#summer is thunderstorm season here; shading into autumn too

[clxckwork-sun-n-moon]

A Dark and Stormy Night - EYEM fan-drabble

I have had @justfangirlstuffs's 'Enthralling You Enthralling Me' in my brain for the past week and it culminated in self-indulgent drabble times~

Word count: 2.5k words Warnings: Thunderstorm, brief mention of stalking

----

It’d been a pretty awful day to begin with. The internet router at your apartment had crashed and your broadband company had explained it’d take a day for them to send someone over to fix it. So you’d packed up your study materials and laptop, carrying it all the long walk to your campus library so you could make use of the free WiFi. It then took you nearly half an hour to find somewhere you could sit in relative peace and quiet with your books, by which point your brain was just so buzzed with exhaustion and overstimulation that actually trying to focus on the words in your books was a Sisyphean task in itself - you’d read through several pages, writing down notes, before realising that all of the words you’d written barely made a lick of sense in your actual brain and needing to re-read from the book to make it understand. Stress from your home situation battled against the ongoing weight of the people talking around you and nudging past your chair. The long hours slogged by, broken only for you to go seek out a meagre lunch and then spend another half an hour to find a new studying spot as your previous seat was taken in the time you were away.

Outside the windows, the day rolled from bleak to miserable, a thunderstorm dragging itself into view and lurking ominously before finally choosing to unleash itself as you were beginning to tidy your work away at the end of the library’s open hours. It drenched the late afternoon sky in even darker shades of grey than normal, blotting out any remaining sunlight that might have been clinging on. Street lamps and car headlights were shining out early as you stepped down the stairs of the library and onto the pavement, grimacing as the rain fell heavy on your hoodie. Your bag would be fine, you’d bundled your thin raincoat inside to protect your precious computer and expensive textbooks. You could survive the wet, even if it meant you’d run the risk of a cold. There was at least a shortcut you knew well that would take you directly from the campus to the side of town where your apartment was.

The fact that you had to cross a chunk of the nearby forest that other students swore up and down was haunted, in the middle of a storm, did not escape you. 

Sighing deeply, you hurried across the road and onto the pathway through the trees, leaves crunching into downtrodden mud. There were a strong number of paths that criss-crossed this area of the wood close to town, but you were aware of a few other paths that went deeper into the forest itself. You’d followed those paths often, enjoying the air of the woodland in autumn and summer, the warmth and shade under leafy boughs and changing colours with shifting seasons. Today the woods offered none of these joys, not even bare protection from the downpour overhead. Your clothing was rapidly getting soaked, and you could feel rainwater sloshing around your shoes despite your determined attempts to stay out of the worst puddles on the path. Tragically most of the paths out here comprised of dirt and leaf litter, making them an excellent spawning ground for mud, puddles, and patches of slick earth that threatened to unbalance you if you walked too quickly. And considering you were trying to speed-walk through the woods to get home without dissolving in the amount of rain you were soaking up, that was a decent challenge. 

Another junction of pathways arrived. You knew the route well, of course you did. One direction led to home, one direction led deeper.

But then why were you hesitating?

Something prickled the back of your neck and it wasn’t the cold droplets of rainwater managing to soak through onto your skin. Your fingers clenched around your backpack straps as you turned on your heel, glancing around.

The sensation did not dissipate. The woods loomed, empty and hollow without a shred of sun to catch on the leaves and bushes, until a crack of lightning split the sky overhead and lit up a silhouette that, at a distance, could be humanoid. 

You were at a distance.

You were being followed.

Every nerve burned electric as you bolted, running full pelt down the path into the woods. Either your follower would be too scared (as many people were) to go down the same path, or you were going to suffer a terrible fate. And at this point, why not? What else could go wrong?

There was always the abandoned house, though. You’d seen it through the trees enough times to know where it was, seen the darkened windows and boarded-up doorway through gaps in the fence and trunks. Anywhere else, it would be rife with graffiti and signs of weed nights, but here, it was untouched. The stories of ghosts were strong enough to ward away even the bravest hooligan.

You weren’t brave though, you were bluntly terrified and sodden and exhausted. You’d take the story of a ghost over the reality of a mugger. 

Breaking off the path, you slammed your way through overgrown bushes, roots breaking the ground to try and trip you up. You dared not stop to see if someone was actually still following you, afraid you’d turn and see the figure right on top of you. Heart in mouth, you watched the next flash of lightning illuminate the dark metal of the house’s fencing, and a singular gap that if you tossed your backpack through and writhed against the cold poles until you popped through - yes, you were through. You hit the ground from the force of your squirmed lunge, mud now joining rain to stain your hoodie sleeves up to the elbow. Quietly groaning, you scrabbled forward and snatched your backpack up again, running around the side of the house for any sort of entrance you could find. Every doorway was boarded up, the windows whole. But one window remained cracked open. You pushed it up, once again slinging your backpack through first before dragging yourself over the windowsill and tumbling down onto the dusty wooden floor.

For a long, long minute, the only sounds in the room were the rain clattering on the glass outside and your heavy, haggard breathing as you tried to come down from your desperate fleeing. You could feel your muscles trembling from the cold and exertion both. When you could hear no other sounds of someone trying to follow, you closed your eyes and laid your head back to gently thump on the wall behind you. 

Safety never smelled so musty and sour. 

Cobwebs hung from every corner you could barely make out in the shadows. Not even the frequent flashes of lightning could do you any favours. At most you could ascertain a rough armchair shape, maybe a coffee table next to it? Faintly you were aware that you could use your phone’s flashlight to get a better look, but moving anything right now ached bone deep.

You were so cold.

Now that you were no longer running and inside a chilled abandoned house, the weight of the rain started to drain the remaining warmth from your skin. The shivering across your body intensified, prompting you to wrap your arms tight around yourself, curling up in your sodden spot. You were so cold, and so tired. A few tears managed to dredge themselves up as you rested your head on your arms and closed your eyes. Part of you knew that you needed to leave and try going home, but your limbs were starting to feel a strange floating fuzziness. Movement felt impossible. All you could do was shiver until the heaviness inside you dragged you the rest of the way into an exhausted sleep. 

-

“...How did they get in here?”

“The open window seems to be the best bet here,” Moon replied bluntly. 

“Sure, but past the fence? Past the warding?” Sun said, gesturing outside into the ongoing thunderstorm. Shaking his head, he paced across the room and crouched down next to the human. Careful digits tilted your head backward, and Sun tutted quietly. “They’re certainly not awake.”

“Asleep or unconscious?” Moon asked, concern bubbling up into his voice box as he joined his brother’s side.

