A proper summer

After some time away I'm back home and am amazed by the changes that have taken place in the few days I have been away.  It really is a proper summer this year.  Warm weather, some rain to keep everything green and growing and the school holidays have begun.  There have been a number of changes on the walk.  The grasses have grown above waist height in the fields below the hall as there have been no cattle grazing there all summer. 

 Just along the hedge in the top field the ragged robin is prolific and the purple vetch climbs through the hedge occasionally interspersed with the yellow variety.  Everything is abundant this year; the sweetness of the honeysuckle scent is almost overpowering in places.  Sometimes the plant itself is not always obvious and you have to look up and scan the trees to see how high it has clambered.  The brambles are also doing very well and if the flowers set then there will be a bumper crop of blackberries this year.  Great as I love bramble jelly!

On the nature reserve it is almost impossible to see the loch now that the bracken is almost 5 foot high in places.  Walking through on a hot day there is the unmistakeable smell that reminds me of holidays abroad rather than a Scottish summer.  Here the purple vetch and bramble flowers are flowing over the fence at the viewpoint.

The hot weather has brought a number of swimmers to the shore and it is ideal for a quick dip as the waters are shallow and warm up quickly.  Lookout for orchids under the bracken and along the lane, the creamy froth of the meadowsweet.