Life with Rick & his humans

  Wow—it’s been very hot here in the UK over the last few days! So, Rick’s daily walking routine has been tweaked a bit. He now heads out very early in the morning and again late in the evening. I’m not sure he entirely approves—he does love his routines—but needs must in this heat. Gardening chores now have to be done before coffee because it’s simply too hot after that. I try to grow as much of our own veg and salad crops as possible in summer. Last year’s courgettes were a bit of a disappointment, so I planted a few extras this time around. Well... they’ve gone into overdrive! We’re now playing a daily game of courgette Jenga . I either need some excellent courgette recipes—or a lot of friends willing to adopt some! Meanwhile, today was the big day for our kitchen radiator upgrade. We’d decided to swap out the old one for a stylish anthracite cast iron model. The young plumber arrived bang on time, and I showed him exactly where we wanted it. I’d even carefully marked the flo...

  Back home and back to the familiar routines. Of course, in true British fashion, we’re being thoroughly dramatic about the weather. Yes, we’re having a heatwave—but honestly, the news coverage makes it sound like we have never seen the sun in Lincolnshire. I mean, thank goodness for the helpful experts reminding us to sit in the shade and drink water . Who knew? Still, we made the most of the sunshine with a quick spin on the bikes. It had to be a short one—we had a busy day ahead—but we stuck to our usual loop out to Waddington, with a little extension for good measure. This took us down a narrow lane flanked by unusually wide verges. So wide, in fact, that the farmer had mown them for hay. Clearly, this was irresistible to a mother sheep and her two lambs, who had taken the opportunity to stage a breakout from the flock and were happily munching away at the roadside buffet. We spotted them up ahead and slowed down. Surely we could just pass quietly and carry on? Of course ...