The drought continues..

 Since drought was officially declared hardly a day has passed that it hasn't rained. This is good news for many reasons.  Everywhere the grass is growing - on our favourite hunting ground the Bestest Gundog in all the World is almost impossible to see half the time (good for dog maybe, not so good for his  boss!).

In the orchard the apples are filling and ripening; the cooler weather has led to many of the smaller fruits dropping already but those that are left should be more than enough to keep us and the pigs and the ponies going well into the winter. A bumper crop of gooseberries means we'll have gooseberry and mint jelly with (possibly all!) the game this winter and we may well tire of gooseberry fool before the week is out! And the loganberries will be ready for making into jam next week - a fortnight or more earlier than in any previous year.

Meanwile in the rose garden, although some of the earlier blooms are past their best, the Rambling Rector is more than living up to its name and is well on the way to taking over the whole estate! Its supporting arch has been reinforced and some of the windswept branches have been trimmed back but still it grows from strength to strength. 

Of course, the farmers still say the rain is too late to rectify the damage the drought has already caused and - needless to add - prices will rocket as the year goes on. No doubt we will also learn that the drought which stopped the grass growing in time to make hay was not half as bad as the rain which never stopped falling as soon as it was time to start cutting. Unless of course the drought continues, in which case there will be no hay either way.
(Goodness, sounds like I been living in the country too long........?????)