Greater Stitchwort

Yesterday I managed to cut Gavin's hair quite successfully it seems - today in one of his work zoom meeting they were comparing haircuts and thankfully he did not have to be embarrassed by any large gaps in his hair! 

It's been a busy day - laundry, tidying up, constantly collecting glasses and plates from around the house (the rule of no food to be eaten outside the kitchen is totally ignored), washing dishes - I am getting a bit fed up with all of this. A favourite glass was broken today so the set is now incomplete, my expensive pots and pans are getting a bit of a hammering from the boys' cooking, the cooker is always covered in a film of grease after they have cooked and it seems that every time I walk in to the kitchen I have to clean it....As nice as it is to have the boys at home it is also too demanding at times, and today just feels like one of those days. 

I had a good walk with Xena, it is a pleasure to leave the house and get some fresh air away from everyone else. We saw very few people on our walk - one couple with a very large Weimaraner who chased Xena and not in a friendly way, another woman with a beautiful Vizsla, Mrs Murray (Kim that is, not Judy) walking her two Border Terriers and the baby, and we also saw a deer who Xena surprisingly did not chase - I think she thought it was another large dog. 

I decided to make fish for dinner so that meant a trip to the supermarket, and luckily the queue at Waitrose was only about 7 people long so I was in and out relatively quickly. Home to unpack all the groceries and tidy up the kitchen yet again and finally I had a late lunch.

Today I photographed a Greater Stitchwort for Tiny Tuesday - they are so tiny despite the anomaly in their name, and such simple yet beautiful wild flowers, I think they are my favourite wildflower this season. Did you know they are also known as  'wedding cakes', 'Star-of-Bethlehem', 'daddy's-shirt-buttons' and 'Snapdragon' - the latter because its stems are brittle and easily break. Its pretty, star-shaped, white flowers bloom from April to June; as the seed capsules ripen, they can be heard popping.

Tonight the very fine drama The A word returns to BBC1, it is such an underrated show that to me seems perfect in every way - excellent acting from the entire cast, enviable Lake District scenes and a storyline that is so real.