I've always loved peonies.  They were one of the few things that grew in our rather grimy inner-city garden in Bristol when I was a small child, but they don't grow in my current garden (even though they flourish on a piece of common land at the end of the road).  So when I saw this bunch looking very folorn, blooms tightly closed to about the size of a golf ball and brown around the edges, in the reduced bucket, I chanced that they might blossom if I took them home.   They've repaid my faith tenfold turning into huge scented flowers which are about 6 inches across and still unfurling.

 However, delicious as they smell, they are poisonous - as Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits tells in her latest post.  Fortunately, no serious harm was done, but worth remembering if you have little people around.  We're just enjoying the sight and smell of them so much, especially over the two or three rainy days we've had lately.

Inspite of the rain, we've had some wonderful evening skies:

And this is what happened when I tried to take a zoomed shot of the lights of Worcester late one evening and was dive bombed by a bat as I leant out of the window!

I love the effect which somehow makes me think of sails at sea - or is that too fanciful?

We've just had a very busy week of hospital appts, cat sitting and H's birthday, with  some more to come as the insurers have agreed the repairs to the basement (after 3 weeks of dehumidifiers humming away night and day) and that will start next Monday.  We've also coincidentally decided to have some work done on the rest of the house so it will be busy, busy here until mid-July - with a trip to the Three Counties show planned and Art in Action to look forward to.  It's also coming up to the time I must tackle the tax returns and some accounts so must get my head in gear for that (and buy a table).  Still sewing is out at present as the room is full of music and knitting seems to be on a go slow, so I've really no excuse.

Just finishing off my latest postcard for Postman's Knock - the fortnight seems to fly by.  Hope to post it off on Thursday to ensure it gets to Jill on time.   The optician has just been, again, and M is arguing with H over their advice - no change there then :-)