Buttercups and Dandelions

Summer arrived here properly today. I cycled to and from work in warm sunshine, taking my long hilly route both ways. I've clocked up another hard 35 miles in the process, determined as I am now to get properly fit to take on some Alpine cols later in the summer. Those rides have book-ended a long day at the office and haven't left time for anything other than the essentials. A good meal was in order as I bonked a bit on the last hill this evening. It would be easy to sacrifice a bit of sleep to spend some time here but I dare not do that. There is just too much work to do this week.

With the late arrival of warm temperatures the meadows seem to have suddenly sprung into luxuriant life. The buttercups and dandelions are such a feature of my cycle rides at the moment that they deserve to be acknowledged in a blip. I love wild flower meadows more than the most spectacular of formal gardens. This then is to celebrate the first day of summer.