The rain has been quite incessant lately so patio progress has been slow and the cement mixer had to be hired for another week. Alistair is working like a Trojan laying the large area and just wants to get it finished so he can get onto the next job on his list. He would like that to be 'writing' but I think there are a few jobs he needs to get done before that happens, for example hefting the chainsaw into the woods where there are some large branches down. I have been ill with a throat infection that has knocked me off my feet and, with lack of sleep due to coughing fits, there is much to catch up on before photography becomes the priority again.

Look carefully at the pictures and you'll see specks of white. That's because Lucca and Kiki are moulting - those blobs of white are dog hair and it is everywhere, in and out of the house.

The garden has got away from me and there is much to do. The beds need weeding, the edges need cutting and the lawns mowing. As I am only doing 'light pottering' today, I can manage the sit-on lawn mower on the front but am not up to a jaunt through the woods to the main lawns behind the house. I need to make a plan of the garden and seriously get on with some photography before I miss some of the best shots of the amazing plants.