Will it ever rain again?

Another sunny day, and it's amazing the countryside's so green & lush when we've not had more than the merest sprinkle of raindrops for the best part of two months. I was hoping for a bumper crop of strawberries on my allotment, but the plants are desperately thirsty and I don't reckon I'll be scoffing bowlfuls of plump, juicy berries this year.

But at least the foxgloves are almost ready to flower, and they've self-seeded everywhere. It should be quite a show.

A couple of years ago, at least, I planted a packet of red clover seeds, and not a single one germinated. Then, low and behold, look what's popped up. The seeds must've been lying dormant until conditions suited them.

A patch of this also appeared. I know it's a plant classed as a 'green manure' as it's good for the soil, but can't recall it's actual name. However, it's a bee magnet. They absolutely love it, and we've all got to do our bit to help the pollinators, haven't we?

Back at home, I've been happily crafting. I used a piece of acrylic painted material from Wednesday's StitchArt class, embroidering and slow-stitching this fabric tag. I've added seed beads, tiny gold sequins and a few scraps of sari silk and ribbon too.

Today I put my needle and threads aside, and instead took up the scissors and glue stick. Look at this mess! I was having fun with making and decorating junk journals, using lots of the food packaging and plastic clothing labels I'd squirrelled away.

I made a whole stack of tags and journal cards, covering many in gell prints.

It's amazing how engrossed you can become in cutting and pasting and finding ingenious ways to add interest to a page.

One final photo before I go. I nipped into my local charity shop on Saturday, and for the princely sum of 50 pence picked up this handsome hardback. A book that's been on my 'must read' list for ages.

Not that I'll read it anytime soon. It can wait until the dark nights and frosts make their reappearance much later in the year. Blazing sunny days just aren't suitable for ghost stories, are they?

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Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

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Abstractuary ... no, I hadn't heard of it either

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