“It might be both? Poor thing was probably exhausted,” Sun commented. “The wet clothing doesn't help. They probably fell asleep from the cold first.” His eyes narrowed as he shifted his hands, one propping your head back and the other pressing against your forehead. “Their forehead’s burning up though. They might have gotten a dose of hypothermia.”

“....Fuck.” Moon rubbed a finger against his chin as he watched Sun gather you up into his arms. Spotting the abandoned backpack next to where you’d been sat, he grabbed that also as Sun carried you further into the house. 

Normally when humans managed to get into the vampires’ latest house, all that was needed was a little spooking, a quick (or prolonged if it was Moon’s turn to feed) grab and trance, and then returning the human to the easiest point where they could return home. This was not part of any sort of plan, that the human wouldn’t be coherent enough to be swiftly returned back outside. Neither of them had it in their code and cursed blood to drop you back into the rain, especially as Sun took in how you trembled in his arms and Moon could see the red flush on your face. Your blood roared in a frenzy under your skin, but it didn’t tempt either vampire to feed, not when they could understand why. You were sick, and sodden, and not in any condition to do anything other than rest. 

“I wonder why they came in here,” Sun voiced softly as he moved towards the cleaner rooms of the house, ones that he and Moon actually used. Pausing near to a room that had a bed, he beckoned Moon over with his head. The deep blue animatronic stepped past him, gesturing with a hand, dust balling itself up into nothingness and the bedsheets returning to their previous pristine conditions. 

“If they’d been trying to break in for fun, we would have heard them sooner,” Moon commented. “Those kinds of people always make their presence known. This one just…stopped at the window.”

“They got mud on their arms and legs too. No wonder they’re freezing up.” Sun’s arms automatically tightened around you, his cape draping over part of your body. He didn’t have the warmth of a person, but right now he had more warmth than you, and you needed warming up slowly but now. Sitting down on the bed, he tilted to the side so Moon could reach over and take one of your hands, rubbing slowly over the exposed skin to get more warmth into your racing blood. 

“So….are we doing this?” Moon asked, cautiously. 

“Doing what?”

“Looking after them. Taking care of them until they’re better.” Moon’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked into Sun’s confused expression. “We can manipulate the memory of someone going back a few hours at most. How are we going to manage someone being sickly for…however long that might last?”

Now Sun’s brow wrinkled in, his grin twitching away from his usual smile. 

“....If I feed well, then I can push my magic more than my usual extent,” he said slowly. “We can’t do anything about how the rest of the world will keep going. Best plan we have is that once they recover, I take what I need from them, we ask them where they live, then we drop them off after I wipe their memory.” But his fingers tighten on you, just a little, just enough for Moon to notice. 

“This is the best we can do for them,” Moon murmured, placing one of his hands over Sun’s fingers that curl into your arm. “For their safety and ours.”

“....Right,” Sun exhaled, shoulders deflating. He hadn’t looked away from you in a while, and Moon could understand why. The loneliness dug into his stomach too, and the concept of having someone around that wasn’t just the two of them (and the occasional terrifying visit of their older brother) was both a reminder of old days in the sun and a painful risk to the safety of all those in the room.

“Think they’ll be okay?” Sun asked, brushing a few damp hairs from your face.

“Of course. They’ve got you looking after them.” Moon squeezed Sun’s hand again, watching light return to the golden animatronic’s face. Sun nodded, and looked back down at your sleeping form. 

“Right, first things first: we need to get rid of the wet clothes before they soak anymore heat from them.”

-

Slowly you began to stir. Everything between when you’d laid your head to rest under the window and this moment now seemed to blur together. Vaguely you remembered voices, hands brushing against your cheek and wrists, something warm to drink. But it was all too hazy, like you’d been slipping through a dream that was hot and floaty and fuzzy. Blinking slowly, you allowed your eyes to adjust to the room you were in, faintly picking up the sound of rain continuing to fall on the windows.

Wait.

This was not your room.

The ceiling was too high, a gold and bronze chandelier twinkling in the faint grey light streaming in from the window nearby. The bed sheets were far too soft and warm, the mattress firm with no sign of your expensive topper. Continuing to blink away the remaining sensations of dizziness, you slowly sat up to better take in your surroundings and promptly noticed your outfit.

These were not your clothes.

An oversized white shirt partially draped off one shoulder, the material not quite satin smooth but certainly comfortable enough to sleep in (and currently wrinkled to hell and back). As you swung your feet out from the bed, you saw your trousers had been replaced with deep blue pants, smattered in a yellow star pattern. Your actual clothes, your shirt and jeans and hoodie and socks, these were nowhere to be seen. Panic began to hitch into your throat as you seeped away from the notion this could be a dream into a slow realisation that this was all very real. 

“Oh, good morning!” Your head snapped around in the direction of the speaker. A golden and amber animatronic beamed back at you from the doorway of the room. His attire was so very out of track of the times; a yellow waistcoat over a very familiar white shirt, yellow trousers with red stripes, and a black cape with dark red lining. His blue optics shimmered in the sun-shaped faceplate, and when he smiled you swore that some of his teeth were far sharper than he needed to be.

“I would really recommend you stay seated, you’ve just come off a very strenuous day of sickness,” the animatronic continued, setting aside a tray with something delicious smelling steaming from a bowl. “Your body is still going to be recovering. I can answer any questions you might have, but also I’d really like it if you didn’t scream or panic too much.”

“....Can I panic a little?” you managed to croak out.

“I’ll….I’ll accept a little.” Sun didn’t get much further as a pillow thwacked him in the face.

[whispofcreativity]

No. 5: Seasons

The four basic seasons, known all around, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, What's there to like about each?

Spring, a season of chaotic weather With mud, rain, wind, hot days and cold days switching on a dime and somehow... I like it. The rain makes great white noise, the wind cools me down, and the hot and cold days really give me a chance to bring the whole wardrobe to town.

The plants start to grow, some even bloom. The animals awake from their slumber. And nature gets to shine again.

Summer, a season of bloom, and of heat with scorching days, one after the other, and nights so muggy you wake up half-drowned. And yet, I do enjoy it. Heat sensitive as I may be, the joys of summer are not lost on me. Barbeque with people you like, long evenings spent drinking outside with friends, waterparks open all around, and nature lets its beaty out.

The plants bloom in all their beauty. The sunsets get longer and prettier. And truly, I appreciate it.

Autumn, a season of cold, and of rain where the leaves start to fall and decay, where fewer plants bloom every day. And yet, it is my favourite. The cool temperatures allow all to wear whatever they like without freezing or boiling alive, the leaves turn beautiful all around, and, if you're lucky, on some wondrous nights, thunderstorms light the sky.

The trees reveal beautiful shades. The unbearable heat dissipates. And honestly, I do love it.

