A wet end to August.

Although I'm sure if you're over on holiday it's not welcome rain,  but it's much needed especially for the reservoirs - the water levels are very very low.  At the end of July, the levels had 40% less water than the same time 2015 and classified as emergency levels. There is more information here on the Seaside Gazette magazine.  We were woken by thunder, lightning and rain at 2.30 early hours of Monday morning,  rain and thunder rumbled round yesterday plus 2 hail storms,  the second of which was very noisy and they were more like ice chips than little round balls.

The agave flower spike that I added photos of last time,  has now started to lean and sway in the breeze.  From it's base though have appeared a few odd off-shoots,  one of which is blooming.  Very odd.

A few weeks ago,  maybe longer,  a neighbours cat produced 4 kittens which were very shy but now come out to play when we walk past.   Mum is a tabby cat,  her kittens are not.  1 is totally black,  2 are tabby,  and 1 is mink coloured,  a silvery pale fur with beautiful blue eyes.  Almost Siamese.

Cute, me?  We call her Minky.

Tabby 1

Minky playing with Pip's lead

They are happy where they are,  don't follow us home,  but we usually see a couple of them in the morning. 

Our pear tree is a very early fruiter,  we have usually  finished picking by the middle of June unlike our neighbour's tree which is a different variety and is ready in August.  And by the middle of August our tree thinks it's Autumn and is changing colour and dropping it's leaves.

August is also the time for figs,  and also the blackberries which seem early this year.  Maybe to do with the lack of rain / hot summer.... who knows.

The thunder is off again,  rumbling all around us,  but only a light drizzle at the moment.
Definitely not holiday weather!

Just about to publish this blog when a humungous clap of thunder overhead nearly made me fall off my stool and now we have a downpour out there.  No need to water the garden this week!