I cannot believe I have not written a new blog piece in a couple of months!! Well, actually, I can believe it as it has been a busy Summer here with our son's graduation, our silver wedding anniversary party and having visitors as well as completing various small projects on the smallholding and tending the garden, by now in full growing mode with generous offerings of fruit and vegetables that need harvesting and preserving for later.

At the end of July, we also celebrated our first anniversary of living here. These last 12 months have gone incredibly fast and yet …

Yesterday, the Summer Solstice marked the shortest night and the longest day. Right now, we are experiencing a peak in the amount of daylight hours… We can still see some faint light when we go to bed in our West facing bedroom and the dawn chorus begins at around 4 am when the earliest of birds begin their singing and calling. Darkness has been squeezed out to a confined few hours which leaves plenty of time to connect with the fullness of Summer present all around us at the moment.

When I walk around our smallholding, all I can see …

On this first day of June, our little piece of Wales is bursting with signs of early Summer. New colours and scents are everywhere. Nights are short as we are only days away from the Summer Solstice and we have removed a layer from the duvet! Wild flowers line the sides of the lanes and turn our fields into colourful and abundant meadows. The air is filled with birds singing and calling. Our sheep have plenty of green grass to eat again and are seeking shade in the fields. Their fleeces come off next week and no doubt it will …