It’s that wonderful time of the year, when, rain or sunshine we get out and about and enjoy long walks and cycle rides. I always like to capture the sunset of the longest day of the year…….and this year it was a beauty!
If the sun shines, we’re all outdoors enjoying the BBQ, and we’ve managed quite a few this year. Sam has now developed a love of sweetcorn, actually he eats anything, even onions! Food is food to him!!! He’s so funny and surprisingly delicate when he’s nibbling the corn off the cob.
Dry evenings are spent outdoors around the chiminea, this is how it looks in the dark, it’s incredibly atmospheric, especially when it’s a clear night and the owls are hooting.
Daughter and her boyfriend are staying with us at the moment while they save up to go to Australia for a few years. Boyfriend is a great guitarist so now I get to enjoy lots of singalongs. Smashin!
I simply love anemone’s. This year I have lots of double ones.
Everything is blooming in the garden and the fruit is beginning to set on the trees. I now get to enjoy fresh homegrown salad leaves, spring onions, spinach, rocket and radish each day, and the peas, tomatoes and strawberries are nearly ready. Oh what joy!
I’ve finally finished weeding most of the borders and planted out my wildflowers, all I have to do is wait now….and hope they grow. The thing with weeds though is as fast as you clear them they grow again….but I refuse to let it bother me! It’s summer after all!
Sam trying to hang onto two toys at once.
We still haven’t sold the boat which is fine as we are having great fun sailing it. All the potential buyers are liveaboards and as we don’t have a static bedroom it puts them off. One guy asked if we’d swop the boat for a camper van…..food for thought eh?
The canal is lovely this time of the year, if you sit quietly you can see the fish moving under the water..
The tadpoles are getting bigger…and there sure are some scary looking creatures creeping about in here!
The trampoline is filling out, I have no idea how the fern got in there, or the ragged robin.
I had to cut these stepping stones out, the grass had completely covered them.
The dogs just love playing with their boomer ball, it’s designed for lions and tigers to play with in zoos, it’s a really hard plastic and the only ball they can’t destroy! Result!!!
The dogs are also enjoying coming to the pub with us and now accept that they have to wait, so instead of whining they have a good play. They are two now and much easier than they were last year.
And finally…..Six ferocious, feral ferrets came into the rescue, we have to wear gloves to handle them, or they’d have our fingers off. Happy days eh???
Lol, thanks Dessie, Sam always makes me smile too!xxxx
The pics of the dogs and Sam nibbling the corn put a smile on my face.
I know!!!! Doesn’t time fly Kegs!!!!
The boomer ball is the only one that has lasted, others are chewed in minutes so it’s good value as they simply can’t break it.
Hahahahaha….yes Sam does look like he could give the ferrets a run for their money doesn’t he…..xxxx
I can’t believe it’s a year since you were last planting and harvesting and sitting outdoors on a summer’s night. I had never heard of a boomer ball before. Looks like a bowling ball !
And never mind the teeth on those ferrets – look at those gnashers on your doggy outside the pub. :))
Another delightful post. Good luck with the boat and whatever you end up doing xxx
Sam is so cute nibbling the corn off the cob! He looks terrifying play-fighting with Annie in the pub though, you wouldn’t believe he was a softie! xx
Lol….Sam does look like a baddie when he gets his teeth out doesn’t he, and as you say he wouldn’t harm a fly! xxxx
I think the picture of your dog eating corn on the cob is hilarious!! I wonder what my boys would do if presented with corn on the cob? Hmm… Like your dogs, Scrap loves playing with a soccer ball and is quite good at directing and controlling the ball. Rides on the canal in your boat must be great fun. Love the anemones. Have a wonderful weekend!
Lol….thanks Jennifer….if you try it with your boys please post a pic!!!
Aren’t dogs amazingly good at controlling large balls??? I was surprised how good Sam was, Annie is hopeless. xxxx
Love the photo of Sam munching the sweetcorn. Anemones are a big favourite of mine too. We’ve been toying with the idea of a camper van recently, I must say I quite fancy the idea as we have no car and it would solve a travel problem as some places just can’t be got at that easily and also solve the B&B costs! x
Thanks Suzy Sam sure can get through a fair whack of corn in one sitting….I hope it’s good for him!
Oh ….how wonderful it would be to have your own camper van….just imagine the tales from the road!!! I’d love one but hubs refuses to drag it around the motorways!!! xxxx
once again a charming and wonderful post. Sam and I have something very much in common, in that we both love sweet corn:)
Love the trampolene and the canal looks so peaceful.
I also love chimaleas….and had one in Wales….nothing quite like sitting under the stars with a glass of wine and the fire burning.
Continue to enjoy your beautiful summer:)xxxxxx
Thanks Janet, oh I too love hot sweetcorn, just not as much as Sam does!!!
Oh you can’t beat being outdoors around a fire can you, it’s so relaxing after a busy day. xxxx
I can’t believe how quickly that trampoline has filled out, it looks great, so unique!
