Took our bicycles to a nearby monastery ruin today. It was about 21 kilometers each way, so almost the same length as when I cycle to work. Wanted to show Husband how I could just sail up the hills on my e-bike and didn't quite manage to sail. There were two places where the hill was definitely steeper than the big one I usually sail up on the way to work. Never used the third gear on this bicycle before. Guys, I had to work! Coming down again was wild. Bicycle computer tells me I set a new top speed of 55.8 km/h, and that was still while holding the brakes a bit.

The monastery was founded in 1172 and was disbanded shortly after the reformation, but the monks were allowed to stay until 1560. After that the king took possession of it, used it for going hunting in the area for a year or two and eventually had it torn down to use the building materials elsewhere. These outlines of the buildings are all that's left now.

There was also a little garden where the medicinal plants the monks would have used were growing, many of them very poisonous. Some of those were 'relic plants', meaning they were plants that were directly descended from the plants the monks put there. Not sure how they would have been able to tell. I imagine something along the lines of 'no way that would have grown there otherwise'.

We saw so many different butterflies and bees and an ENORMOUS fly that was so large we honestly thought it was a bee. Never seen that before.

Now inspiration has struck and there may well be some digging in my future. I would like to make a new bed in the garden and fill it up with native plants for pollinators. We let the lawn go wild on purpose a few years ago and these days Husband just keeps some paths mown and then strim the lot once a year. So we have no issue with finding the room. It's just a question of picking a spot and start digging it up. I discovered a place where I've bought plants before does a whole finished bed package where you get a pre-set mixture of plants for 5 or 10 square meters and a suggestion plan for how to plant them to ensure you don't accidentally wind up putting all the low growing ones in teh middle surrounded by tall ones. Because, let's be honest, that's what would happen to me otherwise. And it's not even all that expensive compared with picking out the plants yourself. Of course it's sold out at the moment, but surely it will come back.