It's a hot one today.

Up and out at five this morning while it was still fresh. The grass seeds growing along the field boundaries are beginning to dry out and fall to the ground. Unfortunately, their sharp points get caught in the boyz fur when they go charging across the fields and can work their way painfully into the skin or ears. This is a reminder to us that we are now well and truly at that time of the year where the two boyz need a finger tip check after a walk to make sure they don't have any seeds that have got caught between their paws or behind their ears.The joys of long haired dogs.Thankfully, the sheep are grazing at the foot of the hill so ticks aren't much of a problem.

The temperature is set to rise to 36 today ( mid 90's) and we're still in May - what is August going to be like? Up in the local bar the hotel and guest house owners have woken up to the fact that their bookings from foreigners are way, way down from last years levels. One guest house has just added twenty new rooms and only has three reservations from overseas for mid July through mid August. Thankfully, the absence of foreigners is being compensated for by a rise in demand from Italians who are saving money by vacationing at home. The problem for the hotel owners is that locals are much more cost conscious , and prone to haggle, than the high margin Dutch and Brits.