THE COOL OF THE MORNING

It was an extremely hot night and we found it difficult sleeping.  In fact, when I got up just before 7 a.m. Mr. HCB was already out in the garden and told me he had been out since before 6 a.m.  With his watering finished, we had our breakfast together on the patio - and it was lovely to feel some cool air.  

In fact, yesterday, when we spoke to our son, Jules, who is now living in the Highlands of Vietnam, he laughed when we told him that we felt hotter here than we did when we visited him in February.  

We will be going to Jack’s later, and I have a meeting this afternoon, so I decided to wander round the garden to see if there was anything I could photograph.  Although many of the flowers and plants are wilting, the roses seem to be doing well and this beautiful red rose is the one we bought in memory of our friend, David.

I spotted (no pun intended!) a ladybird, which I believe is a harlequin, so of course had to find out more about them.  Google informed me that “ladybirds are beetles and possess two characteristics that distinguish them from insects of other orders;  hard forewings that cover the abdomen and meet centrally, and biting mouthparts.”  

The ladybird I found has about 16 spots and was obviously quite happy inside the red rose and there are plenty of aphids for it to feed on.  Apparently, they like deciduous trees, including sycamore, and there are three of these just outside our fence, so maybe that’s where they have come from.  They also feed on the larvae of butterflies and moths, which are the bane of Mr. HCB’s life especially on his cabbage and sprout plants, but sadly we don’t see as many ladybirds in the garden as we used to, which is why Mr. HCB has to go round picking off all the caterpillars!

Hope you all have a great weekend - either watching Wimbledon or the football - I won’t be able to watch the England game today, but of course, hope they win.

“When you arise in the morning, 
     think of what a precious privilege it is 
          to be alive, to breathe, 
               to think, to enjoy, to love - 
                    then make that day count!” 
Steve Maraboli :  Life, the Truth, and Being Free

P.S.  In a nod to Silly Saturday, I have put a "spotty" frame around the ladybird!