Hot day

The handles of the spade and shovel were hot this morning when I mixed the concrete to level the ground to build the wall at the side of the new terrace. It was too hot for the concrete, so I had to douse it with cold water after I had laid it so that it didn't dry out before the cement got time to build its fiendish little chemical bonds.  It was too hot to have lunch in the garden, so we had it on the covered terrace where it was only 35 degrees in the shade.  It was very hot when we moved the massive oak beam that had served as a long seat under the Catalpa and replaced it with the lovely hand finished ceramic one, thank you Susie.  It was too hot to do much other than wilt this afternoon, though I did manage to sit in my (slightly cooler) study and write some bits for a research proposal.  Later, when the garden had been watered and the sun had abated a little, we sat on the new bench and marvelled at the cool shade of the tree and the shrubs behind.  Rain is forecast for Thursday, we need it now!