Ours seems to be growing like mad. Everything is in bloom, especially flowering shrubs (particularly the ones that make my eyes itch). Today's photo is of one of our rose bushes. They all are churning out beautiful roses as though there were no tomorrow. Unfortunately, it has been so hot and dry (getting up to the 80s) that the roses go from bud to blossom to finished in a relatively short time.
We've spent the past three days concentrating on getting the front flower bed planted. On Tuesday all we really accomplished was buying the plants. We did most of the planting yesterday and I just finished it up a short while ago. Things out there now look sort of like we all look immediately after we've had a haircut--better in a lot of ways but not quite right somehow. We've been watering in the late afternoon once the sun has gone away from the area. (Why don't we start early in the morning? When the sun rises at 4:30 on that side of the house, it's difficult to get out there early enough.) It will take a week or so for the plants to adjust to having been planted and to start spreading out and making themselves at home.
In addition to flowers for the bed, we also picked up 4 Clematis: one that begins blooming in spring, two that bloom in summer, and one that blooms into autumn. We put two on each side of the garden arch. They appear to be fast learners because they have already begun to climb up their respective side trellises.
Last night we had two couples over for a meal: David and Juliet Sutcliffe and George and Thea Betty. The Bettys are friends of the Sutcliffes whom we originally met when we first moved to Comrie but have not engaged with socially. Once Don began playing golf regularly with the Comrie Seniors, though, he got to know George. Thea is a keen golfer herself and played regularly with Maris Donald, the woman who owned The Rowans before we bought it. (She says Maris would heartily approve of what we've done with the place.) We felt the six of us would get along great and have a good time.
We had a lovely time but we had to have the fan on all evening (including all night as Don and I slept--can you imagine?). We began with drinks and nibbles out on the patio where there was a delightful breeze but when we came inside, the breeze wasn't coming our way. Thank goodness we now have a fan. A year ago when Don was in the States on business and the G8 Summit was on at Gleneagles, it got even hotter and stiller. I was living in shorts and sleeveless tops and drinking iced tea. Sometimes I just couldn't sleep for the heat. When Don got home and the heat was still with us, we went out to buy a fan but there were none to be had within a 50-mile radius. Not long ago when we were out shopping for fixtures for the shower room, Don spied a table fan display and said "Let's get one of these just in case." Thank goodness he did.
As a side note: David Sutcliffe's son, Justin, is a photographer for the London Times. You may have read a news report on Monday about some British troops on a "hearts and minds" mission along with a reporter and photographer having been ambushed on Tuesday of last week by Taliban fighters just outside the Afghan village of Zumbelay. They were under rifle, rocket, and mortar fire for hours waiting for air cover that was delayed because of another attack in a nearby town (the one that killed two soldiers). Amazingly, none of the soldiers on this mission was hurt and neither were the reporter, Christina Lamb, or Justin. The story (by Lamb) appeared in Sunday's London Times with Justin's photos. It was a frightening account to read. It is Lamb's contention that the "hearts and minds" campaign is going nowhere because on the one hand, the Taliban are too much in control everywhere in Aghanistan except Kabul, and on the other hand, the peasants are reluctant to abandon poppy production for the narcotics trade. Where will it all end?
Christina and Jusin have worked together on and off for years. In fact, they were held captive for a while in Pakistan several years ago but, thankfully, were released. David has to be philosophical about all this, and says "Well, it is the career he has chosen. We all know it comes with risks. We can only hope for the best." In this particular case, not even Justin's wife knew where he was on assignment last week until he arrived home on Friday night. She phoned David and Juliet to let them know lest they first learn about it in their Sunday paper with the rest of us.
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