Phew. In kindness of heart take Beloved's ...terrier when I walk round before starting work. Can I get her back? No! Yelling etc, no good, had to fetch her eventually. Luckily she hadn't gone out of our land- I couldn't leave her in case she did thereafter. Have also discovered that if truly excited she can scrabble herself to the top of gate of back patio and get out that way, which, rather than carelessness by one or other of us leaving gate open,  explains previous mysterious escapes. She hasn't escaped lately, I daresay, because she's been too hot.  As I am now, sitting at this.

Not so hot, otherwise. Pleasant - 26C in our courtyard at moment - yesterday only up to 32 or so; maybe the same today. Wind down and coming from NE so cooler. Beloved disappears to bank at 8.30, so I have had delicious morning, pottering about, eating breakfast - strawberries, half a nectarine, yoghourt - outside with book- clearing kitchen a bit, putting on a wash. Feeling better than yesterday - some bug definitely. I didn't go out anywhere even to swim: Beloved, going on his own and running dogs thereafter, reported still more campers.

Reading Philip Roth again - Human Stain this time: terrific; am exhilarated by the vitality, verve, intellectual strength of it; (tho' I do wonder if the de-racinated crow isn't a little obvious in relation to the deracination of the chief character. Especially added to the de-racination of the French literature professor.) There's a film. Bad I understand. Pity.  But don't know how not.

Hard to explain to Beloved, who can't see it, how reading great books, listening to great music (or even not so great books/music) makes me feel more alive active operational. When I started reading in bed, he said 'But you've been reading all day!.. why do you want to read more?' Didn't even bother to explain 'because it is a great book.' He is as he is and (mostly!) altogether lovely. Still sleeping in the white room for cool. But we might return upstairs tonight.

Sun due back; summer like this I love.  Little leaves are appearing at last on my denuded citrus trees - it has taken nearly a year! (Or over a year; can't exactly remember when we got them, tho' do remember driving them back in the truck in a furious wind the leaves of the bigger - lemon - tree being blown wildy - naturally they all responded by falling off.)

It looks even as if we might get one lemon...

Enough of joys - and pains - for today. Grannyp