It's Still Life

1) Forever thankful for every bee, which year on year seem fewer and fewer. This little treasure is enjoying the nectar from lupins.

2) It’s cherry season for a short while. Earlier in the week my dicky tummy didn’t want them. However —

I ate my share yesterday. Now we need to buy more.

3) Thankful for a walk in the nearby forest. This is not my usual forest. My usual has barricades up at the moment — I don’t know why, and nobody else seems to know either.

4) Thank you for the idea.

The Cat meets the new neighbour’s Cane Corso Italian Mastiff for the next few Sundays. The whole of the series is here.

5) Wind and torrential rain: I should be thankful for the rainfall but it came so fast and heavy that most of it rolled straight into the drains, but I am thankful that the trees are still standing, and thankful that the house is still standing, and the water barrels are full again.

6) The swans at the village pond. The flock come and go like a great spread of clouds.

7) French tuna in red peppers and olive oil. My goodness it is so good. The flavour, the texture, the mildness, oh the joy of bringing home goodies from St Malo.

8) A Chrysopa (lacewing) insect that (thankfully!) loves to eat aphids. Bon appétit, mon petit.

9) Thankful for silly hobbies: photos of doors, and photos of road signs with unusual names. This road sign is by Priory Farm in Nutfield.

10) Spent an afternoon helping at the Bird and Wildlife Rescue Centre nearby.

They do very good work there, and although I can’t offer regular hours this summer, I promised to do so during the winter. We have a lot of wildlife in our neighbourhood.