Winter, a season of ice, of depression both seasonal and general for some. The leaves have died, the flowers receded, and yet, I kind of like it. The cold means a hoodie will never be too warm, and a beanie looks perfectly fine. Some places have snow, to enjoy, for a time... but, alas, not here.

The climate is changing. The snow is gone, forever. And truly... I do mind it.

[poetrusicperry]

"i was wondering if you could ship me with one of the dps boys? i guess here’s some things about me. describing my personality is difficult because i tend to deceive the person that i want to be and less if the person i actually am, so hopefully i get this right. i am 5’9 with dark brown hair reaching my middle back. i have blue eyes and dark eyelashes. i find my comfort and safety in music and film. if i’m feeling bad, scared, lonely, basically anything, i listen to music or watch my comfort movies. my playlist are named after very specific emotions and feelings. i like music and movies that have a light brown feeling (if that makes sense). i rarely cry, but if i do, it’s usually because of a movie or book. my favorite things are foggy mornings, evening thunderstorms, books, trees, love, late night conversations, and drives in the dark. my personality is somewhat contradictory, because i’m not very insecure and don’t really care what people think of me, but i’m very introverted. sometimes, i feel like i’m stuck and like i’m doing what i’m supposed to be. i feel as if i conquered the world, i still wouldn’t be satisfied. i have a stupid fear of deep water, but my biggest fear is loss. whether it’s loss of a loved one, loss of my identity, i fear loss in general. my aesthetic is very much light academia and naturalist. my style of dress is soft and comfortable. i wear a lot of jeans and flannel, and i have wayyyy too many hoodies. when i do dress up, i rarely wear dresses, usually just nice jeans and a simplistic blouse. i like to wear rings and i have a necklace that i always wear. my family says that i act the most like Nuwanda around family and friends, but my first impression is more like Todd. my favorite kind of weather is cloudy and like 60°F, light rain and a gentle breeze. my favorite season, naturally, is autumn. my favorite foods are cheeseburgers, pizza, salads, sushi, and sesame chicken. i love drinking tea and lemon water. i used to struggle a lot with my mental health, but recently, i’ve been very happy and my mental health has been great (which i’m very proud of). i enjoy being by myself, but don’t like staying at home. i love love. i miss the time before all the technology. back when people hand wrote letters and sent them by mail. before all the tv/movie streaming and dependency of phones and computers. in college, i plan on studying criminology, criminal investigation, and forensic science. i want to succeed in school, but hate doing school work. my favorite thing about myself is that i am a daydreamer. thank you so so much :)"

- @emmakstory

here is your ship (: i hope you like it, and my apologies about how long it took !! i love how descriptive you are of yourself and I relate to a lot you said. have a lovely day !! <3

ship:

shipping you with meeks !! (:

hcs:

there is no doubt in my mind that you guys would meet at a movie theater during one of their classic showings on a friday night. you’d be there to get out of the house and to escape to a time of simplicity (between the movie being shown from the last century and the aesthetics of the old movie theater (: ). meeks would be there with the poets and he’d be coming out of the theater to use the restroom when you were going in to pick your seat; you guys would likely bump into each other and he’d apologize profusely for it, feeling so, so bad that he spilled your popcorn (“please, let me buy you a new bag”)

somehow, the following friday, meeks was at the movies again, but this time he was by himself seeing if you’d be there, too.

after the movie, he’d ask if you wanted to grab something to eat. you’d agree but on one condition (“i’ll let you take me out for a cheeseburger and milkshake”)

before you guys knew it, it was 12am and you were still sitting at the counter of the diner, munching on cold fries and sipping the remnants of melted milkshakes

when meeks had to leave he’d ask if he’d see you at the movies again next friday, to which you told him he would

because of welton’s stupid rules/curfews, meeks wouldn’t have a lot of extra time, but he would wake up extra early, especially on overcast mornings to come take a walk with you around your neighborhood before school (‘:

he’d adore your fascination with true crime documentaries and he’d buy you books about forensics and blood spatters

even when you guys had been dating for a while, you’d still meet at the movies every friday (:

on one particular friday during the summer, the moisture would mix just right with the heat in the air and create the most magnificent thunderstorm, causing you and meeks to run under the shelter of a bus stop, where your shirt and jeans would be soaked completely through. he’d take you back to his house and give you his welton sweatshirt to change into (which you wouldn’t give back [bc it was just so comfy], but he didn’t mind)

after you got your license, you’d often show up to welton unannounced and convince meeks to come on a drive with you. he’d sort through all of your cds, asking what all the titles of the playlists meant. he’d pause on one labeled “s.m.” that you had made a few days after the night in the thunderstorm. (“what’s this one ?” and it’s not that you were embarrassed, you just wanted to keep that explanation to yourself, at least for a little longer, so you’d tell him that it was “sad music.” he’d know it was too simple of a title to be true, but he also thought it was so cute that he was worthy of his very own playlist)

getting meeks out of his comfort zone would be so fun; he’s adventurous and likes to branch out, so he’d be very excited about having sushi for the first time (he’d become addicted and ask to have it very often)

he’d like to help you when the procrastination of homework was just killing you, bribing you saying, “if you finish your homework, we can go up on the roof and listen to the hi-fi”

going to the beach with the poets, refusing to get in the water, and getting really mad/anxious when pitts and charlie threw you in. you’d ignore everyone for a while sitting under the shade of the umbrella until meeks came to talk to you, where you’d explain that the ocean scared you and didn’t appreciate the “prank” that pitts and charlie pulled (he’d help you get even by putting tiny crabs down their swim trunks)

late night conversations where you and meeks would talk about anything and everything ranging from death to the pythagorean theorem (these were your favorite conversations because you were both so open and trusting with each other)

overall, you guys would have such a strong bond, introducing each other to new foods, subjects, experiences, and movies/music, all while maintaining the things that made you both unique (:

[emeraldragonfly]

The Cycle of the Seasons in the Desert

The pagan Sabbats follow the cycle of the seasons, and often, this cycle is easy to visualize. In terms of temperature, of course, we generally have:

Winter/Cold --> Spring/Warm --> Summer/Hot --> Fall/Cool

We go from cold to warm to hot to cool and repeat. In terms of how the plants and animals respond to the seasons, we tend to think of it like this:

Winter/Death/Hibernate --> Spring/Mate/Birth/Growth -->

Summer/Birth/Mature/Growth --> Autumn/Fade/Hoard Food

We say the seasons follow the cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth. 

That’s all pretty straightforward. The problem is . . . those concepts don’t apply equally well to all climates on earth.

Now that I’m in the southwest US desert, some of the pagan holidays seem a bit, well, out of step with what’s going on outside. It’s taken me some time to ponder these differences. I’m going to summarize some major ones now.

