And it begins.

The challenge of the Tunnel.
It is going to be hot but Michael assures me that we will be finished before the temperature soars.
Herbie has had his walk before anybody else was abroad, we still had to stick to the shady side though.

Herbie loves water, puddles, streams, rivers, he has tried to jump in the bath once or twice.
Soooo, we bought a dog safe paddling pool, filled it up once it was sited in a semi shaded spot.
Did he love it?
He had a look, walked round it and walked away. I stepped in it and he followed, walked round, had a drink and got out.
We will leave it in place for a few days and if he still ignores it I will pass it on.

Men!

On a happier note there was a myriad of insects dropping down for a drink. I have a couple of unused containers in the top part of the garden and I think that they will be sunk into the ground and filled with rainwater. Some stones and a bit of wood to allow perching spots, ingress and egress and obviously out of reach of the dogs should be a good addition.
My neighbour has a fish pond with a few fish and now has a visiting lizard. How cool is that, Revi and Poppy have seen it but after an initial bark and bounce session have treated it with distain.

This weather has had mixed effccts on the garden, the blueberries are in full production and I am struggling to keep up with them. The plums are swelling and splitting due to the rain and more have rotted than picked to use. The apples are so loaded that even after thinning I am having to pick some early and prop some branches up.
Courgettes are picked and used at finger size or they rot on the plant and tomatoes vary from huge growth and few fruit to so loaded that I worry they can hold the weight. The cucumbers are full of baby fruits and flowers but slow to produce full size fruits, I see lots of pickles in my future.

The apples that I had to pick will be bottled, canned in the US, tomorrow along with the plums that I rescued. Blueberries are in the freezer ready to make Purple Porridge in the winter. Along with a few fluffy pancakes and the odd muffin or three.

The blueberry bushes have put on so much growth over the past year that I plan on taking cuttings. Soft wood ones from this years growth with no flowers or fruit and some hardwood ones once the plants go into the dormant state. They are Patriot and the fruits are large, sweet and juicy with a wonderful flavour. I hope to have plants to gift next year.

Right, the Time has Come, the walrus said. This time has nothing to do with Lewis Carroll and everything to do with wrestling metal into a sturdy structure.

Keep safe.

                           TTFN                               Pam

PS I may have gone slightly mad on the Fibre Hut website. There could be half a sheeps worth of fibre coming my way. A rainbow of dyed Merino and fibres from a selection of various breed of sheep for me to play with. I also plan on dying some fo my own fleece.
I had a touch of the "greedy mcgreedies", or maybe I am just planning ahead.