"...like a weed in the sun"

This is a rubbish picture. I took a much better one of this flower yesterday, but to post it would be breaking Blip rules. So this will have to do. In any case, it's really just an excuse to quote from one of my favourite books I've acquired since becoming a parent (see below). I have no idea what this flower is - as I said yesterday, we are pretty lazy gardeners, and whatever grows does so primarily as a product of benign neglect. We have been lucky with raspberries this year, though, which is thoroughly good news as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, today was the last day of our summer holidays - playgroup restarts tomorrow, and pre-school next week. It's been wonderful being able to please ourselves, without needing to be anywhere at a given time unless we've chosen to, and it feels like we've packed a lot into the last (almost) 7 weeks. Both children seem to have grown and developed so much during this time, coming out with new things on a daily basis it seems.

I can't shake these words from Neil Gaiman's beautiful book Blueberry Girl, given to my little girl by my big sister last year, whenever I look at my garden or my children, so I thought I'd share them today:

"Words can be worrisome, people complex,
motives and manners unclear,
grant her the wisdom to choose her path right,
free from unkindness and fear.
Let her tell stories and dance in the rain,
somersault, tumble and run,
her joys must be high as her sorrows are deep.
Let her grow like a weed in the sun."