Thursday 2 July 2015

Just in time.

Yes, the farmer's intuition was correct and the hay which turned into silage was gathered in just in time.   All afternoon black clouds lurked round the horizon and he could hear faint rumbles of thunder (I couldn't as the sound was not loud enough to penetrate my hearing aid).  At about half past six it came - here it was just one flash of lightning and around five minutes of rain (measuring only 1mm), but at my son's house, half a mile away, there was a downpour and large lumps of ice fell from the sky - so large that he feared they would damage the roof of his car.

It was still very hot when we went to bed and I rather thought that a crash of thunder had woken me up at half past midnight.  I got up and went into the back bedroom and the sky was filled with amazing flashes of lightning - seven or eight  all at once and all over the sky.  We went back to sleep but this morning the lane was wet and the garden had obviously had rain.   The rain gauge showed we had had another seven millimetres - so another storm in the night then.   It is still hot this morning   We are just not used to this kind of weather are we?

Tess is spending her time laid on the utility room's stone floor - back legs splayed out so that her tummy lies along the cool surface.   Must say I rather feel like doing the same myself. 

The farmer has just brought in the first three sprigs of our sweet peas.   Just to show you lot further South (and in France, Cro) how late our garden is up here in the (usually) cold North.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought of you this morning when I heard Yorkshire had had golf ball sized hail stones yesterday. Glad all was gathered in OK. Pop lies like that on the floor too, with the pads on her back paws upwards. She looks so sweet. I did have a giggle at the mental image of you following suit :o)

jinxxxygirl said...

I just woke up this morning and i think it is the warmest morning of the season...uuughh... thunderstorms expected for the next several days.... I've decided the wind does not blow in Arkansas.... if it does its way up in the trees and does not blow in my windows....uuuughhh.....The squirrels around here have been lying on their bellies on the concrete to keep cool while at the same time stuffing themselves with feed i put out... I have given them a nickname you'll have to come by later and see when i make a new post... :) Stay Cool Weaver... Hugs! deb

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I saw flashes of lightning in the distance last night, but nothing came our way. A weather front has evidently come over however as it is cooler and fresher today.

Cro Magnon said...

Very hot here. Night-times are spent with all windows open, and NOTHING on the bed..... even then...

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Pat,
I have, indeed, in the past come out to the living room in the middle of the night and laid down on the tile floor. Your beautiful sweet peas are the very essence of delicacy. Sitting on the patio here with a cup of coffee. Josephine running after squirrels in a light shower.
:) m & jb

Linda Metcalf said...

Here in SE Kansas we had lightning circle our little town all night as it lit the bedroom. And a forty percent chance of rain this afternoon...this has been a very rainy Spring and Summer so far.

donna baker said...

Oh sweetpeas. Why have I never grown them? Must need cool temps.

Mac n' Janet said...

Looks like the really hot weather we had in June has moved on to you. Love Sweet peas, they just won't grow for me.

Heather said...

Your sweet peas are beautiful and way ahead of mine. I have grown them from seed and feel like cheating and replacing them with well grown plants!
It's amazing how localised our weather systems can be. We have had rain today, thank goodness, but no thunder storms. I hope the weekend will be fine for our local Carnival on Saturday.
Glad the farmer got the hay gathered in before the weather changed.
Cats and dogs always seem to find the coolest/warmest places for comfort.

angryparsnip said...

I love the Sweet Peas.
Yours are so beautiful.

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

Beautiful sweet peas!
The cat makes use of all cool floors to dissipate heat, but the dog prefers her cozy bed year round.

The Weaver of Grass said...

To add to the storm - our local nursery had an estimated eight hundred panes of glass broken in their greenhouses as a result of the storm and two houses in the North East of England burned down. Quite a night one way or another and more storms forecast for tonight.
Thanks for visiting.

Barbara said...

I love your sweet peas! They're just beautiful. I've never had much luck with them myself. I must admit flowers suffer from terrible neglect since our girls left home.
Your weather sounds very much like what we had last week. So hot and unsettled and lots of "fireworks at night---I hate storms at night. I'm so very sorry to read of the loss at the nursery and the house fires. I will be praying for your safety this evening!

Elizabeth said...

Gorgeous sweet peas!
Must ne rather exciting to have a very hot summer!

Bovey Belle said...

Lovely sweet peas. Mine have just started flowering too. At one point I gave up all hope of them reaching beyond 2" high! I'm glad that the harvest was saved in good time as those storms sound pretty nasty. Keep safe and cool. This is the one time we appreciate having very thick walls as the house stays cool and we are even able to have a summer duvet on the bed!

The History Anorak said...

Love those sweet peas!