The last time...

.....I looked at wild flowers I was in the Brownies.

Wild violet.

Ragged Robin.

Northern Marsh Orchid. Looking at my collection of cultivated orchids on the kitchen windowsill, I know which I prefer, but you cannot go digging up such specimens and bunging them in a pot on your kitchen window.

Butterwort. Eats insects!

Bugle.

Bloody amazing. The photographs are courtesy of Mike and his new camera. Taken in Bin Forest, by Huntly. He assures me that most of these would be found hereabouts. And I am sure that Huntly has claim to being Land of the Big Sky, it is, after all, in the North East of Scotland.

Back to the more mundane. A morning spent shopping. I went with Mike for the twice weekly shop. (I am sure that nowadays we could reduce that even further, but its taken a while to get out of the daily shop for fresh stuff for the bed and breakfast, so we are getting there.)

I went as he was going to Morrisons, back in Peterhead, as they are the place we buy cat biscuits, the only type our cats will eat.... I am getting a wee bit paniccy now as a week on Saturday we are having our house warming and expecting quite a few people. I have been buying bits and pieces here and there, and Mike has been doing the odd bits of cooking and baking and freezing it, but Morrisons sell a whole pork pie with egg in and large packets of big salted peanuts, and what would a party be without those two items! In fact that plus a bottle of wine would be all I would need.

From there we went to B&Q and bought the two (remaining) hanging plant troughs. We also bought some solar outdoor fairy lights and a large tin of wood stain. Wild Thyme.

Then on to friend Moira's to buy the plants to fill the troughs and a hanging basket at our front door which was looking quite sad.

A huge tray full of beautiful plants for £12.

Back home and after a beautiful warm sunny morning - another thunderstorm!

So I went back up the ladder and did some more painting to the hallway. Mike made some raspberry muffins, to freeze for the party.

I have just about given up on getting the painter in to quote, let alone actually do any painting. Although I can't do as much as I used to do, or would like, I do enjoy painting and am now going to do the summerhouse myself. With the Wild Thyme wood stain. Just a wee bit worried about doing the roof, which is also wood. I am alright going up a ladder but not very good at coming back down again.