It may sound critical.....

It's difficult not to sound critical at the moment. Actually I feel enraged, saddened and unable to understand my fellow human beings (some of them).

So often we have been warned about the dangers of a new spike of the virus if we are careless about Social distancing.

Yet these are pictures of Bournemouth beach during one of the hottest days of the year this week. Not only in Bournemouth, but in Brighton and as far West as beaches in Cornwall, the same idiotic and risky behaviour reigned.

 Behind the sunbathers, all half a million of them on the same beach, there lay a trail of disgusting litter.

Today volunteers have been clearing tonnes, not just a few bags, but tonnes, of rubbish, including old BBQs , beach chairs, food and so on.

There are comments from politicians, such as 

'it's been a hard 3 months in lockdown'....

'People need an escape valve'

We look back to the 5 years of wartime. 

No Social media. 

No Zoom. 

No lessons on line. 

Very little food. No supermarket deliveries.

 Queues a mile long for 2 oz butter etc.

Husbands fighting away.

Children evacuated.

Bombs falling.

It makes me sigh when three months lockdown is regarded as an excuse for the appalling and risky behaviour of some of the population.

A joyful Peony.

A thing of beauty is definitely a joy forever.

Each year this Peony produces up to four flowers, some measuring eight inches across.

I think she is a happy Peony.

She certainly makes my day brighter.

Dahlia time.

This is a pretty Dahlia called Roxy.

I have had her for two or three years and she has always been an asset to the flower bed. She is not the tallest, so this Spring I planted her (or what I thought was her) in the front of the flowerbed. I hadn't labelled the tubers but I knew she had dark leaves.

Today a bloom has opened up.

It isn't Roxy!

Checking on my orders from Sarah Raven, this must be Waltzing Matilda, who also has dark leaves.

She's very welcome, but she is a bit taller than Roxy!

There are more to come, and despite labelling some of them, I may find that they are all growing in places that weren't quite planned,

It has taken me many years to be confident with Dahlias.

My Grandpa used to grow them and his favourite was the traditional

Bishop of LLandaff.

So pretty. I don't have it, but may have to introduce it.

If only I had room for so many of these lovely plants.

Stock images used today.

Mostly roses.

What an explosion of petals.

My lovely Peace rose is pretending to be a ballerina, fluffing her tutu so appealingly.

It's Carers week here in England, and on my doorstep I found this lovely bouquet,

sent from our Care Agency. There's a Rose and a Peony amongst the blooms.

Apparently they send to those of us who are caring full time for a family member. What a kind thought, and so much appreciated.

Just a little bouquet of my own garden roses.

The scent is permeating my sitting room so intensely.

Do you see the pretty striped rose? She is called Scent-sation, rightly so as her perfume is very strong.

The others are  Alnwick, one of David Austin's roses, Golden Gate, a strong climber, and The Shepherdess , a delicate pale pink rose.

 “It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important…People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Pleasing moments

A beautiful pied Woodpecker flew on to our feeder yesterday. This is a stock photo as my camera was nowhere near.

He was very hungry and tore away at the seeds.

It's the first time I've seen one since we came back to UK.

In France we regularly had a family of Woodpeckers on the feeders.

Patty's Plum poppy emerged from wherever she had been hiding and is mingling with the big pink poppy.

A small tearoom nearby is doing delivery meals three times weekly, as of course they are closed for anything else. We had a roast chicken lunch delivered, all packed carefully in plastic boxes, very hot. With two nectarines for a dessert!

There was almost too much for the two of us, so I put some chicken aside for sandwiches.

It's such a good idea and we like to support our local people.

I have now made over 45 masks and the orders keep coming in.

I can only do four or five a day and have had to order more elastic. I should have bought a thousand metre roll, I think.

I hope you have many pleasing moments in your days.