Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - May, 21 - 31

Hi there everyone 😀

And so, another month ticks over and we are in June ... officially summer in my book. I think the garden thinks so too, with us having waved good bye to the yellows and whites of spring and having welcomed in the hot pinks and purples of a new season with open arms.

The weather was a bit mixed for those last days of May, plenty of sunshine, but a fair amount of grey cloud too. I've been hit with a bit of a summer cold which left me feeling a bit lacklustre for a week or so and not really feeling like doing very much at all.

We have another busy month ahead with our annual catch up with old work friends in The Cotswolds next week, a couple of craft fairs on the calendar, plenty of local open gardens and scarecrow festivals coming up and hopefully a few nice days out but first ... here are our last 11 days of May ...

Day 21 - It was a strange old day today. Martin was at work and I pretty much spent the whole day gardening, something I don't often do solo ... I tend to need a bit of company for motivation. I had a really good day, taking it slow and steady doing lots of tidying, sweeping and watering. I am really pleased that the seedlings we potted on are looking so healthy, we don't normally have much luck at growing flowers from seed, but fingers crossed this year is going to be different.

Day 22 - It was a day of pretty much nothing but ironing for me today, not really having done any for about three weeks. I did get chance to have a wander in the garden though and was chuffed to bits to see the succulents flowering again. These tiny vibrant yellow flowers always give me something to smile about 😀

Day 23 - After a couple of pretty busy days it was nice to not have anything on the agenda at all for today. I did a bit of blogging and actually just sat outside for a while having lunch, doing a bit of reading and just enjoying the view.

Day 24 - It was Friday and I was full of cold and didn't feel much like doing anything at all. I did have a mooch round a neighbour's garden, after we'd got chatting out the front, and then she paid a reciprocal visit. I'm so proud of my diamantina this year, it really does look amazing at the moment ... absolutely covered in the frilliest of pom pom flowers in my very favourite colour 🌺🌺🌺

Day 25 - This little fellow has brought us both joy and stress by the bucket load. We spent a good part of two full days trying to protect the blackbird chicks, which have fledged. One seemed to be particularly struggling, but we were oh so pleased that he made it through the night. He has hung around all day, with mum and dad tirelessly visiting to find him and top him up with food. He seems to be eating plenty, but not that mobile. When I went in close to find out where he had moved to, he even opened up his mouth for me to feed him. I really hope he makes it 🤞

Day 26 - It was Sunday and the blackbird chick was nowhere to be seen this morning. I want to think that he has toddled off somewhere and is doing well, but he did look a bit weak. There was no sign of any feathers though, which tends to be a good sign. We did our very own 'left, right' challenge today, which involved us having a very random drive out and around the local countryside, where we found plenty to see pretty much right on our own doorstep.

Day 27 - The foxgloves in our tiny front garden are looking fabulous this year and are getting lots of comments from regular passers by. I nipped out in the sunshine today to try and capture some photos and managed to catch this bee just about to take his fill 🐝

Day 28 - Well it wouldn't be a 'Joy in the Everyday Ordinary' post without any crafts would it? I finally got to have a go at making some 'dad's shirt' bunting today and I love how it's turned out, especially the fabric made up of scraps.

Day 29 - We went out for another bit of a random drive today and ended up at Shugborough, where we finally got to visit the Lichfield apartment, which was really worth a look. I always love their wisteria, which is amazing and just managed to catch this shot whilst we were waiting for the buggy for a lift back to the car park.

Day 30 - I'm still trying to shake off this cold and feeling a bit lacklustre, not really feeling like doing much at all. This rose made me smile though. It's doing really well this year. It doesn't cope well with rain, which tends to stop the buds from opening, but ... so far, so good.

Day 31 - I spent the best part of the afternoon at the hair dressers, where all traces of grey were covered. It took till late afternoon for the grey in the sky to disappear, but it turned into a lovely warm and sunny evening and it's good to see that the hanging baskets finally seem to be starting to fill out a bit.

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