a bumper crop of Charlotte potatoes - this has gone mad in the last few days:

It's even considering flowering, already!

After a very slow start, these Chinese Forget-me-nots are ramping up - these are from a Butterfly seed pack, so hopefully they'll bring all the pretties to my yard.

Sending you forget-me-nots

It wouldn't be a post without mentioning the tomatoes. They're doing well, and I'm hoping this spate of screaming hot weather will make them super happy. The cheap-assed structural enhancements continue to be supportive, although one ring has already failed. 

Nearly have a hedge, we do

Remember last year when I was much excite about five strawberries? Well, this year, they've just said 'hold my beer and watch this'. Tonight, we dine on the first ripe (in spite of houseguests mentioning several times that they'd be glad to help us with them), and there seems to be several more in the offing in the coming weeks. I am so pleased!

A cheerful cluster of deliciousness

Look at this handsome fellow! LOOK AT HIM!

Farmer Goth mentioned, earlier, that this year's garden seems more rewarding. I think it's because last year was very much 'fuck around and find out,' and this year was more considered and planned, based on what we learned. He's right, though - there's something deeply satisfying about this year that wasn't quite there, before.