I had to stop gardening this afternoon and lie down on the grass to cool off. I stretched out under the cherry tree and watched the swallows and martins wheeling overhead, and D doing his drawing (not of me!). I thought about how, in this same spot a few months ago, D had placed his pieces of ice, flowers and leaves sprinkled with charcoal and turmeric and waited for them to melt over the course of a week..

Before I stopped gardening, I'd got some weeding done and planted out my broad beans and sweet peas. Only now do I trust them not to be killed by the cold ( now I just have to worry about them being killed by slugs).

This morning I finally finished "Our Mutual Friend" which I enjoyed more than I expected to. The final book is "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" which will remain a mystery forever because Dickens died before he could finish it.

Today's walk: RB, along the Cluden and back via the forestry road 4 miles.