What do you do on the hottest day (if you're a boy!)?

It's 32C in the shade as I write and Charlie and Alan decided to have the biggest bonfire possible.  Of course.  It was the remains of the hedge behind the stable block and made a linear bonfire the entire length of the stable block by about 2m wide and 1.5m high. In some feeble nod to healthandsafety, they do each have a hose in hand and were squirting down everything INCLUDING the bonfire to stop it getting totally out of control.  If any of our gliding friends found the one good thermal of the day just east of Salisbury, I think I know why...

We've fitted vine eyes and wire to the top fence, so all the climbers that are there now have somewhere to scramble, and I can start to buy some other chaps to fill the rest of it.



And finally on the right are two views of stuff in flower to prove that there is at least some.  In fact things are coming on nicely, although it's all a bit still things-stuck-in-bare-earth-ish in places.  I think 'lush' is going to have to wait for September, or perhaps even next year.  Although the beans are definitely going for it, so veg plot pics will follow.

Is this the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!?

Yesterday I plumbed the big (1000l) water stillage into the stable roof gutter - although the plan is to reroof the stables and demolish the end two (probably), I thought it was maybe worth putting it in place to collect at least some water.  Today I bought a normal 200l waterbutt and popped it under the greenhouse downpipe. 

Now, you might think that would guarantee a drought for the next few months, but here's as fitted at 7pm last night >



< and here's 4pm this afternoon when we seem to have collected nearly 300l...

High summer indeed...










The gabion wall now has a bed along the top...

(see the proto-lavender-hedge, the trailing geraniums and the alpines, all of whom should love the sunny, dry (hah!) conditions.  Although we may need to replant as the guys put landscape material to retain the earth on top of the gabions, but the stone beneath has settled in places, leaving an air gap which I think we will have to deal with otherwise it will just be too dry)

...and some things which are obviously wallflowers planted in it:

Indoors, Alan has been busy building the workbench.  You will recall how solid we said the staircase is, well, I wouldn't like to bet either way on who would win if it came to a fight!