As it all starts happening

we leave.  We are back in Ilkley, where the weather is gorgeous, no mosquitoes and the nights are cool enough for us to sleep well.  It feels like we are on holiday, sampling all the wonderful food, picnicing by the river, lazing on our balcony,  wearing nice clothes instead of our usual working garb, its such a treat not to have a major project on the go.
It was very hot in Lazio when we left, exceptional for June, in fact this weekend there is a red warning for heat and I heard from a friend in the village its impossible to be in the sun.  
The terrace is finished apart from some painting of new render,  the balcony pots were all moved there to be under the irrigation.

The garden was looking great with plenty of flowers blooming.

The vegetables were starting to crop, we had a couple of pickings of beans, quite a lot of courgettes, a handful of peas, the apricots were not quite ripe.  We left them all but hope Mario will help himself so that they keep cropping.

Mr FF didn’t get the chimney breast reinstated, we never thought he would did we, but he made some progress and the framing is in place ready for the plasterboard.

We wont be in the UK that long, just enough time for dental and doctors appointments, haircuts and check in with family but its so very nice.  Yes we are missing Grigio but lately she'd turned into such an outdoor creature that I am hopeful she will be fine and a few week isn't a long time compared to the winters she's survived.

The whole of Lazio must be strimmed

It feels hot enough to be August but of course it’s June, it’s strimming time. We wake early to the sound of the machines, people like to start work as soon as it’s light and still relatively cool.  We eat dinner outside to the same sound as work starts again late afternoon.  Lots of rain then heat has produced knee high growth that must be cut, by law, to reduce the risk of wild fires.  Some farmers plough between their olive trees to clear the land but on the mountain slopes it’s definitely work for heavy duty brush cutters.
Before he completely mows our orchard area Mr FF likes to cut a series of paths through the wild flowers and for a few days we and the cats enjoy a stroll through beautiful meadows before they  disappear for another year.

 

Glorious weather

The terrace is almost finished, Mr FF is strimming the orchard as I type.  It’s so hot now we start our jobs early and chill in the heat of the day.  Some of us have taken to just chilling.

Summer at last

The weather for our al fresco lunch on Wednesday was very acceptable,we had a nice time.


Now the sunshine is here big time, suddenly the temperature has doubled, Mr FF is finding it hard going laying the pavings, I need to get the light duvet off our bed and replace it with just a sheet.

These are the days I love, this is what we signed up for.
Blogger is as always giving me lots of hassle, I can’t format my posts,  even this mishmash takes ages to produce and I can only leave comments in a few of your blogs.  If you are not hearing from me be assured I am still following you.

It could go either way

Hoping the sun will come out before our lunch guests arrive,  at the moment we have half a view and a cloudy sky.