Miniature garden

I have a feeling I may have blipped this feature before - the moss-capped stone gate post into the one-time formal garden in Benmore Gardens. This year it looks more like a garden than ever, with the appearance of that tuft of blue-green grass above the red flowers. I love it.

And I loved the last day of our friends' visit to. The sun shone all day, from breakfast on, and it was warm enough to feel like the continental holidays we used to enjoy in high summer. We had lunch outside the James Duncan café before a walk up to the top of the gardens - the first time our friends had visited, and therefore more full of wonder than ever. And despite the heat, there was a little breeze wafting around, so we didn't pass out ...

Actually I reckon we're pretty fortunate here in the west, with the cooler weather and our proximity to the sea. There's only one fly currently in the ointment, and he's buzzing away at Westminster  - but let's not go there this evening.