In the garden at home - still trying to catch up with holiday photos!!

Maximum temperature today 18C, minimum 10C.  Rain measured this morning 0; but some expected later  17km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 39 km/h.  

Last Friday it was so windy that we had two apple trees blown over!!  The bigger one (a Granny Smith) we hope we have saved, staked and tied, but it needs a better stake. Holiday today though and no shops open. The smaller one we just removed, it has never produced much and it was not worth the effort of trying to keep it.

Californian poppies.

Peonies.

Climbing rose.

Bumblebee next to the sage.

Bee on the cotoneaster.

Wasp on the cotoneaster and something just above its head!

Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis).

Love in a mist (Nigella damascena).

Hoverfly (I think) on the Sweet William.

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) on the Sweet William,

Carpenter bee (Xylocos violacea) on the Sweet William.

Chafer beetle (oxythrea funesta). Sweet william - popular plant!

Hoverfly.

Two for the price of one on the calendula. I think a hoverfly and  a small bee,

Oedemera nobilis, also known as the false oil beetle, thick-legged flower beetle or swollen-thighed beetle, This is a male, the female does not have such muscular legs.

Shield bug on the cotoneaster.

See also my Bird blog 

and My life In the Charente

11/06/2017 Too hot even for the insects today it seemed, almost no wind to cool things down,

Maximum temperature 30C, minimum 15C. 7 kmh W wind.  Dry so far.

Yesterday's rose today.

Bombylius species...

as above...

as above.

Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Crane-fly I think!

Common lizard lying in the shade, too hot even for them.

Dianthus and ant.

Clover flower and small bug.

Love in a Mist with Sweet William.

Garlic drying in the sun.

01/06/2017 Cherries taking up most of the day so a few more photos in the garden.

Maximum temperature 24C, minimum 13C.  8 km/h SE wind.  5 mm rain measured this morning.

My favourite of the day, two hoverflies on a very pale Californian poppy.

and the Carpenter bee (Xylocopa violacea) runs to a second favourite.

Azalea.

Bind weed, pretty but what a bind!

Clematis.

Day Lilies.

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)

Small Heath (Coenonnympha pamphilus)

As above.

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

As above.

Dianthus in the rosemary bush.

Red Dianthus.

Sweet William...

as above with a hoverfly.

No matter how many we pick there are still thousands though the rain is rotting a few.

Our neighbour said "beaucoup" (a lot) and how right she is.

26/05/2017 Extremely hot and gardening was at a minimum! A few photos around the garden.

Maximum temperature 29C, minimum 13C.  16 km/h SE wind with 22 km/h gusts.   Dry.

Car temperature was reading 34C!!

Sparrows having fun cooling down...

Hey watch out you are getting me wet as well...

Oops sorry about that.

Cherries by the thousands!

Green lizard (Lacerta viridis) on our verandah this morning...

as above...

and just before he vanished into the sage. 

We have had this clematis for 4 or 5 years and it has grown very little but at last it has flowers:-)

Love in the Mist.

Climbing rose.

Sweet William.