Rain we've had, sun we haven't. Managed to cut the lawns yesterday, the
first time for over a month it hasn't rained for three days straight. And
even then the mower kept clogging up all the time. And it did my back in,
though a little(?) hedge trimming was probably more to blame.

As for the blackberries, well. Normally I'll sit on the bank by the stream
gorging myself on them while the dog gets on with what dogs do best. None of
that this year; the grass has been too wet! I've asked around to find out
whose been nicking them all, but no one has had any at all. First year for
yonks we've had no blackberries - scandal. And chatting with the local
allotmenteers, they can't give away their runner beans, they are inundated
with the damn things. I froze a gift of 5lb last night, on top of 3lb last
weekend, with more promised next week. I'll run out of freezer space soon.
That must have been the fine weather we had earlier in the year (remember
the promise of a long hot summer? Who said that?), and the rain over the
last few weeks.

Still, it was a nice dry warm day today for a change, and last week's winds
didn't do too much damage in the recently cleared up woodland. Roll on
winter, and then we can have a moan about it. Last winter's temperatures
killed off my Passion Flowers; see what this year's will kill off.

jim, Northampton