The Desert Simply Isn’t Well Suited to Farming

A lot of the cycle of life metaphors used are ones about farming. You ‘sow’ new ideas and projects in the spring, nurture them over the summer, ‘reap’ the fruits of your efforts in the fall, and rest in the winter and plan the new year. Also, the pagan holidays often feature feasts that involve crop foods that are in season for those times of the year. 

Here’s the thing though-- I’m in the middle of Utah. This is not a great place to grow crops. It never has been. Do we grow some crops here? Sure, of course. Mostly hay for cattle, in fact. Also certain grains like corn and barley. But really, most of Utah’s agriculture comes from cattle, who can free-graze on the local, desert-tolerant brush. The fact is, the soil and climate are not suited for most typical crops. And growing them requires expending a lot of extra resources.

There’s a reason why the Native Americans who were here long before white people didn’t farm extensively. They mostly relied on hunting and gathering, with some supplemental farming near rivers (which allowed for irrigating crops). So, the idea of huge harvests of typical crops, full of lush fruits and vegetables, and feasts organized around them, isn’t very meaningful here.

A Yearly ‘Death’ or Winter Hibernation Is Not Universal

Many, many animals do indeed hibernate or otherwise enter some sort of state of decreased acitvity during the winter. They do this to conserve energy when resources are scarce. In plants, this can be seen very dramatically when plants die off entirely and go to seed, or when deciduous trees shed their leaves and remain as dormant, bare-limbed creatures for a time. 

The thing is, while a winter hibernation is very common in a lot of plants and animals . . . there’s also a lot who don’t follow that rule. 

Plenty of animals remain active year-round. They may simply shift the emphasis in their diets during winter. For example, the cute little white-tailed antelope squirrels eat a lot of vegetation in spring and summer while it’s growing, but in fall and winter they focus more on fruits and seeds. Cottontails and jackrabbits eat fresh vegetation in spring and summer but focus on woody plants and dry vegetation in fall and winter. 

Other animals may travel back and forth between spring and winter feeding-grounds within their home range. Mule deer feed at higher elevations during the spring growing season and then switch to lower elevations during winter (where there’s much less snow). 

Other animals might migrate greater distances to warmer, wetter places during winter. Birds are especially known for having a lot of species that migrate, and a lot of our ducks are only seasonal residents here.

Whatever method used, for many animals winter is not a time of rest at all, but of steady activity.

This holds true for plants, as well. Many plants are “evergreen.” In the desert, many of the shrubs, cacti, succulents and trees are evergreen. They do not undergo that dramatic death or dormancy, and instead just steadily go about doing their planty business. Many of the typical “signals” to people that winter is coming-- the leaves are falling, animals are vanishing or going to sleep-- just aren’t here. Many of us are just carrying on as usual.

Summer is a More Complex Season Here

The typical view of summer is that it’s a celebration of the power of the sun, of the vitality and abundance of life, a time of handfasting, and of enjoying early harvests. 

It has a different flavor in the desert, though. While summer is certainly a time of growth and power, it’s also other things, too. Summers here are intense. Absolutely scorching, in fact. Temps climbing into the triple F digits is pretty normal-- expect something in the 90s or 100s. It’s genuinely a life-threatening risk for hyperthermia and dehydration for people who don’t take appropriate precautions. Summer needs to be taken seriously. Outdoor activities are . . . pretty hard to enjoy in these conditions. Especially when the windstorms kick in, blasting scorching hot winds and sharp sands and red dirt into your face. Even when the sun sets it can take a long time for the place to cool down. If you want to go for a comfortable walk outside during summer, you pretty much can only aim for a very short window of opportunity in the very early morning-- but better be quick, because it won’t last long.

This isn’t difficult just for people. Animals face the same challenges. How do they deal with it? By being very selective about when they are active during summer. Almost every single animal in the desert avoids midday entirely, staying hidden the shade of shrubs or in underground dens, where things are cooler. (I think the only animal here that braves the raw sun are the ants-- remarkable little creatures.) Animals will be active either in early morning and evening or are completely nocturnal. Many, many desert creatures come out at night, when the world is at a much more tolerable level.

In fact, the summer heat and dryness can be so intense that some animals will even enter into a special type of summer hibernation. This is called estivation. They bury themselves underground and await cooler temperatures and rainfall.

In any case, the point is that summer is a time of rest and sheltering for desert inhabitants. This is normally only associated with winter, but our summer extremes are often a reason to conserve energy and shelter from the sun as well. 

The funny thing is, summer is not just a time of rest and shelter. It’s also a time of growth and activity. Animal breeding is often in full swing during the summer, as well as plant growth and plant reproduction. Why is that?

Our summer has two faces because while it’s our most extreme time of year in terms of heat and dryness, it’s also the growing and monsoon season. Deserts, as you know, get very little precipitation. That’s what defines a desert. A lot of our water comes from melted snow that gathers in the mountains over the winter, which then runs into rivers. But the rest comes from what little rain we do get. Most of our rain occurs in spring, paving the way for a busy summer: Plants grow in the spring, ensuring there’s food available in summer, and thus, it’s a good time for animals to breed. Additionally, there are the summer rains.

The summer rains or “monsoons” (really just thunderstorms) come suddenly and with little warning. They then will dump incredible amounts of water onto the ground. The soils here are very poor at absorbing the water, so we get what we call “flash floods.” There’s this sudden overabundance of water in a place that’s normally starved for it. Animals and plants RUSH to take advantage while they can. Plants suck up as much as possible (cacti and succulents are designed to be huge sponges for these events), as do animals. Frogs and other amphibians, as well as arthropods like dragonflies, quickly breed in temporary puddles while they have the chance. It’s a great frenzy of activity. They don’t have much time because not long after the flood, things will dry up again.

So, in conclusion, our summer has two extreme sides: lots of rest and sheltering from the raw power of the sun, and a rush of activity, fertility and relative abundance. 

Ok. So I’ve rambled on about all these differences in the desert. But what’s the take-away from all this? How can we incorporate it into our pagan or Wiccan practice? 

I have a few ideas.

Reduce Farming and Feasting Metaphors: Replace With Foraging

We aren’t usually wandering along plentiful apple orchards here, or fields of potatoes, or filling our larders with cheeses, or slaughtering loads of lambs, or any of that. The traditional Celtic foods and feasts don’t really fit in here-- nor does the lifestyle. Does that mean you can’t be a pagan in the desert?

No, I don’t think that’s what it means. I think it just means maybe adjusting things a little. Maybe lean less on these farming metaphors for sowing and reaping, and less on those traditional foods. 

