First thing this morning the sun was shining tempting me to visit Attingham Park for a walk in the woodlands. Before going out on any adventure I had to wait in for a routine maintenance visit scheduled between 8.30 and 13.30.

The maintenance man arrived at around 10 am, but for some reason a job that usually takes 15 to 20 minutes took almost an hour! By this time the sun had gone in an it was almost lunch time.

After lunch I decided that there was was not enough time to do Attingham Park justice so I chose to leave that visit for another day.

Earlier in the day my customised map for my local area (as inspired by Country Walking’s ‘Walk Every Path’) arrived.

This led to me revisiting a regular local walk to see how it had changed from my previous visit a few weeks ago. When I got to the pool views I sat and rested a while, watching the ducks, geese, seagulls and fish leaping out of the water.

Later in the day I was able to enjoy fine dining on the patio as the Waxing Crescent Moon came into view over our garden.

This year I have found that our summer months resembled autumn rather than summer. In the few weeks since I have retired from my career there have only been a few occasions when it has been sunny enough to sit outside in my garden. It hasn’t even been sunny enough for me to be inspired to go out on a day trip. Day trips in the rain are only fun if you have a companion to share them with! Despite the weather I have been enjoying myself doing different things than I had planned to do.

Today the sunshine played hide and seek. In the morning as I was choosing meal options for the next couple of days I heard gentle tweeting in the back garden. The sun had come out and a family of long tailed tits and a couple of blue tits were flying around my garden and settling in the trees that surround it.  I watched them for a while until a magpie arrived and scared them off. Shortly after that the sun was once again obscured by clouds.

Later in the afternoon the sun came out again and I seized the opportunity to sit at the top of my garden reading a book before it was time for me to go out to my regular thursday meeting.

When I arrived home, the sun was still playing its tricks would it shine so that Mr C and I could enjoy dinner on the patio. The sun decided to be kind to us

In addition to the weekend shopping chores Mr C and I factored in a lunchtime visit to David Austin Roses where we hoped to find a rose or two for the next stage of our garden project. On arrival we wandered around the sales area to see what roses were available to buy. Then we headed to the cafe for a sandwich which we enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine.

After lunch we wandered around the gardens to see the displays of roses in different settings. The display of roses was spectacular so we found it difficult to settle on just one or two; eventually we plumped for Olivia Rose Austin and Lady Emma Hamilton. I have some other roses in mind to continue on with our garden project.

The weather remained kind so we were able to enjoy our evening meal; ginger and orange baked salmon with a glass of Rose wine on the patio. As we lingered after the meal the sun started to set proving an almost rainbow like glow in the sky.

A perfect end to the day

This was yesterday evenings meal which we quickly assembled after a pre dinner visit to deliver a birthday gift. A perfect dish to enjoy on the patio before the sun went down.

The weather has now become cooler and rainy…