172E - And then Summer finally arrived

 Suddenly it turned so blooming hot that I, having arrived at 07.00, had to leave at 09.15 because my head started to pound. As I was wrestling with weeds actually taller than myself, I gave up and took off my gardening gloves.

Sun!

   Not used to sun anymore...it always rains but it pours in my country.

   But I loved it, and so did most of my plants. The only disadvantage is that my soil has morphed from soggy to summer-concrete yet again. Digging? No chance! Pulling weeds is equally impossible, they break off at soil level. It is hard to believe that one-and-a-half weeks ago I was squelching through the mud in soaked socks and shoes. 

Lovely, right?

   But there is enough to enjoy! So much so that I will add a page with extra photos again.

Dry, so dry.

   The Monarda (bergamot) is looking fresh. I plan to dry some leaves, to see if I can make my own Earl Grey mix.

Bergamot, almost in bloom

I also found some longhorn beetles, Corymbia rubra. The males are two-tone, black with yellowish brown. The females are reddish brown. The larvae feed on pines, but the beetles themselves enjoy pollen. They have very long, elegant feelers.

A male

  

    On the balcony I harvest a Gherkin a day, sometimes three, and I treat them as cucumbers (they don't mind). The skin is thicker and somewhat like Velcro, but washing removes the worst needles. And the taste is great. My tomatoes are doing well so far, despite there being potato blight in the neighbourhood. There was an ants nest in one of my tomato planters, and they all left on Wednesday, by climbing very clumsily up the bamboo pole, up to the Petunias. There they balanced on the rim and then leaped into space, like a herd of lemmings.

The swifts loved it, it was very busy in front of my balcony for a while.

A female? Not sure...

Okay, it's time to eat something. Puck has been watching me  reproachfully for some time.

Enjoy the summer, now that it is here, and have a great weekend.

Renée 

PS The more observant amongst you may have noticed the original Dutch version of this post is much longer this week. That is because I explained my historical detective, which I have been working on for the past year, is finished. I have decided to self-publish. Wish me luck?