Isn’t it nice to have some good weather to enjoy the garden, after all, that’s what it’s meant for. Love the photo of Sam nibbling the sweetcorn 🙂 .
Lol….Sam is such a funny dog, I was surprised how daintily he eat the corn.
The trampoline is full of colour now and the bees are loving it. xxxx
What a great idea for an old trampoline! Sitting out by a fire on summer evenings is a favorite thing to do. I’m trying to talk hubby into getting a fire bowl or chimney.
Oh you must get a chiminea Susanne, you’ll never regret it, it’s such a wonderful focal point, especially as it gets dark.xxxx
Lol….NO room at the Inn I’m afraid!!!!
It’s wonderful to watch healthy young dogs having a good time, they never seem to sleep and their energy is limitless…..lots of friends and family think they’re fighting but as you say it’s just a game and they never hurt each other, they;’re great pals….I’d love to see your cats with their teeth out!!!!
Oh boats are wonderful but need endless maintenance and they are money pits!!! Still, we can still enjoy it. We’re hoping to go sailing all next week. xxxx
Are you sure you haven’t got room for one or two more with a handful of cats? I’m sure Annie and Sam will hardly notice them! Your lazy evenings by the fire with guitar sounds absolutely delightful. And I love the sight of the dogs playing and playing and playing their little hearts out. Pictures of our pets with their teeth bared make them look ferocious, don’t they? Even my silly cats.
I hope you’ll get lots of use out of that boat while you still have it. I’m sure boats require work, etc. but they sure look fun 😉
I’m amazed at how quickly your garden is bursting out. The anemones are lovely lovely lovely. I think I planted some but they never came up. So hurray for your summer abundance!
A fantastic post – marvelous pics. Great to see you having a wonderful summer. We have had polar blasts,rain,snow in the south, and the worst storm in Wellington since the 1960’s. 500 homes still without power still, from 34,000 at the peak of the storm at the end of last week. But not too bad out our way. Clean-up time now. Remember me telling you about our terrible drought in some places, but a fantastic summer for us. Funny old world!
Thanks Peter.
Oh my goodness, your weather does sound dismal, but I’m glad yours is better. Poor NZ eh, let’s hope it all calms down!xxxx
A wonderful post about midsummer; BBQ’s and sitting outside until late in the evening listening to music – fabulous. I love the dogs enjoying the summer, too – poor Sam, two toys and only one mouth! The canal looks lovely and peaceful; look forward to reading about what you’ll do – a campervan does sound an interesting proposition. Hope all goes well with the ferrets and you escape those sharp teeth.
Lol….Sam cannot understand why he doesn’t have two mouths….it confuses him no end!!! The dogs do love being out playing don’t they.
I would have gone with a campervan, but hubs is adamant….he refuses to haul it around on motorways!
Lol….the ferrets always manage to get a bite or two in, they have such long bodies they can wriggle around and bite you when you’re holding them! xxxx
I thought onions were supposed to make dogs hallucinate – obviously you can’t believe all you read.
Here’s showing my ignorance but what do they mean about a static bedroom on a narrowboat?
The trampoline looks great.
Lol….I often think Sam is hallucinating anyway, he’s a one that’s for sure!! I’ve never heard that before!
A static bedroon is a proper bedroom, a fixture, we have a pull out double bed in the lounge so for a liveaboard I suppose it would become old really soon,
The trampoline is an experiment but I’m actually beginning to enjoy iy! Thanks Sue.xxxx
It’s good to see the dogs romping about together. Love the trampoline filled out with all sorts of self seeded plants. It must be good to be out on the water or sitting outside on a Summer evening listening to the guitar playing and having a singalong.
Thanks Linda, I’m glad we have two dogs, trying to entertain one would be exhausting as they have so much energy when they’re young.
Oh it’s fantastic to be out in the summer isn’t it….long may it last, it’s lovely today too so off to the pub with the daogs, an hour there and an hour back!xxxx
Lol….the cave is for Annie to lie in wait and stalk Sam, she loves to creep out of it while embarking on the serious business of herding. I’m almost tempted to creep under there and startle her, she’s always so intent she wouldn’t see me coming!!!
I still have a lawnless lawn in the back, I’ve planted loads of fruit trees now hoping to turn it into an orchid as the lawn doesn’t stand a chance with those two running around it.
Oh bless Spotty dog and his lady friend, another lovely couple, dogs do so love to have a friend to play chase with don’t they….
London is still a possibility….a time for change over the next few years however it plays out….xxxx
The trampoline looks wonderful and I like how you’ve put some wood round the legs and that leaves an interesting cave underneath – what will you use that for? I was thinking be nice place for creatures to live in!
First photo of sunset is lovely 🙂 I forgot to take notice of the longest day/shortest night!! Drat!
the dogs look great fun as ever and its great how they are already calming down – I remember when they first destroyed your lawn and so on!
