Not such a good morning. It rained all night, just once but did not stop. The sky has clouds hanging everywhere in more than 50 shades of gray and my morning did not begin so well. My first job is to empty Mr. Swiss ash tray. It is not such a bother as it is covered. I just have to take the lid off and empty the relics into a plastic bag. For the first time ever I missed the bag and emptied it onto the surrounds of the sink. Then No. 2 happened. Mr. Swiss had a half cup of cola on the side and I knocked it over: another mess to clear, but luckily also at the side of the sink. It was just not a good beginning to the morning. Of course Mr. Swiss should stop smoking, but at the age of 82 there are some things you cannot change. And as far as having a glass cola ready if you are thirsty – let us not talk about it.

In the meanwhile let us reflect on other events. Due to the wet night I spotted this snail on its way home. They seem to love wet nights. Now it has stopped raining and I am convinced it was now finding a nice crack between the stones for a warm wet relaxing session. At least it had the decency to wear a shell. It is the naked slugs I am not so keen on.

I also discovered this interesting fly yesterday sitting on my sedum in the garden. Even flies can be quite colourful

And let us not forget that today is 1st August, the Swiss national day, although the weather has dampened the fireworks and fires on the mountain sides that are our customs on this day. It might possibly dry out by the evening for the tradition of lighting fires on the mountain sides. As I am writing this the radio news is telling me that until evening it will improve, but will not be so warm. Perhaps there might be a chance to have a bar-b-que in the garden and watch a firework display. Me? No I do not think so, I am only half a Swiss and there are some things I do not bother with. No. 1 son might go into town to witness a few events.

I had a day at home yesterday, and today as well most probably. I am just getting too tired to go anywhere – some days are better than others. Have a good Sunday everyone, and a happy 1st August for the Swiss amongst us (certainly not a lot). I leave you with my buddleia flowers in the garden which also seem to be hanging their heads in the rain.

I take various photos of the morning sky. I have been doing it for the last couple of years and have quite a collection. I usually post one here, but the collection is my memory of the mornings I have seen. This time, for something different, I am posting as a beginning, the sky from yesterday evening around 8.30 pm. I have discovered that evening skies can be quite colourful. The blue background has disappeared but there are some interesting reflections of the sun as it sinks slowly in the West. This is a view of the south reflecting the sun.

Of course I also captured the morning sky – no sun yet, just clouds and a hint of blue. We had plenty of rain yesterday which I wrote about in a blog from yesterday afternoon with some photos. I was lucky. As I was leaving the local store it was quite dark and there were sounds of thunder.

However I made it home in one dry piece, although the rain drops had begun. I was lucky as when I got home I could watch the stormy showers from the window. It came and went throughout the evening but no deluge. There were other parts of Switzerland that were not so lucky and got their dose of hailstones. It seems to be the story of this years Summer. I cannot remember such a wet Summer like this.

Our neighbour’s cat, Roschti, decided to shelter on a comfortable chair outside on our porch, just as Mr. Swiss was planning to sit there. He had to move to another place, cats have priority. Here Roschti was just taking a relaxing yawn before settling down for a hour.

I was taking my usual stroll through the early morning garden and saw that the first bees were already at work. It is always wonderful to see them and good that they are still populating my garden. They also have their problems and it seems there are no longer as many as there should be. The photo is just a little blurred, but I had to snap it quickly with my mobile phone camera and get close enough.

As said I was on an excursion to the local store. I saw that my frozen supplies were not as good as they should be. My online deliveries cannot deliver frozen goods so I get them myself now and again and I also had a special rebate for them at the moment. You collect points on your purchase which means a good reduction when you get them once a month. It seems that for us golden oldies these are the highlights of the shopping experience. I noticed afterwards on my phone app that it was worth it. I would mention that they are really goods I would have bought in any case, and not just buying for the points or financial advantages. I also saw that they now have fresh green Swiss beans. It is now the season and I really prefer fresh veg to frozen. My freezer is now complete and so is my kitchen so I am all set for the next cooking experiences. Speak of that, I am planning on a meat loaf for today’s dinner so should get started on my daily chores.

Have a good Saturday everyone, avoid stress where you can and remember it is the week-end so do not overdo it with the work. I leave you with my buddleia bush which is now really doing its best for a pink showtime.

Even blue skies can get a little boring, but no. I should be satisfied that they are not damp, wet skies with rain clouds. According to the Swiss weather report we will be having enough of that at the week-end. That will dampen not only the surroundings, but the Swiss spirits. On Sunday we have our national day to commemorate the foundation of Switzerland, 1st August. It was when three Swiss guys were toasting their sausages at a fire in the middle of a field with a glass of beer, from three different Kantons in Switzerland. They thought it a good idea and decided form a country and do it every year – the birth of Switzerland? Not really, just my idea, although it was something on those lines. After last years disappointments due to Covid and keeping your distance to everyone, this year it is all allowed again, with celebrations, more or less. That means that anyone flying over Switzerland on Sunday evening might think the country is on fire, or perhaps at war. The traditional fires will be lit on the mountain tops and fireworks will be the sound track – so keep your animals at home. However it seems that nature is again mixing in and there willl be torrential rain, thunder and lightening and storms all throughout the day. It will be a wet b-b-que for the family’s celebrations. For us golden oldies it makes no big difference and No. 1 son will probably be in town hoping that not all the fireworks will suffer from the damp atmosphere, as he likes to see our local firework display.

Otherwise things continue as normal here.

A few friends of the neighbour’s cat, Roschti, called past. Unfortunately the feline delights I always have ready were not enough to eat, but they looked at me with delight in their eyes. Those cats are getting bigger it seems. Of course I took the photo from the TV screen. There is a daily half hour programme from Longleat which is one of the stately homes of England. Many years ago the family decided to turn their gardens into a safari park with various animals. They have a bit of everything, from lions and tigers, giraffes, and even koala bears. Mr. Swiss and I love watching the programme and they really have everything. It is open to the public. I have never been there myself – one of those adventures I missed out on my life in England. It seems they have one male lion and he has quite a few wives who seem to be doing most of the work and action looking after the kids.

Talking of wild life, I manage to capture the flight of the bee yesterday as it was winging its way to the food delights of my buddleia – one of the advantages of taking photos with the camera on my iPhone. There is a setting where every photo is a miniature video and you can choose the photo you want.

Yesterday was a day at home. No. 1 son left already in the afternoon for his music concert and arrived home again in the early hours of the morning. He is still sleeping in. It was really good weather for an open air concert – no rain and a clear night. I had a good restful evening as I did not bother with preparing the food for only Mr. Swiss and I. It was a serve yourself evening which made it quite relaxing. I am expecting a delivery from the store this morning for the week-end food, so I probably will not be going anywhere this week-end.

Have a good week-end everyone, may the sun shine and the rain stay away, although it will probably be raining here.