Lavender seems to grow really well in my dry, chalky soil and as a result I've planted quite a lot of it now. This year I decided I'd have a go at harvesting and drying some of it. I found a really good blog post on when to harvest the flowers, although I think I've actually still cut them slightly early.

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While I was out in the garden over the weekend I came across this little chap:

Looks just like the bad guys in 'A Bug's Life', huh? Of course, when I say little, it was actually rather larger than the size of grasshopper I'm used to seeing in the garden.

I'd say an inch and a half long maybe? Pretty chunky, really. Now I'm wondering what it's been eating to reach that size, and exactly what it thinks it will be eating from here on in? In other words, is this friend or foe? Will it eat other pest-type-things, or munch my lovely plants? All I remember from 'A Bug's Life' is them nicking the ants stores of food!

More research needed... It certainly posed for long enough.

I finally got around to finishing the socks I started ages ago!

See, the socks themselves were really straightforward, but those toes got a bit fiddly...

A closer look. A little like gloves, getting the joins between toes without holes was difficult, and I've got to say I cheated a bit by stitching up some of them afterwards when I sewed in the ends. The yarn is Knit Picks Imagination in a colourway called munchkin!

To be honest, although the yarn is beautifully soft there's a really noticeable difference between the two balls. And having worn them today, the fabric is a little thick even for between my toes (which do naturally have gaps between them anyway!). The reviews of the yarn on Ravelry suggest that they will felt really easily, which is a worry. Guess I'll find out! I think I might keep them for lazy winter weekends with slippers. Chalk them up as an interesting experiment, but I probably won't be churning out loads of them!

Last Friday was a good day for riding. Hot, hardly any wind, but that wasn't why!

On the way into work, I pulled up at the lights in Rottingdean as normal and someone else pulled up along side. I mostly ignore other people, but the guy commented on my bike. I'm riding my Long Haul Trucker now (must blog that!!), and Surly's aren't that common over here. It was a guy who I've seen off and on around there for the last year, year and a half maybe, always on a bike (Surly Big Dummy normally, great for cargo and passengers) normally with 2 kids, one on the back and one in a trailer. Last Friday he didn't have the kids with him, and he was on a single-speed instead. Made him quite a lot faster, if I'm honest!

He chatted to me the rest of the way along the undercliff (I was struggling with keeping up, so not sure I made much sense back!) and it turns out that he works for Sustrans. And that although the undercliff is supposed to be offlimits to bikes (which is silly, it's the best bikelane Brighton has) as long as you're using it to commute apparently there's a really old rule that means you're ok on it. And that my new bike is quite noticeable to those who know bikes, and parking it on a very visible corner in the middle of Brighton gets it noticed quite a lot!

I love the random conversations you can have on the way in. Not every day, obviously. But just occasionally.

Then in the evening I took a look at the weather and decided the beach way home would be nasty. Such a hot, sunny Friday night, everyone and their dog would be down there, and the cycle lane is not a lot of fun when that happens. So I switched routes. I crawled up Elm Grove (1 mile, 7% climb, buses, parked cars all the way up the side, nasty) all for the payback of using the route across the back of Woodingdean. It's either a byway or a bridlepath I think, definitely as offroad as I get.

As you can see, no people up here. This is quite a smooth bit, there's lots of ruts and flint lumps in it, quite fun riding, particularly on a bike with a rack and pannier on the back! The scenery is so totally different from the coastal route I normally use.

Not bad really. And unlike the road up here, this stays more or less level the whole way, comes out at the top of Woodingdean and gives me just a big downhill home. Makes up for that long, slow, drag up Elm Grove anyway!

Last weekend my red and white currants ripened. I was a bit worried about the blackbird discovering the red ones - they look so jewel-like, and that poor little plant has really struggled since I planted it there and this year had a semi-respectable amount of fruit on it! So I had to get there first. 

That there is 500g of fruit. I know the white currant has far out-performed the red, but it's a much happier-looking plant! Still, what to do with 500g of currants? Make a mixed-currant jelly, of course!

I got the River Cottage Handbook No.2 - Preserves for Christmas last year (I think - might have been birthday - sorry!) so I went with the recipe for red currant jelly. I was tempted to make the currant shrub instead, but maybe next year.

I strained my currants after boiling them using this nifty little straining setup I found on my lunch hour, and then it was just (ha!) a case of boiling the juice with sugar until the setting point was reached. I didn't get a huge amount, I'll admit. Just the one jar. And did it set?

We'll find out when we open it!