Flying ants

I woke up and enjoyed my cup of tea in the garden - Monty Don in Gardeners' World said that it was important to take time to appreciate the garden at its best and he really does have a point. I had asked Charles if he wanted a flower for the crocheted Woolly Bee I'd given him so it didn't get lost on his desk and he'd suggested a gerbera - once again, admittedly unbeknown to him, under the subheading ADVANCED CROCHET in my flower book, so I set to work trying to understand the instructions for the first row.

My parents popped over this morning to help make sense of the boot room/feed store and kitchen. Despite Maud getting in the way and the dogs insisting on venturing out into the garden to sample all the poultry poo (why? why??), progress was made and I now have a tidy boot room and my lights and ceilings don't look like something from a Halloween display.

After lunch I went over to Nicky's with a cauldron preserving pan full of ingredients for making chutney, (with vague reference to a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for Courgette Glutney) as well as my super-size ball of red wool and hook with rudimentary gerbera hanging from it. Once again, a pleasant if slightly pungent Guild meeting took place, thanks to the blooping of peapod and bubbling of chutney in the background. We have purchased spindles for making wool from my sheep's fleece and we got all excited about the upcoming damson season. Apart from a few quiet moments as critical counting was taking place for my flower and Nicky's cushion, we seem to be getting the hang of talking and hooking.

I came back home to find the hens pecking frantically in the grass and I realised there were flying ants everywhere. So many in fact that Henry was so busy picking them off, he completely forgot to beat up Maud.

Emily struggling to peck quickly enough

Charles was popping in after work and I really wanted to finish the flower before he got here and luckily I managed with about 5 minutes to spare:

Could probably do with a quick press...

Stalk section that I improvised from another pattern

Charles was even more impressed than yesterday and did apologise for choosing a difficult flower, although I asked if he thought I was completely crackers for spending 3 hours making a flower for a bee for him to have on his desk and he said "Errrrr, well...." Apparently the bee looked a bit odd on its own, propped up against his pc and he did say he'd iron the gerbera, to which I said ironing a gerbera? now who's crackers??

We've set up the moth trap this evening as it's really still and warm, and Charles is calling in for breakfast and moth identification first thing tomorrow. I've said we'll just do breakfast if the trap's full of ants...

:-)