I love the smell of Tiger Balm in the morning OR The JOYS OF SUMMER

How do you get the wheelie bin down the hill, Bags? Just give it a push?

There's a thought! Haven't tried it yet. Usually I get some well-gripping footwear on, get the bin behind me, resting on my bum, and go down that way. I've recently devised a way of towing it down with the car though, by making the lid fast with a stretchy cord.

Sunbathing hedgehog is back. He's had his bowl of mealworms and now he's resting contentedly on the lawn. The grass is quite long as it has been too wet to mow it for a while.

Has anyone else come across sunbathing hedgehogs?

Returning by a long winding road to the beginning of this thread and biting beasties......

Since the weather finally became nice enough to get outside, I've been tormented with gnat bites. So I made some anti-midgy spray today. In a small travel size spray bottle...half water, half witch hazel. Then 5/6 drops each of Lavender and Eucalyptus oil and a good old shake.

I've been in the garden most of the afternoon and early evening and have sprayed exposed skin 3 times. No new bites and the smell is quite pleasant.

Good tip, notso - I'm going to try it if I can get all the ingredients here.

Found a moonbathing hedgehog this evening.

I followed the ring of bells on my walk this morning and came across four bullocks with heavy bells cling-clanging around their necks. No Alps here I thought!

Came home, picked four ripe tomatoes, 2 little onions and a baby courgette for a salad lunch, and chucked some fresh basil on top. White balsamic and oil dressing. Yum.

Peeled and de-seeded one green and cream striped melon which had been lurking on the side for (I though) too long - but it was juicy and still good.

Some Summer mornings are just very, very nice!

Glorious morning - I was cutting back a winter honeysuckle and noticed a fluttery and tweety panic in the tree above me - which is largely inhabited by sparrows and about 1ft above my head was a kestral - he even scared me with his piercing eyes.

It sounds as if it was a Kestrel fledgling - and you might have scared him!

I love the smell of winter honeysuckle.

A wonderful sight though - he was quite pale and speckly so does that men he was a youngster?

Most probably ww - as I don't think an adult Kestrel would get tangled up in Winter honeysuckle.

Lovely, ww! We had a similar experience recently with a young buzzard! Yesterday a nestful of housemartins fledged too, so there was much excited flying about near our house

I bet the poor little thing is hungry but I don't want him to eat any of my sparrows!