17 August 2026

 After two days of distinctly cooler temperatures, and waking in the night to occasional teasing, gentle showers of a few minutes at a time, here is the good steady rain we need at last.

Coming down on the deck, from behind the rain-spattered glass -

I had the feeling walking round the garden in the rain that every plant was grateful 

The stones become so beautiful, their colours and rings vivid as they must have been in the sea of the Hebrides -

The sedum (I think that's what it's called, or stonecrop) that I love has chosen the arrival of rain to start turning pink -

And the herbs are still doing well - most satisfyingly, the rosemary sprigs I cut from a bush in Cotignac, that travelled back to Flanders wrapped in wet paper towel, seem to have take root and are quietly flourishing -