The tomatoes are in full swing. So are the chilis and peppers in the raised beds.
Behind the door of the barn, wasps are swarming. It's a frenzy of nest-building. Their meringue-style structure swirls down the pocked stone wall and even onto the inside of the door.
I leave them alone, as they are native to France ... unlike the Asian Hornet, for which I have set a sweet trap in the fork of our pear tree.
Insect life proliferates around Ellesmere. Bees, flies, wasps, hornets, butterflies, midges ... the list goes on and on. We have so many geckos, darting across the pavers and taking refuge behind shutters.
Unfortunately the pheasants and partridges have disappeared. Large buzzards may have been responsible for the elimination of the 12 chicks that followed their mum around the garden three to four months ago. They are no more, we haven't seen them at all.
The hunting season started yesterday ... gunshots rang out around us in patches of forest.
The days are growing shorter. I observe the cycle of life with great interest and pleasure.
