Porridge days...

...after a long, dry, sizzling spell, the oats are ready for harvest.

Photo copyright SvD.

Wasps or hornets?

Photo copyright SvD.

Unfortunate names...

Please, no silly jokes.

On a recent trip to France. Photo copyright  SvD.

Country fun...

....known as 'darting' here in the countryside. We keep ourselves amused.

Photo copyright Ian C.

How the ordinary can be extraordinary...

We're enjoying the sun at the moment, a rare commodity in Northern Europe. The field where I walk every morning and evening is bustling with vibrancy and activity. Within all the turmoil of life at its summer peak, we take the burst of life which this season brings for granted. Just like in our everyday lives we forget that the ordinary is equally extraordinary. We may too busy, too harassed and too self-absorbed to recognise that small gestures can be reassuring, calming and life affirming. A smile could make your day for example and equally, just smiling at someone else could lift their spirits too. I was reminded of this by watching the grass this morning, the seed heads standing like sentinels. In fact, they are very small and so many hundreds of them that they seem irrelevant. But an individual seed head will release hundreds of seeds which will burrow into the sodden autumn soil and will germinate next spring. This field will always be full of grass as a result. Small things and small gestures can change a landscape.

Photo copyright SvD.

Love is....

....sharing pyjamas...

Photo copyright SvD.

Cooking is for the birds...

...so easy. Our supper tonight. Anyone can do this. Bake haddock fillets in knobs of butter with salt and pepper at 220 degrees C uncovered. On the stove, fry one bunch spring onions, coarsely chopped in dash olive oil. Add a ton of chopped garlic, one blanched, peeled tomato cut into cubes and a dash of dry white wine. Simmer. Add the juices from the fish. Add cream. Simmer 'til thickened. Add the fish. Serve with roast potatoes or chips and a salad. If you want to learn how to cook, get an old French cookbook such as Escoffier. Modern celebrity TV 'chefs' have simply ripped off traditional European cuisine as their own and they can't actually cook.

Photo  copyright SvD.