Strawberries, gulls and the Cyclades.

First thing in the morning the town belongs to the gulls and the local dog owners. From the way the gulls strut around the streets it's clear who they think is at the top of the pecking order.

The village cows are content. They sit contentedly on the grass enjoying the sunshine. The weather forecast informs us that a heat wave is on the way. Temperatures on Friday are set to hit 26 degrees. People are told to make sure they have bottled water in store and to check up on elderly neighbours.

The strawberry farm down the road is doing a brisk business with foreign tourists. There are four German registered cars in the parking lot. Their owners are inside carefully examining the strawberry punnets in search for the best ones. The woman behind the counter says that the peak season for strawberry sales is when the English school holidays start in two weeks time. She will increase her turnover by at least half.  

Our postman has headed off to Spain for two weeks with his family. He's cannily discovered that an all inclusive package from Manchester before the English schools break up for the summer is 30% cheaper than those being offered from Glasgow. He has opted for Benidorm for the guaranteed 'sunshine'.

Last night we were greeted with a sky that would have been quite at home in the Cyclades. 

When dogs look at a human they automatically gaze to their left so they can look at the right-hand side of the face, which is the side that expresses emotions most tellingly. They don’t do this for monkeys or other dogs. “It’s just for us,” and may have evolved to gauge our emotions: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453727/how-animals-heal-us-by-griffiths-jay/9780241614358

Texas floods :https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/the-texas-flash-floods

Highway 50:https://www.insidehook.com/travel/guide-loneliest-road-america

Canada :https://scottsumner.substack.com/p/land-of-lakes