They can be replaced with the kind of story that this desert tells us. This is a different story, a lot less about the hard labor of planting large quantities of crops, all the anticipatory waiting for it to grow, the praying for good rains and sun to nurture the crops. A lot of the story of living in the desert comes from foraging. Foraging in an arid desert is not an easy affair. Survival itself in the desert is often not an easy affair. Life is more scarce in the desert because resources are more scarce here. Things are more spread out and scant. You must forage and eat what you can find, often traveling and working quite a bit to gather up enough food. 

Native Americans found things such as roots (wapato, wild onions, sego lily bulbs), seeds (bulrush, goosefoot, pine nuts, sunflower), grains, and other plant parts (wild rice, ricegrass, pickleweed, thistles, cactus flower buds, cactus fruits). There also were berries (raspberries, chokecherries, strawberries) and insects-- a very healthy source of protein (grasshoppers, crickets, ants). Of course, there was also small game (rabbits, mice, squirrels, waterfowl) and occasionally larger game. 

This may not sound very glamorous to you, or very tasty. But it is very resourceful, and sometimes the focus was more on survival than on being gourmet. 

What I propose is that desert pagans think about foraging metaphors and not just farming ones. The steady work of gathering up lots of little bits here and there-- that’s a useful metaphor too, in my mind. Sometimes projects aren’t just about sowing, nurturing and reaping. Sometimes projects are about the steady daily work of foraging, making progress bit by bit. Making use of what you can find, crafting useful things out of them, and ultimately accomplishing something surprisingly huge at the end. Remember, Native Americans even in this harsh desert built incredible, massive apartment-like structures into the cliffs. The “slow and steady” work of foraging (or of erosion!) is a useful metaphor too.

As to celebratory foods . . . why not draw inspiration from Native Americans or early white settler’s ideas on cuisine? Here’s a link to a great article about some Native American recipes (from, you know, an actual Native American). Of course I am not suggesting you treat these things like you “own” them. These inspirations may not come from your personal direct ancestors. But it’s still valid to respectfully borrow cuisine ideas from others! These are foods that grow naturally here or are more easily farmed here, so it makes sense to celebrate with foods that connect you to the land here.

Consider Alternative Seasonal Cycle Ideas

I have been trying for months now to develop an alternative to the traditional season cycle. The traditional one is something like this:

Winter (Death/Rest) ---> Spring (Birth/Growth) ---> Summer (Birth/Growth) ---> Fall (Mature/Wane)

What if we consider our ideas on how many plants and animals here are “evergreens,” and the fact that summer here is a little bit different? Maybe it would look more like this:

Winter (Rest/Forage) ---> Spring (Birth/Growth) ---> Summer (Birth/Growth/Rest) ---> Fall (Mature/Forage)

This suggestion gives two seasons of rest, during the most extreme times of year; winter and summer. It gives two seasons of growth and fertility, during the “light seasons” of spring and summer. And it gives two seasons of “foraging” during the “dark seasons” of fall and winter.

I’m using the word “foraging” as a moderate word that can fit in-between the life energy extremes of “death/rest” and “growth/reproduce.” For animals, foraging is the calm, steady work of searching for and gathering food. It’s a time when you are not hibernating but you also are not putting out the explosion of energy that comes with new growth and reproduction. For evergreen plants, “foraging” is the steady work of photsynthesis that continues even in dark seasons. You’re not doing much new growth or blooming flowers/etc., but you’re not in total dormancy either.

Ultimately these suggested changes are not huge. But I think they’re tweaks that help us connect more! We can see winter as a time of rest for some, enjoying the old traditional metaphors of winter. But we can also see winter as a time of steady progress for the ‘evergreen’ among us. For summer, we can see it as a time of much growth and vitality, but we can also acknowledge that resting and recovering in between moments of intense energy is a good thing and a part of the desert’s cycle.

[obsoletelove-infp]

The most romantic season

Personally, I am in love with Winter. I love how the air is cold, but we are wrapped in layers of warm clothes. I love when Christmas is here, when the sky is dark and the lights tint the street to a quiet and lovely shade of orange. In Winter, even when the streets are crowded, you don’t feel annoyance or dizziness, but a weird sense of connection instead. It doesn’t snow here, but where there is snow, snow is like poems, having different shapes and atmosphere everyday. Winter feels like rest, it’s when the year ends and starts again. Winter is lonely, yet emotionally strong.

I secretly put people into categories by the season they were born in. I like Winter people, they give me a bittersweet impression. I am myself a Summer person, but perhaps the typical Summer feeling - energetic, sociable, wild, bright - doesn’t fit me. However, I relate to the violent emotions Summer has, when it’s having typhoons or thunderstorms. Summer is romantic in another way, like the mysterious Gothic short stories. I have heard that people go mad in Summer too, I don’t know if it’s true or not. But there’s something kinky about the sick heat and the capricious weather.

Spring is not as sweet and innocent as people typically think. Spring is truly the season of life, but not just about flowers blooming to a canvas of pink and green. It is also the breeding bed of germs and ideas. It is Persephone as the queen of the underworld. The moisture in the air smells like mold and mosses, stirring the reality to a twisted illusionary state, like a fearful nightmare where things are not terrible but simply uncannily ordinary. Spring is life and death without being covered by snow or Christmas lights like the Winter.

Autumn is especially calm. It mingles with Summer and Winter, thus the occasional storms or sudden coolness. Other than that, leaves do silently start to fall and the world goes through a phase descending into peace, a phase that’s nearly unperceivable, overridden by fringes of heat and wind. During Autumn, Summer is soothed and Winter is welcomed. But Autumn itself is hiding in the background, simply came to see and waiting to go, able to detach once Winter is ready, like the soft dry breaths. You can love Autumn, but you never get too close.

[organicfarmfamily]

TOFF Farm

Happy Snowy Day healthy life seekers 🤗

Our focus today is on the beautiful outdoors spaces we occupy, be it a farm, a garden, an allotment, a shared community green space or a park we enjoy 🌲

Our beautiful outdoor green space is super important for both our physical and mental health 🌳

Research has found strong and important links between our green spaces and our use thereof with a more robust immune system and faster recovery post surgery so let’s not wait a moment longer and come rain, sun or snow ❄️ let’s wrap up warm - thermals on this week in the UK - and enjoy our green spaces 🤗

Connect with our roots 🌱

Tree talk ~ super important to our natural human habitat, these beauties mop up the CO2 produced and replace it with ’clean’ oxygen.

