The prolonged dry weather has meant that by early September, some of our trees and bushes were looking much the worse for wear:
But more was in store - within 4 days of the rainfall, when we went for our evening stroll in the garden with Graycie the Cat (yes, we walk the cat …. or rather, she walks us), we saw a whole array of fungii, at various stages of growth - all shapes, sizes and colours. Within a further 24 hours walking around the big pond was like visiting a sculpture park in minature: we cannot resist a small photo gallery:
But the shortage of rain has been having serious effects - as we have said before, our population of bats (usually nesting in the barns) seem to have just disappeared and we are not sure whether this is because of the heat or the reduction in the amount of available food. The bird population in the garden continues to be vibrant - but their behaviour sometimes seems very erratic; certainly they make full use of all the water sources but it is food that seems to be the issue …. so we are now putting dried meal-worms in the bird feeders and this seems to be very popular and the supply needs to be replaced daily:
So, we are not sure what ‘will arrive’ in the next month or two and whether there will be a truly cold Winter: in some ways that would be positive, as it is good for the soil, breaking down the earth and killing off less welcome bugs. On the other hand, a cold Winter will call upon expensive heating supplies - we are fortunate in one sense, in that we have a ‘mixed economy’ of fuel systems: gas, electricity and wood - we are just about to take delivery of our usual 8 tonnes of wood, and we also have some stocks left as last Winter was not so cold:
Until the next BLOG Post we wish you and yours a healthy, safe close to 2022