Summer has arrived and there is much to see! Fabulous long sunny days and cooling sea breezes, and the odd (so far) tip of rain, make for a potent stimulant to growth. My seaside garden has filled with blooms, intense colours and sweet perfumes. It’s a pleasure to wander around with a morning coffee to see what has opened overnight.

It’s all spinning by so fast. The strawberry moon and summer solstice have already been and gone, and June’s first flush of roses have started to fade. With some enthusiastic deadheading, we’ll get another blast of colour soon. But for now, what could be better than this show?

The self-seeded poppies just keep going, growing where they please. Despite their delicacy, they manage to survive in this difficult terrain, as do the ubiquitous nasturtiums. Their pop of colour is a testament to summer’s vibrancy.

Down on the beach, there is ever present danger. Cormorants like to perch on the warning obelisk to steer passing ships off the rocks which are covered when the tide is in. Those rocks will hull any boat. And land slips are everywhere after the harsh winter.  

Nature is certainly red in tooth and claw. Our resident gull family and their chicks have gone. The jackdaws in the adjacent tree swooped in and destroyed the nest to pinch the materials for their own rookery. The parents cried for days.

Book work is progressing with a big edit of the first section. The test readers are being readied and the cover’s design channelling a Rembrandt is now in hand so come back next time to find out what’s happening as summer progresses and the script develops.