If you have room within your green space you will benefit hugely by planting trees, you’ll experience cleaner air, natural shade and even better too……a natural, organic food source 🌳

Fruit trees provide all the above along with beautiful flowers in Spring through to Autumn (dependant on variety)

Here at TOFF HQ when setting up our organic fruit production we planted, bare root stock in Spring 2021;

🌳 Prunus Peach “Gorgeous”

🌳 Pyrus Pear “Beurre Hardy”

🌳 Apple “Fiesta”

🌳 Prunus Peach “Peregrine”

🌳 Prunus Plum “Marjorie’s Seedling”

🌳 Malus Apple “May Queen”

🌳 Malus Apple “ Pitmason Pineapple”

🌳 Pyrus Pear “Louise Bonne of Jersey”

🌳 Cherry “Summer Sun”

these beauties are already blossoming and were chosen specifically to provide organic fruit production (when mature) from Spring through to Winter to ensure we have all seasons in production, very important to the farm 🌳

Choosing on a large farm scale also needs pollination - cross pollination consideration to guarantee production, a reason why the specific varieties and types were chosen. If you are looking to start up organic fruit production do drop us an email, we can share our TOFF tips with you 🤗

Weather 🌧

The UK weather has changed compared to past years, it’s all natural change ~ NOT what the bureaucracy 🤮 states, it’s all natural and we as humans ebb and flow naturally with natures change too 🤗

Our Winters are getting wetter - more downpours and our Summers are prone to more thunderstorms so as part of our natural ebb and flow we need systems to preserve and store excess rainwater (see our latest blog on rainwater harvesting) and / or ground which soaks up the excess. Solid concrete is a big no, no in our outside space - highly toxic in its production and provision of zero benefit to our natural environment!

Instead, gravel or bark surfaces are much more sustainable - natural products, non toxic which allow for water absorption🤗

If your space allows - a shed, an extension, a flat roof - a living roof also works super well for water absorption, increasing the biodiversity in your green / home space and provided sheer beauty throughout all seasons 🤗

Walls covered with climbing plants and shrubs also support water absorption and if those climbers are organic food sources too - berries - it’s a win win win 🤗

Composting ☘️

Composting in your green / outside space is vital to the performance of your growing ☘️

Composting bins can be made from old pallets / old timber - you need 3 boxes making ideally or can be acquired off the shelf as fully insulated unit 🌱

Composting allows you to dispose of your kitchen food wastes, lawn clippings and the contents of your composting toilet! (Composting toilets will feature in our future blogs🤗)

Another win win win, preventing waste from going into toxic landfill, saves money from not needing to buy organic fertiliser for your plants, greatly improves your soil and results in your soil holding more carbon and water 💦 🙌

Nature 🐝

Supporting our local wildlife in our green spaces is key to looking after our planet and feeding ourselves organically and ensuring our happy, healthy life preservation for future years 🤗

Introduce ‘bug spaces’ ~ nature likes to hang out and chill just like us humans too 🤗

Insect hotels are super - they can be purchased from local garden centres or made - if it has holes and a space to get out of the weather and is positioned in a safe private place whereby insects aren’t bothered by us humans ~ you’ve got yourself a hotel!

Old bark, rotting wood are also great hang out zones for insects so take it easy on that garden tidying and leave a little space of ‘untidiness’ for our creatures, nettles too - our butterfly community love them so do have a few, even if only grown in a pot if you like things tidy 🤗 🦋

Our nature doesn’t enjoy security lights and being ‘lit’ in the dark hours so if possible phase this out of your green space and allow them the same dark time that we too as humans need 🤗

Plastic is a big no no so no artificial lawns or plastics which are super toxic and constantly VOC - some so especially in the Summer months - toxic to us as humans and our nature, keep it clean, green and natural - timber furniture, clay pots, organic cotton / linen / hemp fabric coverings 🤗

Enjoy your beautiful green space happy healthy life seekers, we have a beautiful world and we all deserve to enjoy every moment in our great outdoors🌳

Happy Day,

Love, TOFF xxx🤗

🌳🌱🐝🌲🌿🌱☘️🦋🌲🌱🌳💦🍀☘️🌳🐝

[lawtriz]

Tagged by my beloved @wewau 💕

Tagging anyone willing to do it I know I make too many tags but I enjoy talking about myself and you can’t stop me

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SONG(S) TO SING/HUM? I hardly ever remember the titles of the ones that imprint themselves on my thoughts so deeply that I fail to notice when I start humming them, although if I gave it more thought I’d probably come up with top ten pieces for which my brain serves as a vinyl

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWER/TREE/PLANT? currently a bamboo

FAVOURITE COLOURS? navy and all its shades, bordeaux - the darker and redder kind (how come porto is not a name of a colour? why doesn’t google have it?), b&w

WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS DOODLE? if I actually doodle something it hardly resembles anything of this world other than a tumbleweed - I do it mostly to get my pen going whenever it decides not to write; other than that, complex polylines? and occasionally, if I actually do it on purpose, ellipse flowers (far uglier than the one linked)

HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE/TEA? attention achtung attenzione I haven’t had coffee in about ten months or so, but back when I did I had it black, no milk, no sugar, sometimes a pinch (or a handful) of cinnamon; instead, in the morning I make myself a tea so black and bitter that it’s aftertaste becomes sweet - but I like all kinds of it, that’s just the one that helps me stay awake throughout the day; I drink decaf/ wheat coffee tho, made with nothing but hot water 

FAVOURITE CANDLE SCENT? perhaps cinnamon, as much as I love candles I hardly ever buy them 

WHAT PERFUME DO YOU WEAR? either YSL la nuit de l’homme l’intense, or guaiac wood and juniper eau de toilette by Yves Rocher, a much fresher, colder scent, straight-out-of-shower one, more appropriate for the spring and summer than aforementioned perfume 

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO DANCE MOVE WHEN YOU’RE ALONE? It’s likely that I do nothing besides accentuating more powerful parts of the song with a conductor-like gesture done mid-air

FAVOURITE QUOTE?  “Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be more lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.” Homer, The Iliad

FAVOURITE SELF CARE ROUTINE(S)? Every other day I have a bath, a scrub, a corundum peeling, a pink clay face-mask, plus recently a shilajit one

FUZZY SOCKS OR HOUSE SLIPPERS? fuzzy socks, I don’t even own slippers 

WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR EYES? gunmetal blue 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE EYE COLOUR ON OTHERS? bright piercing blue or the shade of brown that turns honey-golden in sunlight 

FAVOURITE SEASON? WHY? it used to be winter, but lately my tolerance for cold has dropped; if I wasn’t allergic I’d say spring, at least the part of it when bugs don’t yet occupy the air; the summer (despite thunderstorms, late sunsets, cooling evenings, ice cream, vivid colours during daytime, cool sunglasses, lemonades with ice, and fruits) is too warm for me not to feel sick for majority of the time, but that’s because in the city where I live there’s almost no wind during it, and humidity makes every trip outside an visit in a sauna; autumn, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to put on nice boots and a coat, so as long as it’s not raining heavily, and the wind doesn’t try to steal or destroy your umbrella, I’d say it’s my favourite

