Steinbeck visits the North Downs

The past couple of days I have become a normal member of society once again.

No bins. No scope. Just a little bit of hanging on to the compact camera  just in case. In fact, no case did arrive. I did sort out one plant problem though, when I least expected it. A few weeks ago I came across a bush with deeply cut leaves and a flower head reminiscent of Elder. Today I discovered that there is, in fact, a cultivar of Elder that does indeed exibit such foilage. Job done...

North Downs and Beyond land has been subjected to a couple of days of a warm, desicating easterly wind, sunshine that has manifested itself in a headache inducing glare and swirls of dust that belong in a Steinbeck novel. If it doesn't rain soon the vegetation will start to brown off before the end of May and a hosepipe ban will put pay to the garden attracting Carpenter Bees, Ant-lions and nectaring hawk-moths from the Mediterranean.

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