Dodgem no. 13

The fair is on the village green, and DD has discovered driving...

Muffins for the school fete

So I ate one. Anyone want to make something of it???

Raspberry and dark chocolate chip muffins. Blissfully delicious. Who could blame me?

All the girl's horses...

Three members of the herd that's roaming across my living room carpet right now. The girl does love her horses.

Sleepy beast

One sleepy old lady tucked up warm and snug on a boy's lap.

Cosmos in flower

Another photo of one of DH's beautiful Cosmos plants.

Blue skies

So this is what our skies looked like when other parts of the UK were having their wettest June day on record. Sometimes living in the semi-arid south east has its advantages.

Sunflower

Another of DH's magnificent sunflowers. An afternoon of walking around other people's gardens makes me realise that our own is actually pretty good :-)

Hunstanton

To Hunstanton today, on the north Norfolk coast, for a geology field trip. The cliffs here are amazing - not particularly high, but with a most distinct colour change. In the photo you can see the Carstone (Early Cretaceous orange sandstone) at the base (actually the black rocks in the foreground are a coarse sandstone that underlies the Carstone), then above it a band of Early Cretaceous Red Chalk (laid down under the sea off the shores of an island, and full of belemnite and brachiopod fossils), all topped off with Late Cretaceous White Chalk (laid down in a deep marine environment and full of fossil shells, sponges and shrimp burrows).

Cosmos in bud

Grown from seed by DH.

Solstice Sunflower

Sunflower buds are just as wonderful as the actual flowers.

This Cat Is Not Dead

Piffle has reached that age where, whenever I find her curled up somewhere unexpected, I have to take a quick look to check she's still breathing.

She spent the entire day fast asleep on the patio, blissfully oblivious of the presence of any passing rival cats. (Actually, I have a sneaky suspicion that she's perfectly aware they're there, but pretends to be asleep because she can't be bothered to stir herself to deal with them but doesnt' want to lose her street cred...)

Bees and lavender

The lavender is now in bloom, and the bees are loving it.

Smile!

Don't worry, be happy!

Gun Lane

A quick trip up a local green lane to replace our muggled geocache.

Soccer Club

Saturday morning Soccer Club.

First of the season

The first sunflower of the season.

We'll always have Lego

It's good to see that my kids enjoy playing with Lego as much as my brother and I used to when we were their age.

Delphiniums (blue)

As a child I had huge sympathy with A.A. Milne's dormouse who was forced by the doctor to abandon his bed of "delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red)" for a bed of "endless chrysanthemums (yellow and white)". (Even if the geraniums in question were actually pelargoniums...)

These delphiniums (blue) are ones that we grew from seed, and which now adorn our herbaceous border with their beauty. And any dormouse who feels inclined to move in would be more than welcome :-)

Punting on the Cam

The tourist season is well underway in Cambridge now, with language students thronging the streets and novice punters providing fine entertainment for anyone with a few moments to spare to linger on a bridge over the Cam.

Love-in-a-mist

These are such a good value plant - easy to grow, beautiful, and with seed heads that are almost as gorgeous as the flowers themselves.

Race for Life 2007

DD and I run the Race for Life together every year (this is our fourth time). This year she knocked 5 minutes off her time for last year - she dug in, focussed, and went for it. I'm really proud of her.

Moment of madness

There are days when I really wonder about my daughter....

Bloody Cranesbill

Bloody Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) growing in our garden border.

China in your hand

After I passed my finals my dad took me to Amsterdam for the weekend as a treat. On the Saturday night we ate dinner in a very fine restaurant decorated with ducks, and when we left the Maitre d' gave me this little china duck as a souvenir. The duck now sits in my wineglass cabinet, bringing back happy memories of my father whenever I go to pour myself a glass of wine.

Moth Mullein

Although this year is a Foxglove year in the garden, we do have some Moth Mullein this year too. The first ones are in bud and should flower any day now.

Bridge over the Brook

The village pond is actually a widening of a stream that runs through the village, called (imaginatively!) the Brook. I rarely photograph the green from this side, but today it looked just right.

Strawberries

One of my favourite foods - strawberries. I love this time of year when the English strawberries come into season - utterly delicious.

Drive-by shooting

Drove past Stonehenge on our way back from Somerset today.

Bath and West show

A day out at the Bath and West show with friends, looking at pigs, sheep, alpacas, and ponies. Then, not being 100% well, I got to sit in the shade and watch the showjumping while the others took the kids to the fairground.

Uninvited guests

Poppies growing uninvited in the farmer's oilseed rape crop.