CHEEK, NECK, OR NOSE KISSES? all the kisses

WHAT DOES YOUR HAPPY PLACE LOOK LIKE? clean air, atmosphere and temperature of a mediterranean section of a palm house, fresh bed sheets to lay in, everything I need and love within my arm’s reach 

DO YOU EVER WANT TO BE MARRIED? IF SO, WHAT COLORS WOULD YOU PICK FOR YOUR WEDDING THEME? @wewau‘s description was good enough 

CURSIVE OR PRINT? cursive, but don’t make me read my own at its worst when I write in hurry - I’d choose print if the question was strictly about what I’d rather read 

FAVOURITE WEATHER? when the wind is there, but doesn’t ruin your hair; during the day the clouds only make the sunlight dimmer and sunglasses are optional, but not necessary; it’s worm enough to show your ankles, but not enough for leather shoes to be off the list; without a light coat, a blazer or a jacket you can feel the chill on your skin, but that doesn’t stop you from rolling up the sleeves of a shirt you are wearing

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Some of us are restricted entirely to small spaces, and some of us have either clay, rock, or sandy soils that are easier to avoid than to mitigate. Some of us keep container gardens going for convenience, enjoyment, and mitigating seasonal threats from pests to cold, high winds or thunderstorms to dry conditions, even when we have some elbow room and decent starting soil.

On a windowsill or a bookcase, up on a balcony or down on a patio, and even out in the yard or lining our driveway, there are some practices that can make our container gardens more productive, more efficient, and easier to maintain.

Mulch Containers

Even small containers can benefit from mulching. Indoors or out, it limits evaporation, and it prevents compaction from overhead watering and rain.

It also reduces the number of weeds with immediate access to soil for outdoor containers, both decreasing competition with plants we want and making them easier to pull and with less disturbance to our plants and the soil.

Mulching also has significant value in providing an insulating barrier. That insulation protects tender seedlings just starting roots from drying out, and can help mitigate both heat and cold.

That’s particularly valuable when it comes to containers, because they’re prone to drying out and vulnerable to weather extremes.

Go Big

We’re talking container size here, not leaping whole hog into a massive investment of time, energy, and resources by lining every possible vertical and horizontal inch with plants. 

Even when provided with nutrient-rich soils and liquid feeds, plants do better with some room to groove. In the ground or larger beds, roots are able to spread readily. Smaller containers limit not only the depth, but also the width roots can expand into.

(The really tiny tabletop strawberry planters are notorious for problems due to overcrowded roots.) 

The relationship between square- and cubic footage, total volume and surface area, all factor in when it comes to planters and beds.

The ability to access additional root space and water from the soil under each successive tier is what makes some types of herb spirals, stair-step planters, and pyramids so successful and efficient when square footage is limited.

We can get away with a little bit more for short-lifespan plants that are being harvested as baby leaves, but for perennials and larger plants, adequate root space greatly impacts success over the season.

When eyeballing planters, don’t forget to decrease the usable space by about an inch at the top – soil will settle, but containers that are filled right to the rim will overflow quickly and we’re likely to lose soil as we dig in there.

Pot Mods

When selecting a container, evaluate it on not just the soil volume and dimensions, but also the ability to add additional drainage holes.

Ideally, we’ll be able to put in those extra holes 1-4” up the sides of the pots, providing both adequate drainage that many pots lack, but also the ability to do a fill with rock, sand, mulch, flake animal bedding, pine cones, branches, or empty soda bottles peppered with holes.

The junk-filled space creates a reservoir area that limits how often we need to water, much akin to sub-irrigated planters and still-water hydroponics/aquaponics methods.

While we’re at it, we might also consider adding a PVC tube, soda bottle with holes drilled, small clay pots epoxied together, a small transplant pot buried to ground level, or similar to create ollas or a chute that will help us deliver water directly to the root zones. 

Doing so limits evaporation loss, some pests, and can make watering faster – we can dump and go, rather than slowly soak.

Watering & Washout

Water creates two of the biggest challenges to both raised beds and container gardens. Material selection can factor in, increasing evaporation like clay pots – which isn’t always a bad thing – or exasperating heat issues like many metal and dark containers – which, again, has benefits in some seasons and climates.

The greatest factor is usually just the soil-to-plant ratio. There’s just not much water-holding capacity in many planters.

That means we’ll typically have to water more often, versus plants that are in bigger beds or the ground.

In addition to creating reservoirs for our plants, if we can, try sinking containers in the ground – even partway. It can provide not only additional access to water and decreased water drainage, but also some temperature regulation.

Nutrients washing out of pots during heavy rains is also a common issue.

It can be combated by using plastic or poly covers, or by adding fertilizers in small increments to the top of planters, rather than mixed into the soils, whether that’s coffee grounds and Epsom salts sprinkled on top, feeder sticks, in-situ composting, or liquid fertilizers applied as we water.

  Add Amendments

No matter how we combat things like irrigation needs and washout – or if they’re even factors that affect our containers – we have to revitalize the soil in our planters, just like in beds and in-ground plots.

Some containers are large enough for compost chutes/tubes or even “trench” composting methods.

Intensive Spacing

We can absolutely use individual planters to mimic the tight spacing we see in intensive gardening methods like square foot gardening and bio-intensive or bio-dynamic gardening.

Buckets, troughs with at least six-inch soil depths, and similar shapes make conversions easy and simple and can maximize the typically square worlds we inhabit. Storage totes and lined or plastic drawers share similar benefits, but even smaller containers like cut-down soda bottles can work.

However, it requires the same super-rich soil mixes we’d use in beds.

That means additional amendments and the ability to re-mix soils, which we need to plan for in our spaces.

Be Ruthless

While we can congestion plant our containers, we do have to give plants the space they need. Many gardeners both large and micro scale are prone to overcrowd or skip thinning, for a variety of reasons, to the detriment of their yields.

Finding the happy medium between wasted space and bare soil, and overcrowding plants – stunting them as they fight for root space, sunlight and nutrients – requires a little practice. Our exact soil mixes, feeding, irrigation, and the humidity, wind, and heat of our environments affect the exact spacing.

Ruthlessly selecting our “keepers” can start even earlier, particularly if all we have are small-space containers. We have to be realistic about not only what will grow – productively – in that space, but how many plants it takes to harvest usable amounts at a time.

While there is value in any growing – both mentally and the practice it provides – planning worthwhile plantings will help us better assess in the long run.

