Pinching Myself

On another beautiful, warm spring day, just for a while perhaps, everything seemed to be going alright ... and then I remembered Ukraine.   But it's good to celebrate when good things happen and that's my mood tonight.

After a pleasingly productive morning of spring cleaning, I spent an hour digging at the allotment where I was joined by a happy Ruth on a video call.   She's continued to be much happier in Birmingham this week, aided by having a canine friend as she's dog-minding for a friend today.   She was out in her garden, planting and planning.   On the way home for lunch Jamie let me know that Tilda was coming to visit for a few days - more great news.   She arrived this afternoon while I was tidying up around my cold frames where I found the subject for todays blip.

Moraea sisyrinchium aka Gynandiris sisyrinchium is a bulbous plant I first acquired in 1991 and have grown ever since.   The original bulbs have never flowered(!) so it was a huge delight to find this one flower in the cold frame today.  A few years ago I received some seed from my friend in Israel, collected in Upper Galilee, not far from where he lives.   The resulting seedlings seem to have adapted to life in the UK well.    It's a beautiful iris-like flower.  The flower is fleeting, opening around midday and closing in the evening, each one lasting just those few hours.   Each stem may produce a number of flowers over several days.  Thirty years wait come to fruition today.  Almost a miracle!

Late afternoon Meg and I set off to climb Craig yr Aderyn where the late sunlight made the views even more spectacular than usual.   We both thoroughly enjoyed the climb although Meg's reaction when a sheep briefly joined us at the summit was typically amusing - she's a sheepdog who's scared of sheep!   Extra pics of Meg and the view.

So yes, I'm pinching myself.  Did all this really happen in just one day?!