Progress…

As the school half term finishes, I have the Christmas short stories which’ll be called ‘Home for the Holidays’ up on pre-order for the first Thursday in December and the quick first draft of the second of the new trilogy of Windy Bay books for next year is done, all ready for me to go and do loads of research. The idea for the third one is bubbling away nicely, so I’m hoping to get that written towards the end of the month.

It’s been a funny old spring so far down here in Poole. I agree with the Met Office when they say spring ends on 31st May and then summer takes us from June through till the end of August, but I do find it odd when the weathermen talk about how it’s the hottest spring because it definitely hasn’t been here, and the less we say about tomato plants the better. I’ll admit that they’re not one of my greatest successes, but the lampranthus plants are doing well and root amazingly easily so they look nice where I used to put them. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/70829/lampranthus-roseus/details if you’re interested. They’re much nicer than annuals, and they thrive down here to the point that they grow wild along the harbour, but would probably like some winter shelter in less soft areas of the countryside. Or just break a few bits off in autumn and root them on a windowsill over winter, and then start again in spring like I do as an insurance policy. I love the incredibly bright colours against a mostly green garden, and the bees and butterflies love them, and I enjoy that too.

Anyway, here we are in summer and I’ve gone back into jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt and a cardigan because that way I can enjoy being outdoors, which surely, is what matters. And I don’t have to worry about sunburn, so really, it’s all good, isn’t it?

We also had a gorgeous walk down by the Harbour yesterday, where I saw a beautiful tern with a little fish in its mouth. I kept looking because you know how it is. One good tern deserves another, but sadly, I only saw the one! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. There again, I didn’t try very hard.)

So here, to end today’s less-than-exciting update, is a hint of what I saw and a little gloat at having that beach all to myself, even if it is a little one. But I don’t actually want life to be exciting all the time. I enjoyed what I have done and will enjoy being out in the garden, cutting back and planting on and taking cuttings, and just sitting and thinking, or just sitting. What are your particular pleasures?