There's something special about every month, and in June it's the long calm evenings. Last week I heard the eerie shrill of a barn owl as I went to pick slugs off the dahlias at 11:30 at night, and several guests have seen these enigmatic birds hunting the fields at dusk.

By day, the meadow is dancing with meadow brown butteflies, and the hedgerows are dappled with roses. Now I thought the difference between field and dog rose

was the colour - pink for dog rose and white for field. But apparently it's not that simple, and some wild roses are only reliably told apart when the hips form. Oh dear, I'll have to go back and look in more detail. But for now, I'll just enjoy them....