16/08/2018 A few photos from the garden.

Maximum temperature today 30C, minimum 16C.  Dry; 13 km/h South-easterly winds with up to 31 km/h gusts. 

The WiFi is fractionally better today so I thought that I had better put a few photos on.  We have also been busy painting and cutting up wood so time has been limited.  Also 648 plums de-stoned and in the dehydrator!

Almost the end of the lavender.

Meadow Brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina)

Climbing rose.

Tomatoes.

Calendula.

Californian poppy.

Cosmos.

Common wall lizard - note trying to cool its feet off in the air.

It has its beady eye on me!

Syromastes rhombeus. We seem to have more than our fair share of these!!!

Wasp on the greenhouse.

My bird blog

has been updated HERE

10/08/2018 My patience with our WiFi speed is wearing very thin!

Maximum temperature today 24C, minimum 12C.  Rain early yesterday morning, a very welcome 8mm; Dry again today. 12 km/h North-easterly winds with up to 36 km/h gusts. 

A few photos from the garden.  I have more photos taken today at a new restaurant,  but I will see if photos download a bit quicker tomorrow!!!  I am averaging 3 to 4 minutes a photo download at present and they are all resized!!!!

House Sparrows - both females (Passer domesticus) cooling down.

Common blackbird, male (Turdus merula).

Hibiscus.

Viola - they are amazing they have been flowering since early spring.

Californian Poppy.

The first of my cosmos flowers. Note the little crab spider. Possibly Misumena vatia.

Syromastes rhombeus -We seem to have a lot of these around at present.

Mealies in the garden. if you did not live in Africa then you would know this as sweetcorn or maize!

Ready for cooking.  They are delicious and so sweet.

My bird blog

has been updated HERE

07/08/2018 Internet slower than slow!!!

Maximum temperature today 32C, minimum 18C.  Rain forecast for this evening, I hope it happens as I am having to water regularly to just keep everything alive; 22 km/h South-westerly winds with up to 51 km/h gusts. 

My patience is running out as our internet speed is infuriating.  It is always slow but this morning it is only 0.48 Mbps I am hoping that eventually some of the photos I have taken in the garden over the last few days will finally load.  With the heat, very few photos have been taken as even the birds and insects are taking cover during the middle of the day.

Busy as a bee...

as above...

as above.

Green Shield bug possibly (Palomena prasina).

Syromastes rhombeus

Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)

Unknown moth possibly a micro moth?

Kalanchoe flower.

Climbing rose.

Inside, this is the first orchid I have had flower for some time.

P.S.  

Just heard two massive explosions, very scary the whole house shook and my heart rate took off. Our neighbour says it was a plane breaking the sound barrier............

P.P.S

On the news already apparently it was two planes!

My bird blog

has been updated HERE

18/07/2007 I cut the grass and Nigel the edges, so the garden is looking much better today!

Maximum temperature 33C, minimum 18C.   26 km/h SE winds with 50 km/h gusts.  Dry.

Last night's sunset, not the most spectacular but quite pretty.

Echeveria flower.

The rose bush is still flowering.

Calendula.

Pink Zinnia...

and yellow, but a different type without the curled petals

This stargazer was a present from one of our French neighbours many years ago. it flowers religiously every year.

Gatekeeper butterfly  (Pyronia tithonus)

Syromastes rhombeus (I think)

Graphosoma lineatum.

Possibly as simple as a Green Shield Bug!!

Our first ripe tomatoes.

The same 'little' pumpkin I showed you several days ago... and still growing!

Fresh from the garden today; yum yum.