Summer Flowers & Sweet Visitors

You know how quite small things can make you feel disproportionately happy all of a sudden? I'm sure it's not just me that feels that way...and it's usually nature (or Mozart!) that does it. The swallows and swifts who have now returned from their African winter and wheel overhead, screaming joyously as they flicker and swoop....the first blooming of the crimson peony I planted 2 years ago...

the beauty of the little robins egg I found, sadly cold and abandoned under the euphorbia...

I've moved it under the day lily in our big, iron urn...I know it's purpose has gone, but it looks so pretty..

The first flowers, so heavily scented and lush, from my rose bushes (the darker one is Gertrude Jekyll...I don't know the name of the other one, but it's gorgeous too)

we have now had a few days of rain, and the garden is just bursting into early summer glory...I'll post my June garden soon...but here's a peek, taken late last week...

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my blog followers (and one whose blog I follow) for the first time! It was wonderful to welcome Guillaume, whose blog Vraie Fiction I have enjoyed for a long time, and his sweet wife for tea and scones! Quite a surreal experience, because we knew much about each other already...but had never before exchanged a word or heard each other's voice! You can read about the encounter from his side on his blog ( a lovely tribute,I was very touched!) but for me it was a lovely experience and I hope to meet more friends like this through the years!

And then, this morning, walking back from The Coffee Tree, my heart leapt as I spotted something unusual out of the corner of my eye in the churchyard. I couldn't believe it at first, but it was this little fellow...

a gorgeous hedgehog! I don't think that I've ever seen a real, healthy wild one...they are usually sick or squashed on the road when you see them this close. I wanted to make sure that this one was safe from harm before I went inside. I took this photo and also a small video of him, for posterity...and then drew back to watch him. His little nose was snuffing the air as he bumbled along...his eyes weren't too good as they are usually nocturnal foragers and I knew he should be asleep! Sure enough, he found a cosy, sheltered spot under the corner of the gravestone you see him near. I watched for a few minutes after he disappeared to make sure that he was no longer visible to possible predators...and then I returned to the house, with a huge smile on my face! Beautiful flowers and unexpected visitors...the week has begun well! I hope that you had a lovely weekend - a holiday for so many of us - and that your week will be full of magical surprises too...they are everywhere if you look!

xoxo