August in the garden began with parched conditions after just 95.6mm of rain had fallen through June and July. Relief came early with 40 mm in the first 36 hours, which restored a suffering garden. Temperatures dropped to more reasonable levels and the garden and fields became delightful places to explore again. Bertha, the first of the seasons’ Atlantic crossing hurricanes was much heralded here, but turned into a damp squib with relatively low rainfall and modest winds. However, it did herald a shift to cooler showery conditions with North Westerly winds. Perfect conditions for us to nip down into the Lower Meadow with strimmer, hay rake and umbrellas for hour and a half sessions cutting back the rushes from the old ditches snaking through the meadow. This has advanced hugely from its rush mono culture of just under a year ago. Just a bit of ditch clearance to look forward to now. The third week saw several nights when temperatures nearly dropped to freezing point. Then temperatures recovered, and the theme of sunshine and mainly light showers continued to the end of the month. A pretty typical, though drier than average August for us.

Total rainfall for the month was 169.9 mm, the monthly PV record was fairly average…

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