Planet Ruby Starrs

We seem to be experiencing a life as we knew it again.... A walk on the beach with a good friend from Northumberland - a long overdue get together and in spite of lock down limitations we still seem to have plenty to chat on about... then visitors (in the garden) at the weekend and then a day out in the van..  It was very glorious to get up silly early (for us) with the sunrise - have our marmite toast and then head across country and be parked up in a little layby by 9.00 to have a rambling wander along the valley near Ullswater.  The weather was completely amazing - you just don't get many days like this in the Lake district and we were glad we had made the effort to make the most of it.  There were few people about - to be honest we didn't expect to see any one but we did come across a couple of other walkers. The fields were full of lambs pronking and the grass was full of wildflowers.  We meandered along the valley path for about an hour and then made camp and a...

I am really loving this summer weather - I just wish it could be like this every summer and we could rely on it.. I wouldn't even mind a bad winter if we could always be promised a season of warmth and sunshine.  My little courtyard garden is looking really colourful - its mainly bedding plants for a quick colour fix but its working well and I have a few perennials and interesting plants developing although while I was down in Leeds last week the wind blew all my seed trays away so I've lost a lot of seedlings 😕. Dr Fred spent the solstice on Goldsborough Car while I pottered around the garden enjoying the local wildlife. We sat out quite late and then retired with a g&t to the sun room waiting for the bats to come out - the sunset was glorious very fitting for mid summers eve. Later we spotted noctilucent clouds hovering over the northern sky - very pretty. We are very lucky to have such a secluded and quiet lovely spot to sit and reflect and drink gin.