Welcome

This tumble of colour just outside our front door lasts about ten days a year.  The peonies always look worn out because in their tiny, dark, north-facing, hedge-ridden plot they struggle for light. And this year the rain has almost drowned them too. The geraniums couldn't care less about north or hedges or rain and go on alone for quite a bit longer. I love this welcoming combination of colour.

This afternoon we emptied our 'done' compost bin, which has been quietly turning rubbish into something like soil for the last year or so. When breaking up the clods we found avocado stones (one sprouted, so repotted), plastic bags, apple labels, non-bio-degradable tea bags (worrying), rubber bands (both perished and functioning) and paper-clips. And a necklace I've been looking for for months. How are we so disorganised that this happens? (At least there were no teaspoons this year.)

The bin sits on bricks that I laid onto soil a couple of years ago, and they had sunk about 10cms under the weight of the compost. So I dug them all up, put more soil underneath and relaid them. (Am about to take my fingernails for a bath.) Then I took a photo of the bricks using my first ever tripod - bought yesterday. The in-focus bricks nearly won the blip-stakes. I can see this is going to be a fun tool.