Sunny summer days

We’re sitting with a mug of coffee and the patio door thrown open to the early morning sun, listening to the birds squabbling over the seeds in the feeder.

It’s so peaceful. There is no sound other than the birds and the insects, and it’s warm already.

Looking back at the photos of my vegetable beds at this point last year, everything is so much further ahead this year as it’s been a comparatively warm spring. May has been a fabulous month for sunshine, and the long summer days stretch deep into the evening now. It’s only starting to get dark around eleven pm now, and it’s light by 4.00 am.

We cleared the front of the house of building rubbish some weeks ago and put out some garden chairs to enjoy the sunshine. The terrace will be properly built later this summer, but for now we’re happy to sit on the hardcore chippings and watch the sea.

We harvested our first pot of potatoes from the polycrub yesterday! I thought that this particular plant had signs of blight and so we took it out, disposed of the greenery and harvested the potatoes just in case. An online expert subsequently told me it wasn’t blight, so I’m relieved. This was an early crop of potatoes (variety Rocket) grown in the second week of April: probably too small by a couple of weeks yet, but tender and delicious for supper last night along with lettuce and strawberries from the croft too.

I still get a thrill from eating our own home-grown vegetables. We’re cutting a large bowlful of lettuce just about every day now, and I’ve just sown another tray for when this first flush is done. Although I have to say, we’ve been harvesting for several weeks now and it’s not showing any sign of expiring.

And husband has caught the first mackerel of the season! We’re grilling them on the firepit and I’ve made mackerel pate and frozen some for other days. We love this about living so close to the sea.

The strawberries continue to give us a handful every day, which we eat with great delight on our breakfast muesli or in desserts. I must grow more next year! You can never have too many strawberries.

In all, these summer days of plenty are a pleasure.