Pitiful,pathetic, any other word you care to name!

Not enough sun that is the problem. The blackcurrants are dripping with fruit but is it ripening? The short answer is no! This is a picture of one of the strings of currants and this is a picture of the few measly currants that I picked. I had to pick them or they would fall off. Once blackcurrants are ripe they won’t hang about on the bush and also if they get left they are prey to this visitor! The problem is that not only haven’t we had enough sun but also it hasn’t been warm enough. If they are going to ripen one or two per day then I am never going to get my blackcurrant pie! I’ve got my fingers crossed though because the forecast is for a lovely hot, sunny weekend extending into Monday and Tuesday and if the blackcurrants can’t ripen given those conditions then I don’t know what they want! I’m not holding my breath as the weather forecast is not known to be accurate! After all, last week they forecast rain and everywhere but Falmouth had buckets of the stuff! But I am hopeful for some sun. It is no wonder that the English talk about the weather all the time. It is so variable and can make or mar whatever one has planned or is doing just like that!

I have several feathered friends like this one. They don’t seem to attack the garden in any way and do me a service by cleaning up seeds that spill from the bird feeder in the oak tree and saves them growing into tall grasses which to me are weeds! They are very nervous birds but they are getting less anxious and will tolerate me wandering round the garden without flying off in fright.