Inspiration

It has been a beautiful few days in Dorset - but we have been thinking of our friends and neighbours in Scotland too, as torrential rainfall swept through Argyll & Bute, wreaking havoc and damage as it went. It's so strange that the days here have been so quiet, so hot, by comparison. And as we digest the horrors and helplessness of the news once again, I wondered whether to write a small blog this evening, or not. And then I remembered how many times I've received a nice message from someone saying 'thanks for keeping me calm,' and I thought, probably better now than ever. I'd been in Cornwall on Thursday and Friday, as the astonishing heatwave passed over the south, and I got back to Dorset late on Friday evening, in time for supper and bed.  On Saturday, we went to Bridport Market as usual. Morning clouds parted and the sun shone through.  Lunch in the garden when we got home.  Everyone was so hot.  That afternoon, Charlie baked a cake!  And an early evening walk - the valley tipping in to Autumn so strongly, now.  Charlie's garden has never looked more beautiful, I couldn't help feeling.  The allotment garden is filled with treasure, still. Dahlias are going mad, as they will, until the first frosts.  Bizarrely, all the purple irises have come in to flower.  Sunset over our neighbour Ed and Christine's cottage.   Jewel-toned garden. The veg garden.  The house is almost lost behind the nasturtium towers... Almost on their way out - a week or two from now, they'll be really dying down.   A beautiful flower.  And the following morning, an early walk, as the sun came up.  Crab apples in the village.  And just as nature needs it, the ivy coming into flower.