When we’re restricted, we might skip the large, long-growing plants that may offer only 1-2 harvests, such as ball cabbage, broccoli, corn, or some large winter melons.

Instead, we might focus on the indeterminate, cut-and-come-again, and staggered crops that give higher total yields at faster rates, such as smaller summer or acorn squash, lettuces, peas that offer greens as well as pods, and cherry or grape tomatoes.

Cover Crop

Container gardens benefit from cover crops just like raised beds and large plots. The fumigant, disease-cycle breaks, revitalization, soil loosening, aeration, and drainage benefits all apply even at micro-scale.

To get the most out of a container cover – especially with limited space – aim for those that also offer culinary or medicinal uses, or will provide small-animal feed or mulch for our planters.

Some can also provide early- and late-season flowering for beneficial insects, birds, and bats that are as useful on skyrise balconies as they are for rural gardens and orchards.

Companion Plant

In some cases, like inter-planting onions and lettuce, companions are possible even in small containers.

Other times, like keeping marigolds or basil near tomatoes instead of sharing a tote, we might not get the full benefits companion planting can produce, but their presence still offers some assistance.

Flowering culinary herbs, nasturtium, echinacea, and flowering wild edibles can commonly do double duty.

They aid pollinators early, late, and during flowering gulfs, encourage the predatory and parasitic insects that lower our pest loads, serve as camouflage and “bug breaks” between our edible crops, and help repel human-munching bugs and crop pests, while also providing a direct harvest for spicing, medicinals, or greens. 

Cluster Containers

Interspersing our veggies nets more than the benefits of essentially companion planting.

Keeping planters together instead of spread out can help shade the containers and any bare soil in summer, reducing heat and evaporative losses that lead to extra irrigation.

It also provides a larger mass, which aids in temperature regulation in both summer and on the cooler fringes of spring and autumn.

Ready, Set, Grow

Container gardening fits into almost any lifestyle. Whether we’re restricted to a windowsill or a shelf with a lamp, or have acres to play with, there are numerous benefits to adding some pots or trays to our production.

The local garden club or Master Gardener association and sometimes even our ag extensions can offer additional suggestions for improving yields and making our planters as productive and easy to maintain as possible. So can locals with blogs and YouTube channels, and sites like GrowVeg or seed suppliers.

Wherever we source our information, get started this season. However big or small our production, whatever our motivation for growing, the learning curve is too steep to put it off.

Be sure to check out The Prepper Journal Store and follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post Productive & Easy Container Gardening appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[hortascountrysidenotes]

Roses and the Season of Plenty

For once, June has been kind - after the heavy rain just after the garden was open which made one or two things look miserable, the temperatures have soared and without thunderstorms so far, which has allowed for two weeks of magnificence in certainly local gardens and I imagine nationwide, with roses better than I can remember.  The ramblers are almost overbalancing with the mass of undamaged flowers on each stem and here for the first time since it was planted three years ago, the Pauls Himalayan Musk scrambling through and over the blackthorn has been an absolute sight.  It is now joined by the species Philadelphus - single flowered and huge, and the Rosa Bobbie James another rambler so the whole of the top corner of the garden is a festival of pale pink and white with the added scent of the Philadelphus.

Elsewhere the shrub roses are fabulous and the scent in the evening air of those and all the honeysuckles is amazing - the moth trap is producing great excitement due to the honeysuckle and no less than 4 species of hawkmoth have been logged and photographed in the early mornings before being released back to the shade of the bushes.  Privet Hawk, Poplar Hawk, Eyed Hawk and Elephant Hawk - plus a Puss Moth, Buff Tip and various other smaller and less exotic moths, even a Hornet which was summarily despatched owing to their aggressive behaviour towards honey bees.

The heat is preventing much activity in the middle of the day so a lot of watering takes place early and late, the tomatoes are fattening up, the sweet peas are providing bowl after bowl of colour and scent, artichokes are nearly finished, broad beans in mid flow and we are giving away salad on a regular basis!  Too hot to sow more but there is some coming on which was sown three weeks ago. The spinach is bolting now so the dogs get that and at last beetroot and carrots are taking shape.  The winter brassicas will be planted out when this hot weather passes.

The vibrant bird song is over for another year and the air is filled with the sound of shrieking swifts and anxious swallow parents who have successfully fledged 5 babies in the garage.  The male is particularly aggressive and even dive bombs us when we go near the garage!  Blackbirds still have young - one chick only in the nest under our bathroom window, and a wren is having another brood in the ivy outside the back door.  A brief trip away to Sardinia last weekend for a wedding gave us the chance to see the lovely Mediterranean butterflies and most notably hear the sound of at least 3 nightingales all through the hours of darkness, plus most exciting, a nightjar.

It is hard to believe that we are already into the next phase of summer - the frothy dreamy cow parsley and the cool feel it provides along the banks and under the walnut trees is over - all zapped to the ground last week along with daffodil and camassia foliage - the box has recovered from the frost and fingers crossed has NO BLIGHT, I can't believe it and am really quite excited!  I shall still leave cutting it until mid July however and wait for the right conditions.  Help has been booked for the annual cutting of the Holm Oaks as we need an extra pair of hands if we are to give them a much harder shape this year and reduce their overall height and width. And that is only a month away, how quickly it all goes by .... the courgettes are forming up and the leeks have gone in!  A mole however has immediately noted moist soil and is cruising about amongst them so he or she must be watched.

Jobs to do - wait until roses finish then really thorough deadhead taking a lot of stem back to an outward facing leaf.  Feed them with Toprose or even Tomorite or Liquid Seaweed if its very dry - especially climbers near house walls where the soil is very dry and this will help prevent mildew.  Feed containers with the above as well, at least every three weeks now as a lot of the goodness will already have gone from the compost.  Deadhead geraniums and Verbenas etc to keep them going till end September.  Watch Alliums - either remove seedheads soon if more are not required or even dig out excess while it is possible to see where they are - they can be dried and replanted in the autumn or given away.  Water dahlias if they are struggling or the flower will be disappointing.  Too hot to do much with vegetables in terms of salads but if you do sow lettuce keep it in the shade till ready to plant out.  Make a note in the diary to summer prune apples and pears in another 2 or 3 weeks.  Watch when strimming nettles for Tortoiseshell, Peacock or Red Admiral caterpillars. Don't cut box in hot weather, wait until cool and preferably wet. Deadhead perennials constantly to keep them going - salvias, valerian have all had their first flush so take away the big first flowers and allow the side shoots to develop.  Cut back hard any perennial geraniums such as Kashmir White, Mrs Kendall Clark to get new foliage - they may not flower again but will look better.  In another two weeks or so do the same to catmint - there should be enough going on elsewhere while it grows back to flower again in September.

HORTA