As we all know Britain has been basking in a prolonged hot spell - yes a real old fashioned summer. This means that day after day the evenings have that wonderful balmy almost Mediterranean feel. Eating Al Fresco, glasses of wine on the patio, or a cold beer (or cider) in the garden. The cottage patio with table and chairs are the best spot in the whole house and garden to catch the lingering warm rays.
Today were were doing just that, watching the bees, some beautiful and colourful moths getting out before the light fades, and listening to the screech of the swifts as they wheel across the sky grabbing insects. We think (and we may well be deluding ourselves) that they seem to gather a lot around our garden as there are so many bugs around it for them to feast on. And they always nest in the eaves of our neighbours, Trevor and Annie in 'Ulverstone' (the nests are now empty as the babies have fledged and left, we gather to spend the next years of their life continuously in the air).

But today there was another flying thing to watch, something we also get an awful lot of in Cheddar, and which makes an intermittent roaring noise. Yes, you've seen the title and the pictures ... it was a hot air balloon. Taking off near Cheddar and drifting in the breeze over the gorge is a favourite route. Perhaps there has been a slight drop of these past years - economic hard times? But they never stop and after all Bristol is famous for Balloons: the world renowned balloonist and balloon maker Cameron was based here and the company he founded is the largest balloon maker in the world. THey make many of those weird and wonderful special shapes, but lots of regular balloons too. And probably because of this heritage the annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta is a fantastic three day festival with spectacular mass take-offs and night burns.
Not quite so spectacular today but the balloon we saw was very low, moving a a fair speed in the breeze, and we could talk (or really shout) to the balloonists above as the skimmed directly over our garden. And completely silently apart from the occasional roar of the burners as the lifted up a little. Indeed on a balmy evening it is usually the burners you hear before you see the balloon. We cannot guarantee you'll see a balloon if you stay in Gorge View Cottage, but if you are really keen you can treat yourself to a flight!

Not golf or cricket. We were away for a week and ahead of that the weather looked to be a settled in to a really hot spell; summer in that way we had almost forgotten could happen. So we opted not to cut the grass which has been growing apace since the cold spring finished. It seems we were wise to do so: for one it helps the grass survive the long dry and sunny spells with out browning out. It also, in turn, save the habitat for the bugs and things that occupy that ground level micro-habitat. 
And on our return we were surprised and delighted to see that whilst the grass had not grown much, the clover (which makes up a good part of our "lawn" if you can call it that, we're not talking Wimbledon here) had really sprouted, white and red, and was now providing a grand feast for a buzzing busy mass of bees: bumblebees, solitary bees, honey bees. It almost made walking over the grass impossible as we didn't want to step on a bee accidentally.
As we seek to ensure our garden is more and more bee and butterfly friendly (see earlier blog), this was surely one lovely moment.