Continuing massacre

The massacre continues. The midges are still on the loose, flying all round the kitchen in particular. Before we went away, they had just about died down. We left with clean windows & sills. After a squidging & spraying session last night I counted nearly 30 bodies on just half of one small window sill. Eating in a cloud of midges is not a pleasant thing. You can't relax as creatures dive bomb your meal/wine or into your face.

We think we've solved the question of the cause of the infestation. Last winter our council introduced a new re-cycling scheme. Now, into our green bin, we must put any food scraps, unwrapped. The result is that midges inside the bin multiply & there are always plenty around the outside eager for access to the food within. It doesn't help with the weather turning warm once more, especially when the bin hasn't been emptied for several weeks. It is only emptied on a fortnightly basis at the best of times. The last time or two when the bin was due to be emptied it has been so windy, the bins have been blown over or been swept into the roads, so we've not even dared to put them out.

We've now moved the bin a bit further from the house in the hope the problem will be eased. Much as I love the warmth, there is a bit of me that thinks roll on the winter, let it be a harsh one & kill off some of this pestilential wildlife.

On a more cheery tone, a sunflower has opened out to welcome us home. I always think they are so cheerful-looking with their sunny faces. They always make me smile. Whenever I plant the seeds the birds dig them up to eat them. So I've abandoned that idea. This is one the birds have planted themselves. The potato growing bags would not have been where we would have chosen to plant a sunflower, but as we never got around to planting any veg this year, it isn't a problem. And  this golden flower certainly brightens up a dark patch of the garden.