In a green shade

Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less,
Withdraws into its happiness;
The mind, that ocean where each kind
Does straight its own resemblance find,
Yet it creates, transcending these,
Far other worlds, and other seas;
Annihilating all that’s made
To a green thought in a green shade.
-- Andrew Marvell, The Garden

A calmer day today. We went to the market in the morning, and despite the fact that we are leaving on Saturday, we spent so much on vegetables that the stallholder gave us a discount on the large punnet of strawberries. We have to feed our imminent housesitters! (Originally intended as catsitters, but ... no cat). 

Back home, I ransacked the freezer and made a curry of cauliflower, chickpeas, red lentils, and coconut milk, plus three random meatballs that needed using. It was good, and we ate half of the strawberries afterwards.

We did some cleaning and tidying in the afternoon, and then somehow I was tempted away from this week's gym session (needed to cancel out last night's pizza) to go down to the garden with S to demolish a bottle of rosé and some tapas.  How did that happen? It was very agreeable. Windy in the village and a haven of calm in our Eden-like garden.

At one point we heard a tapping noise that did not coincide with the gusts of wind in the top of the trees. I peered in the direction it was coming from and was very excited to identify a great spotted woodpecker by virtue of its red bum and chequered feathers poking out from behind a tree trunk only about 5 metres away. No chance of a photo, and it flew away shortly afterwards. Very pleasing though as we haven't seen one for years. You'll just have to take my word for it!

PS spot the birdie, definitely not a woodpecker.