Wild orchids and abandoned quarries.

Having not lived in Somerset for several years and knowing I am unlikely to ever live this close to my childhood haunts again, I compiled a list of places to show James before we move. So this week I've been tiring James and the Bump out on endless wooded walks.   I posted once before about the abandoned train tunnels (the terror of my childhood Sunday afternoons) and in the sunshine we braved them again, this time heading further into the overgrowth to visit the neglected quarry.  It was a bit of a fight to get through at times but I forgot my bruised shins when the quarry opened out in front of us covered in wild orchids.

Whilst moving back to live in a small house with my mother, her partner, his daughter and my brother (not to mention the two oversized dogs) has required some coordination and compromise, it has all been totally worth it..  Every time a nerve is frayed or a toe is trodden on I just remember this is the last time I have the opportunity to live with my family and I wouldn't change it for the world  (aside from perhaps installing a second bathroom).
Mostly though I simply can't stop thinking that this time next year I will be able to bring baby boy on these same small adventures, the ones my mum has taken me on since I was a babe.

in the garden.

So here in Blighty we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave or what the rest of the world might call 'Summer'.  As a nation we seem to be a little slow on the uptake; I popped to the shops earlier and was met by a sea of burnt faces and interesting tan lines.  My neurotic habitual slathering of SPF 50 is finally paying off.

My mum's garden has gone crazy, the glut of rain followed by intense sunshine seems to have sent plants into overdrive.  The courgettes are practically firing off the plants whilst James and I continue to pick our way through the harvest of Alpine strawberries.  Baby bump is growing solely on chorophyll and sunshine!  James got his introduction pack for his first grown up doctor job today, he starts in two weeks.  I am starting to dread the end of this sun filled limbo.