Birthday Boy

 82 not out!

Bike ride with a good mate later.

Answer to a query

 Galeopsis tetrahit,or common hemp nettle...but how did it get there?!!

Harvest and query

I lifted the garlic yesterday as it was laying over and looking ready. I didn't want to risk it getting wet with dew or rain. Pirate fixed a shelf back in the greenhouse so that we can still use the staging.

Further down the garden we have a mystery plant with small pink flowers.....

Please excuse the colours...that is borage just to the right, so that will give you a hint!

Any ideas?

AotearoaNZ prints....

 Now a fine line cutting challenge!

Birthday afternoon

 Not our birthdays..a friend's.  A good reason to have an afternoon outing. 

Over to his home in the Kingdom of Fife, and a walk in the sun to the village of Culross at the bottom of the hill from his village.

That is the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth over the Firth of Forth..the colours haven't reproduced properly, but in the centre is a tall chimney with a large flame emanating from it...

Then after a good meal, a walk back up to our friend's house...past the village memorial.

Gardening.

 We have been away working on a friend's garden...but left ours like this...

I have just had harvested a large box of redcurrants...I would love to have half a dozen bushes like that!! The garlic looks nearly ready, the shallots are not far off. That will give me room to plant the cabbages and celeriac that are doing well in pots.

The tomatoes are starting to set fruit and the cucumber plants are starting to get on with it. The pepper plants are looking hopeful as well. The peas  and broad beans are beginning to fill out...so it's mostly going in the right direction!!

I could so easily use twice as much ground!!

Beauty

 Not all beauty from the garden is cultivated.