Guess what I woke up to this morning? Dampness. I pulled back the curtains to see that the garden path was wet….well a tiny bit damp. The drought is over!! Yeah right. My weather station measured 0.4mm of precipitation. I suppose it’s better than nothing, but not really. Late risers will not even have known that there had been any rain, because as I begin typing this at 08.15 the sun is now shining and there is a stiff breeze, so there is not of sign of my earlier dampness, and that’s about it, though the Met Office is showing the possibility of 15 minutes of showers from about 09.30….I can’t wait, but I don’t think that I will bother bringing the washing in from the line. And if you didn’t already know, this week we are going to have another heatwave (rolls his eyes and twitches involuntarily). Still, we are getting used to them now, and at least the overnight temperatures are not forecast to be as high as in the previous ones, so we might be able to sleep.

I’m glad that I featured my family of geese in last week’s blog, because on Monday they departed. It was a sad occasion for me, as I had become very attached to the gaggle, but it’s what they do, so I wish them good fortune and hopefully a safe return next year. In the morning I saw them come over the garden amidst much excited honking, the test flight was fairly short and noisy, and to my relief I watched them land safely in one of the paddocks. It was possibly the first time that the goslings had flown, but they have to learn quickly, because later that day they had gone! It has been a privilege to have observed them over the past few months, and to have shared some time (and bird seed) with them, bon voyage.

You have probably picked up on the fact that I am a real soft touch with my visiting wildlife, and because I encourage it to share my space I have to accept the consequences of my actions. I have a group of pheasants that have become extremely domesticated. They come running when I arrive in the morning, and return on multiple occasions throughout the day to request a handful of grain, sometimes coming in to the potting shed to remind me. They also make the most of the polytunnel to take a dust bath, often during the hottest part of the day – I didn’t say that they were blessed with much common sense. But, and here’s the rub, while they are in there they also help themselves to any low hanging ripe tomatoes, so I have to wait until the trusses  ripen higher up the plant out of beaks way before being able to harvest them. The loss amounts to multiple kilos of fruit, and whilst it’s a bit annoying I accept that I have created the monster, so it’s a price I am willing to pay. In this summer’s weather the doors of the tunnel have to be left open to prevent overheating, so there’s not much that I can do to prevent them from gaining access. Because of my generosity to them they probably think that the toms are grown specially for them!

Sometimes the place (Moyns Park) puts me in mind of the Serengeti – I’m clearly stretching a point here for dramatic affect, but from a wildlife point of view there’s often a lot going on. Most days there are at least a couple of hares crouching in the small paddocks in front of my shed, then there are fallow deer out in the parkland, a glimpse of a fox disappearing into the undergrowth, but as I left to do my local deliveries on Thursday I had to chuckle. There is a large old Mulberry tree on the grass in front of the thatched stables, and at the moment it is laden with fruit. Well the Muntjacs are partial to the swollen juicy berries and graze beneath tree on the fallen fruit. As I got into my van one of the Muntjacs arrived from the left and trotted towards the tree, at the same time an adolescent badger entered stage right and galloped across the grass at high speed crossing the path of the deer, heading for the bank where its sett is. It was a bit like a Red Arrows flypast.

In the shop this week there are some red peppers from the greenhouse. They are very limited in number, so I will restrict them to one per customer and it will be on a first come first served basis. The cucumbers are also very limited at the moment, the weather has taken its toll and the plants have really slowed down. There is a small batch of new ones coming on, but they are not yet producing many cukes, so they will be in short supply. I have harvested well over 400 cucumbers thus far, so I can’t complain too much. There are a few red things on the shelves this week aside from the peppers, there is also red kale, red onions and red cabbage. In addition there will be some small cauliflowers and French beans. The runner beans are full of flowers but are still struggling to set beans. it seems that most growers are experiencing the same with this crop this growing season. There are Verdelli green lemons and Navelina oranges, but no apples this week. Potatoes are the waxy Charlotte salad spud, and the all-rounder Orla.

It’s now well past 9.30 and the rain didn’t arrive, so I think that we are back in a state of drought. Use your (shared) bath water to water your plants, don’t wash your car or house windows, and put a brick in your toilet cistern for a shorter flush, then cuss under your breath (or out loud) when you see water running down the roads from yet another burst pipe. Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.

Have a lovely week

Phil