May 22nd – Summer is really on her throne now, I think. Returning home that evening, I came from Blake Street through a green, hazy wonderland. The oilseed rape is still bright yellow, the hedges and copses dusted with white blooms of cow parsley and hawthorn blossom. The air is heavy with pollen, bee buzz and insects. Near lower Stonnall, the first hay crop has been cut. It’s left to dry in the fields, then turned and dried some more before baling. It’s been a long time coming but this is just wonderful.

