The garden has loved it. The earth is now the deep, dark brown that it turns after a thorough soaking, the sort of colour that it never quite achieves when I water with a hose pipe (probably because I feel guilty at using too much water, so never give a deep down drenching!) I don't, in fact, water flowerbeds at all - it causes plant roots to rise to the surface rather than seeking water in the deeper layers of the earth. But the pots, of which I have many, are a different matter, and dependent on me for their liquid requirements.

The pond has also filled again - it was dropping low with the warm, windy weather, but is now topped up and once again the focus of attention for numerous birds to come and splash in the evening. The summerhouse makes a perfect hiding spot for me to watch them taking their evening bath - a little event that I always feel thrilled to be able to watch unobserved.