Spotty has a girlfriend – a bulldog also ginger with white flash down face, female and also about 2 years old… and he loves her… she is very lively and he just chases after her the whole time.:)
Glad you’ve still got the boat… are you still thinking of living in one in London?
The dogs steal the show…..did you say something about a sunset?
What medium do you have set in the trampoline in which you have all that growth? An interesting centrepiece.
Have you declined the swop- boat for camper-van? They could, if old and well worn, be a lot of work to restore, fuel guzzlers and time consumers, rather than travellers.
The Ferrets look like feral ones ought.
🙂 x
Lol….our dogs certainly like to be center stage that’s for sure!
I literally used sandy garden soil Menhir, I thought that would be ideal for a few wild flowers and they seem to be loving it, there’s only a few inches of soil but the plants are thriving.
Hubs refuses to haul a camper van along motorways so it’s a no-go, but it was an interesting idea!!!
Lol….the ferrets couldn’t be more ferally ferrety!!! Oh yes!xxxx
Thats great, you are really making the most of the good weather. Exactly what we should all be doing.
Those ferrets are fab, bet that is hard work keeping control of them!
We have to make the best of our summers don’t we, you never know how short they’ll be!
Oh my….ferrets! We are never really in control of them, we catch them, cage them, clean their quarters and let them go….then dash out asap!!!xxxx
The garden is blooming, the dogs are having fun but growing up a bit, and your post is full of joie de vivre – fantastic!
Joie de vivre….how smashin’….thanks Gilly!xxxx
So many gardens with abandoned trampolines, what a great idea!
Lol Thanks Rose, I’m tempted to start planting up the neighbourhood trampolines! xxxx
Oh, my: the days—and nights—are so full this time of year, aren’t they?! And it looks like you and the 4-leggeds aren’t missing a beat. I love your solstice sunset and can imagine the loveliness of sitting around the fire with your family…and the guitar music! The pub sounds like fun, too, and how great that the pups can come along, too. I think the trampoline looks great, Snow Bird: do the dogs go underneath?
Bless your work with the ferrets; I’d be a bit too shy of their teeth and claws, I think, but I’d stand back and encourage you. 🙂
Joy to your week!
Our summers are often so poor Kitty so we have to make hay while the sun shines! Annie loves to hide under the trampoline when she’s herding Sam, it’s makes a smashin’ hidey hole for a border collie.
I love being able to take the dogs out with us and they are getting so much better, last year they were nightmarish but they soon adapt don’t they as they get older.
Lol….I too am shy of ferret claw and fang but take a deep breath and throw myself into cleaning up after them. I should video them as we try to catch them, it really is hysterical and they always get a nip or two in, so we always have slashed trousers and fleeces…..I’m so glad I’m not a rabbit!xxxx
Like the way that Sam eats corn. I could join him right now. And how nice that you have a guitarist to bring you live music. I like the summer too. It’s my favorite season, and I’m really enjoying myself now. And I like anemones too. I eat salads almost every day. I don’t know about ferrets though. I haven’t met one yet. But they look cute. Enjoy yourself. These are golden days.
Lol……you can’t beat hot sweetcorn with salt and black pepper….drool….
Here’s to us both enjoying the golden days, long may they last!
Ah….ferrets, a wonderful species, clever, fast, lithe, curious, mischievous…..the list is endless, but they do have terribly sharp teeth which can cut a finger down to the bone if they are’nt socialized. xxxx
Ah…:yes: Summertime……Fun Time….No matter the weather. Hugs! :)xx
Thanks Bushka, we have to make the most of our summer and rain or not I’m going out!!! xxxx
A lovely post, and terrific photos. It’s good to see you, and the dogs, all enjoying yourselves.
The trampoline garden looks amazing.
With sharp teeth, and long claws, I’d be very wary of the ferrets even wearing gloves, especially as they’re feral. Flighty xx
Thanks Flighty, I love to make the most of summer, we don’t usually get much of it these days!
I’m beginning to enjoy watching the trampoline fill out, I really don’t know where the plants in it have come from!
Lol….we really are careful around those ferrets, we have to put them in a cage to clean their enclosure and catching them is like herding cats! They always manage a nip or two no matter what we do, and jeez….they’re fast! Hopefully they’ll become tamer over time.xxxx
How lovely to have evenings sat around the chiminea listening to songs being played on the guitar, great entertainment. It’s been great weather for weeds, they’re growing like mad, but I like that you’re not letting them bother you, summer is for fun after all. Those ferrets look so cute, funny how looks can be deceptive.
Oh those weeds….I can’t get over how fast they’re growing. As soon as you finish one border they’re back! You do have to chill about them….they’ll always win in the end!
Lol….the ferrets sure do look cute but when they sink those razor sharp teeth in you it’s easy to see how they can easily kill rabbits. Thanks Jo.xxxx