Hello June

Oh June. A month of extreme swelling and impatience. The last month of pregnancy and the warmest of the year. My goodness it’s been hard to sleep. Me and the farmer have been waiting very impatiently for the arrival of Tubs but we’re also feeling a little nervous at how our family dynamic is about to be turned completely upside down. Gosh I hope Ted likes life with a little brother. Despite our impatience and my uncomfort the countryside has been an absolute wonder. The opium poppies and field chamomile are lining the edges of the airfield tracks, the dog roses have flowered and every year I marvel at how pretty our wild unkept spaces are when they’re dotted with wild roses. The cow parsley is going over but the hogweed with it’s fuller sturdier blooms are popping up all around. Butterflies are becoming more abundant now the weather is warming up with meadow browns, ringlets, speckled woods, red admirals and some whites. In the allotment the cornflowers are really too tall now and looking a little scruffy, the sweet peas are showing promise and will hopefully flower by the end of the month. Courgettes and pumpkins are in the ground and I’m so excited for the first harvest. Me and Ted have grown Zombie Pumpkins which look utterly revolting. Let’s hope they’re here for Halloween.

The weather this month has been absolutely glorious from a maternity leave garden loving point of view, basking in the none stop sunshine, not a drop of rain for nearly a whole month has meant the run up to baby arriving has been spent entirely outside. Looking at the bigger picture though it feels somewhat unsettling. Our weather seems to be much more all or nothing these days. The torrential misery of a very wet April dotted heavily with big deep puddles followed by the driest of soil and the dustiest country lanes this June. It adds an undertone of sadness to the feel of the sun on your back, don’t you think?

I stopped working towards the end of May which has meant a full 5 weeks of stress-free bliss out in the garden. We have welcomed 5 new hens into the wild area, 3 of which lay blue eggs. So far we have Fanny Dashwood and Kellogg’s, we are yet to learn the personalities of the other 3 before they’re christened. I’ve also convinced the farmer it’s a good idea not to strim or cut the grass so we now have thistles and forget me nots, dandelions and more growing tall around the chickens. I bought this stamp for Ted a couple of years ago on Etsy, it’s so nice to be able to give out our eggs to friends and family with Teds own little quirky branding. I’ll link the stamp here so if you have chickens you can buy one.

The allotment has been an absolute joy this month, apart from being heavily pregnant, (I’m not one of those women that blooms and glows in pregnancy, I absolutely hate it and never want to be pregnant again, that being said I am so grateful for it because it brings me my beautiful boys at the end) and I’ve found such happiness in being physically active and outside most of the time. I definitely think going forward my illustrations will be based heavily on gardening. It has also kept the anxiety of my upcoming birth at bay and has meant I can head into 2nd time parenthood much calmer than I entered it first time.

Oh the elderflower! My favourite smell and favourite flavour! 3 batches of cordial I’ve made and I love to sit on an evening and drink a hot one with a book. Nothing is sweeter or more summery than elderflower cordial. Abby Monroe sent a beautiful recipe in her newsletter and I’ve written it into my recipe book ready again for next year.

Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

29th June it was - and of course we both forgot about it. It’s only when a friend messaged to wish us a happy day did we remember. We’re a highly sentimental couple you see. I did create a post about our wedding which you can see here if you wanted. It was the most romantic and special day and if I could do it all again I don’t think I’d change a thing.

Also exciting this month is the Bramble blossom, it gets me all giddy for what’s to come because we all know after the blossom comes the berries and the delicious crumble and jams.

June In Pen & Paint

What has June been like for you? Have you seen anything out in Nature that’s made you smile or just peeked your interest? I would love to know, tell me in the comments below...