Summer Gardens, Bees, Monty Python Live (Mostly)

The gardens are looking lovely at present, with my pots of lilies trumpeting their colours. Hydrangeas do particularly well here and driving around the area one is overwhelmed by these massive displays of rich purple, blue & cerise flower heads leaning over garden walls and banked in borders. I have several vast hyrdrangeas that are looking spectacular as are the giant red montbretia that are sending up their vivid flowers and sharp spears of leaves creating sharp architectural backdrops to other smaller plants that fill in the front of the beds like blue cranesbill. It's all rather lovely with the Farmers bees very busy throughout the gardens and in the trees. We seem to have a strong colony & the Farmer is happy that they are working well. I have just had a phone call from a neighbour to say he has swarm of bees in his shed so the Farmer has gone off to collect them, hopefully. It is not the best time of year for swarms, being rather late but if he can capture a good good size cluster they should have chance of survival.
'A swarm in May is worth a load of hay.
A swarm in june is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July is not worth a fly.'
We shall see.
Well, a wasted trip...the bees were bumble bees, not honey bees. Our neighbour really should be able to tell the difference! Farmer now disgruntled!

It has been another misty morning which again promises a hot day. Walking across the shrouded fields I was treated to the lovely sight of thistles with their mauve flowers, draped in dew-bejewelled cobwebs glinting in the emerging sunshine. This is perfect time of year for shimmering cobwebs adorning plants and laced between the bars of gates dripping with dewdrops.

The Farmer & the Sons are once again busy working on the silage crop after a few days respite. Younger Son went up to the CLA Game Fair at Blenheim at the weekend where it was unpleasantly hot & humid. Here that day it was grey, cool-ish and we were swathed in mist all day...it was so miserable I even lit the fire (!) just to air the house.

Last night the Farmer & I went to our wonderful local theatre in Cardigan (www.mwldan.co.uk) to see Monty Python Live broadcast from the O2 arena. The theatre was packed and with a palpable sense of anticipation. The show was great. I haven't laughed so much for a long time, with all the old favourite sketches being wheeled out interspersed with terrific dance numbers to the hilarious songs. The Pythons were on top form and seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was certain poignancy to the event which served to add a depth to the more cynical & ironic lines being delivered by five elderly gentlemen who had first made their surreal world available to us all 40 years ago.