The view from the bench..

..finished the bench off today. It's been very hot, 23 deg C, and there's been more than 10 people in the sea at the same time!! It's made out of four fence posts hammered into the ground as far as they'd go (hole made first with a crowbar to check for underlying rock). The seat is another two fence posts, and the slats are the cradle the new transformer came on when H's house was built.. The seat is bolted to the legs with some old coach bolts I had lying around. The back rail was a piece of driftwood I picked up a few years back. A coat of cuprinol.. And the view's not bad. Glancing to the left, the view is yesterdays blip..

Been watering a lot today, even the parsley out in the garden. Too hot to do anything else..

Just before I went to bed last night, there was a bug flying around the kitchen. Once it had settled on the draining board, I had a close look. It's head was covered in small "mite" type bugs. Turned out to be a cardinal beetle with phoretic mites. It turns out that the beetle is only acting as a carrier for these mites, and it carries them for the benefit of both species. The beetle lays eggs on corpses, and the mites feed on fly maggots. By eating these, there's more food for the beetle larva.. Fascinating..

Music..