Busy busy

That describes me and the insects today. Up at the crack of 9.30.... but despite the late start it was busy busy busy all day. I had a meeting in town at noon, but managed to squeeze in a couple of jobs and some painting before then. Then after the meeting (mercifully it was not as hot as previous days so being at an outside cafe table was bearable) home to lunch, painting, admin*, painting, painting and strimming the lawn. Somehow I will wrest something worthy of the name from the wilderness of hip high weeds, armpit high grass and thistles that tower so far over my head that toppling them is a tricky business involving more shouting of "timber" than weeding normally does.

Clearly I haven't been paying close enough attention to the veg, despite several mammoth aphid removal sessions from the runner/green beans it appears that I didn't spot the courgettes veering into marrow territory nor that several of the runner beans pods are beyond eating already. Another armful of sweetpeas have swept into the kitchen, unaccompanied by dahlias only because with the huge courgettes I already had enough to carry. Normally I don't cut flowers from the garden for the house - on the basis that I can enjoy them for longer in the garden - but having dahlias in the veg garden, far from the house, means I have every excuse to pick them. Particularly since the dahlias crowding the front beds near the house have been, in turn, crowded out by the bullying lavender and are still not flowering.

More strimming tomorrow - there is now some urgency to get all the long grass cut down so when the aoutats (chiggers) appear (soon) they will have fewer places to hide, waiting for my ankles to wander by so they can make my life a misery. It's been so hot that I expect they will be out already doing their evil work, so I'm a bit up against it (and, ironically, I was bitten four times on the back by some fly or other while I was strimming).

Tonight I am absolutely exhausted. I just have to hope that the thunderstorm rumbling around overhead will bring enough rain that it won't matter that I didn't water the garden tonight...

* Mainly discovering that I have mucked up timings for TallGirl's riding holiday: I was sure MrB and I had agreed that we were coming back to France on a Monday, with her riding on Tuesday and Wednesday, but in fact the flights that someone booked (not me) have us coming back on Tuesday. So she will miss the first day. This is despite the riding having been booked way before our July trip... She is being typically nice about it. Which just makes me feel even more guilty.