Kitchen Garden Forum

Piglet told himself that never in all his life, and he was goodness knows how old - three was it, or four? - never had he seen so much rain. Days and days and days.



Well, I'm not flooded like the poor people of Fishlake but it seems every day in December has seen rain at some point here in the western edge of Hertfordshire.

My rain gauge is about to overflow .......again!

And ironically I have a chum who emigrated to Australia last year to be nearer to family who wrote said they would all give their right arms for our torrential weather because the bush fires burning not too far from them, as well and the unbearably hot temperwtures of 40 degrees , are making life miserable, as well as fearfully worrying. They are living with emergency cases packed in their cars in case their homes have to be evacuated.

When I read that, I decided that our heavy rain, however miserable, is a better option !

I'd go for rain every time over bush fires. Lived out back in my youth & they came - not from human interaction like now, but a lightening strike, but maybe the occasional fag thrown out of a car window! Trouble is our trees are full of oil & need to burn to regenerate! Not the best combination in a dry country! Funnily excessive rain caused us more bother as we had a barrier around the town of no Eucalyptus trees but the Warrego River flowed right through the middle. My fondest memory as a child is being on my granddads shoulders as he took me to school up to his waist in water for most of the journey!

I've had a well hot Xmas as well 40 degrees - problem was it was the year I decided to try a Turkey rather than cold ham & prawns! I had to ban people from sitting in the wheelie bin to cool off - it was the beer store after all!

I haver never lost as much time off work, as I have this year.
Some friends of mine arrived in Australia Wednesday...said it was rather warm...

I bet the Australians would give good money for our rain at the moment.

When my OH was dry stone walling he worked with a young Australian for a time who LOVED working in the rain - so different from his home experience.
Actually, we have not been too badly off up here with the rain. It's more a case of 'no-weather" - no rain, no sun, no wind, just grey in grey, but don't forget: the days will be getting longer again soon, at least in the afternoon for a start!
We met our newborn great-grandchild number 4 this morning, a little Annie, and THAT did bring some sunshine into day!

Warnings across a lot of England.

Well, it's not grim up north today - the sun is shining.

Nor here,

...

yet!

Meanwhile, in "wet Wales", just the one warning, and that's for the Wye at Monmouth (undefended areas only), and that's pretty much in England anyway!
Apart from that, just four "alerts".

The water table is back up here now, after the dry Summer....so there is some standing water over the allotment and we are high up.

Loads of flood warnings down here. Both the Avon & Stour have broken their banks, the Avon is all over the farm land & bog each side by a few feet, but luckily it is just empty land even if only 1 block back from the High St it has never been built on for this particular reason. The quay at Mudeford below where both rivers empty is brownish & the car park & the green are flooded there but the flood gates are all closed further down where the shops & cafes are.

Lottie had laying water on Friday but since then we have had last night & most of today & now raining again until early morning, including one hell of a hail storm in the mix, so I will be playing in the shed & tunnel. Luckily lots to do in both, but on the positive have 3 days looking OK for it to dry out. The butts in the open better be full or I will be looking for leaks! No way can they not have filled with their lids off!

And it still comes down. If it is moderately dry diring the day it comes down heavily at night as it is now.
I have no justification in being miserable, I'm very fortunate, but the weather really is getting me down.

The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust hath the just's umbrella.