The sun is shining, the thermometer is hovering in the high 20s and Met Office has declared a level three heatwave alert *. While MPs debate whether employers should be legally forced to provide air conditioning to combat high temperatures and commuters face delays as rail companies reduce train speeds for fear of hot rails buckling, we just get on with life.

In the fields …

The oilseed rape crop has been harvested and today the field has been cultivated, drawing in hundreds of gulls that follow the tractor and cultivator down the field. They swoop down behind the cultivator forming a long white row and then, when the tractor turns at the end of the field and comes back towards them, they lift into the air in a white mass and repeat the whole procedure.

eating …

We’re eating so many blackcurrants that our vitamin C levels must be at maximum. In an effort to prove to my sons that making meals is simple, I forced encouraged one of them to make ice cream. Not complicated egg custard ice cream, but the ‘whip up a pint of cream and add a tin of condensed milk’ variety. We swirled in a few tablespoons of blackcurrant compote and hey presto, Blackcurrant Ripple Ice Cream that has been very welcome this week.

baking …

I baked Adelaide Cakes for a visiting Wheaton relative from Kangaroo Island, which seemed appropriate.  I also discovered that replacing the raspberries in this easy loaf cake with blackcurrants makes a deliciously sharp and fruit cake, which is perfect with a cup of tea.

Printing …

Ruth runs Print Club sessions in the Barley Barn and while others crank delicate drypoint prints through the press or make detailed screen prints, I ink up a slab of jelly and randomly throw bits of foliage on top. I enjoy the simplicity of this sort of printing and the way it reflects the seasons.

In early spring I print with primrose flowers and leaves in spring colours of pale yellow and zingy greens and later, the lacy umbrella shaped flowers and fern-like leaves of cow parsley make delicate prints alongside young dead nettle leaves. At this time of year,  I use leaves from the herb garden (marjoram is particularly good) and from the ash tree and hornbeam hedge for their different shapes.

After much experimentation, I’ve finally worked out a technique for jelly printing on fabric and now just need to find some sewing projects to use it all.

Playing …

I’ve been jelly printing onto fabric strips about 22 centimetres wide, which is fine for the children’s sunhats that I’ve been making, but not so good for larger projects. With the vague thought that I might want a long length of fairly uniform fabric, which will be a bit tricky with this slightly unpredictable printing method, I’ve been playing around with some digital manipulation.

I think this could become a little addictive.

*Please don’t mock if you come from a hot climate! It’s hot for us, even if our Australian visitor described our heat as like a warm spring day.