Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - May, 22-28

Hi there everyone 😀

I can't believe how quickly May is passing by and that I am nearly at the end of the first month of my picture a day project.

May has definitely been a month of two extremes here, ranging between bright sunshine and scorching temperatures to torrential rain and impressive thunderstorms.

Last week was another week of flying solo, with Martin at work, though he is now off for the next three weeks and there is plenty on the calendar to keep us occupied ... once we get up to date with house and garden chores.

So, this was me for last week ...

Day 22 - After a morning of cleaning the muck out of the gutter, left behind from last week's sloppy builders, and a marathon ironing session I was more than ready for half an hour just chilling in the garden. These three delphiniums are going to be just amazing. Mum bought them at the end of the season a couple of years ago for £1 apiece and they just keep on flowering. Last year they flowered three times and that was in a garden full of brick dust. There are currently 22 flower spikes and no brick dust so I am hoping for a pretty impressive display.

Day 23 - After a couple of days trying to get kind of straight inside I decided to start work on my garden before and after posts for my blog and it was lovely taking in the new patio, once I’d moved all of the odds and ends that were just laying around waiting for something to happen with them. I’m really liking how this space is turning out, it seems that we made some wise planting choices at the end of the season last year.

Day 24 -These both arrived today and I’d love to say that I spent a chilled out hour in the garden reading them. I didn’t. I spent the morning making it to the bottom of the ironing pile which has been building up for about four weeks and the afternoon cleaning the inside windows. I am, however, always excited to receive both and am very much looking forward to sitting down and having a browse over the weekend. 

Day 25 - Today was a funny old day. It rained pretty much solidly all day. My sewing machine came back from being serviced and seems to have got damaged in transit so that was a bit stressful. I didn’t really feel like getting on with anything and couldn’t even have a wander round the garden, which is always good for spotting something joyful. It was Martin's last day at work for three weeks and we did have a lovely evening in front of the TV with a Chinese from a different Chinese takeaway to our usual favourite, which is closed. I didn't take any photos today at all, so here is one of the view looking up through the pergola that I took a few days ago. 

Day 26 - Martin and I had a full day pottering in the garden today, under the watchful eye of the green man we bought from Rosslyn Chapel when we visited a few years ago. Martin is certain that the garden has come on in leaps and bounds since he’s been in situ. We spent our day just gently getting on with bits and bobs. We didn’t let the morning's rain showers put us off and were rewarded with a glorious afternoon of sunshine.

Day 27 - After some pretty impressive thunder and lightning in the night it was a pleasant surprise to wake up to warm sunshine, though more stormy weather was forecast for later on. It was lovely and quiet in the garden, with only the sound of the birds to be heard. The little yellow daisy like flowers on the succulents were wide open catching the rays of the sun, so I grabbed the camera and made the most of the moment.

Day 28 - Sunday ... not so much a day of rest but a day of some serious cleaning, well it's not before time. We managed to get all of upstairs done and had a welcome reward of cake and a sit in the garden in the sunshine. No sign of rain or thunderstorms for us today

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It was interesting to me that all of these photos were taken in the garden and, whilst doing this project, it's really becoming clear that the garden is something that really does give me lots of pleasure. If ever I am feeling a bit restless or a bit fed up with what I am doing, a quick wander around, looking at what is in flower and listening to the birds really does bring a sense of calm and peacefulness that I wouldn't want to be without. All of the hard work is most definitely worth it.

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So, just three days left of May and time to decide whether to carry on with this photo a day series of posts through June. What do you think? Have you enjoyed reading them? It's certainly been a good way for me to capture my everyday ordinary, but I'd love to know what you think, so go on, drop me a comment and let me know if you've enjoyed them, it would be lovely to hear from you 💜

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