This afternoon seemed even too hot for bees. Jackie continued her garden maintenance work. My contribution included trimming the edges of the lawn, a modicum of dead heading, and acting as the Head Gardener’s bagman, to and fro the compost bins.
We enjoyed, however, a host of hoverflies, seen here on For Your Eyes Only, Verbena Bonariensis, red carpet rose, Rosa Gallica, and a Marguerite.
One of the few bees in evidence took a rest on a somewhat chewed hemerocallis leaf.
Later this afternoon, I scanned the next four of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to Dickens’s David Copperfield.
Writhing as Dickens describes, ‘He sat, with that carved grin on his face, looking at the fire’.
‘Miss Murdstone marched us into breakfast as if it were a soldier’s funeral’. Keeping’s portrait is true to his earlier ones.
‘The street was not as desirable a one as I could have wished it to be’
‘Traddles cut the mutton into slices; Mr Micawber covered them with pepper, mustard, salt, and cayenne’
This evening we dined on tender roast beef; fried potatoes and onions; crisp Yorkshire pudding; firm carrots, broccoli, and runner beans, with which I finished the Shiraz and Jackie drank more of the Sauvignon Blanc.
On a hot day, it sounds too much like real work.
Thanks a lot, Pat
Lovely to see Rosa Mundi with Verbena bonariensis – and hoverfly!
Thanks very much, Susan
Beautiful photos amidst the heat.
We have a heat advisory here.
Uriah is well-captured.
Thank you so much, Merril. we can see the writhing motion 🙂
Yes, definitely. 😀
My measure of “too hot” recently has been the resident fence lizard, which comes out to sun itself if it’s not too hot! The hoverflies seem to have somewhat the same idea!
Thanks very much, Janet
Hoverflies do seem to like a hot and sticky day. Great photos of same, Derrick.
Thanks a lot, Maj
Beautiful closeups.
Thanks very much, Rosaliene
We finally had a good number of bees in the garden today so they must like the heat up here.
We are getting more, but they just weren’t around in mid-afternoon. Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
I do love the hoverflies but they are pretty quick so I can’t get them flying. Your close ups are brilliant.
Thanks very much, John. Much patience and many misses required 🙂
I can imagine.
The hoverflies, bee and flowers are lovely, Derrick. I especially like the one on the daisy, which makes a nice background for this colorful fly. I am sorry for the intense daytime heat, and wish you and Jackie a pleasantly cool evening.
The evening was exactly what you wished for. Drinks on the patio while dinner cooking. Thanks very much, Lavinia
Everyone enjoys the beautiful garden 😉🌸🌱🌸
Thank you so much, Ribana
So many gorgeous photos, Derrick! We’ve been so hot and humid. Looks like the British Open had nice weather.
Thanks very much, Jill. We are watering plants again 🙂
Wonderful photos. I keep trying to capture Hoverflies but with no luck.
Hope you get a break from the heat soon.
Thanks a lot, Mrs W. It’s not as bad as yours
Ours is mild at the moment.
🙂
Your close ups are amazing! Some bugs seem to thrive in the heat.
Thank you very much, JoAnna
Your scan from page ‘365’ is mesmerizing Derrick … the detail of buildings in the backgroung are captivating…
He really does those streets well. I imagine him touring London for source material. Thanks very much, Ivor
Truly amazing Derrick ..
These illustrations are his best yet, especially the one of Uriah Heep, which catches my idea of him to perfection.
Indeed, John. Uriah squirms delightfully. Thanks very much.
The fly-y bugs are definitely better suited for the heat than we Human-Beans are! 😉 Of course, having thousands of flowers to visit in one day they have to ignore the heat and keep working! 😀
Hope you and Jackie stay cool! (insert fan emoji) And stay cool! 😎
Such great Mr. Keeping faces! And the shapes and details in the buildings/street scene are mesmerizing!
Hmm…pepper, mustard, salt and cayenne…this should spice up any food! 🙂
(((HUGS))) 🙂
Thank you very much, Carolyn. I agree about the spicy dish 🙂 X
Such lovely flowers and their visitors.
Thanks very much, Rupali
I love Keeping’s depiction of Uriah’s “carved grin.” I hope the heat breaks for you soon.
Thanks very much, Liz. It is a very good drawing, writhing and all
You’re welcome, Derrick.
The heat seems to be keeping the flies at bay too
Yes. Thanks a lot, Sue
I adore hoverflies. Well, at least I like them a lot. They can be hard to photograph because of their tendency to hover (!) but you’ve done a fine job of it. The illustration of the young lady with the dog made me laugh. Every now and then I see a woman with one of those “purse dogs.” To each her own, I suppose, but I think they’re silly.
Yes – those dogs are a bit much. As a committee member of a large charity I once undertook staff interviews with the Director of one branch who carried one of these creatures in a basket beside her. Fortunately it kept quiet. A great illustration, though. Thanks very much Linda
Glorious flowers! We are quite worried as this summer so far we have not seen one hoverfly, nor are we seeing bumblebees whereas normally we see very many on the flowering oregano and all over the garden. So far this summer we have seen 3 bees, two butterflies, and a few bumblebees!
A similar story here, Agnes. Thanks very much
Your supper sounds delicious! We love Yorkshire pudding. I was just getting used to our heat and now our air is filled with woodsmoke from up north. With my lung conditions and allergies to wood it makes it hard to be outside. Must be awful for those up close to the fires.
I hope the fires keep away from you, AnneMarie. Thanks very much
They are six or seven hours away up in the northern forest. They won’t get a there near us but the smoke sneaks down.
I love bees in the garden. At the end of summer last year, I started seeing so wild bees among the flower shrubs and veggie garden. I hope more will be enticed come Spring.
We rarely see drawings in books now except for children’s books and very few are sketches.
Thanks very much, Chrissy. Keeping’s own children’s books are marvellous and colourful
Such a gorgeous array of garden beauties to keep the bees and others happy. Is the pretty pink and white striped flower a rose?! It’s pretty spectacular ! I read the first page of the book included here. For me, it wasn’t easy to know what the heck they’re writing about in old english style 😀 xK
Yes, that is Rosa Gallica, Kelly. The text page doesn’t always make sense out of context – I include the whole pages to demonstrate how the artist uses his space. Thanks very much