After one of the wettest summers on record, the last week in august has produced the only hint of summer weather we have had this year. Although the nights are getting shorter now and rather cool, the days were warm and sunny with temperatures getting up to 24ºc for a whole week. A great cause for celebration in these parts. The neighbourhood took on a whole new lease of life as the depressed look on people's faces changed to a pleasant smile. Garden furniture was quickly assembled, and lawnmowers were dragged from amid the jumble in the garden sheds and could be here from all directions. Neighbour vied with neighbour to be the first to have the lawn cut and the edges trimmed, and a chance to relax in the deckchairs, or maybe even light the barbecue, for those who were brave enough or even remembered how.
The Birds started to sing as if in a chorus of thanksgiving for the long lost sunshine.Bees appeared in there hundreds to collect the precious nectar of life that would hopefully see them, or their offspring through the long winter ahead.
Flowers that were sulking all season got a new lease of life as they turned their heads gracefully to follow the precious rays of warm sunlight. Hooverflies preformed their usual Arial acrobatic tricks, and the aphids which the dull weather did not deter in any way, reproduced at an even faster rate than before, just to show that they too appreciated the sunshine.
The garden hose had to be taken out of storage to perform its usual function, as pots dried out for the first time this season. Hanging baskets that were looking a bit sorry for themselves for weeks, suddenly woke up and produced flowers in abundance like never before, and demanded food and drink like some wellheeled celebrity.
Butterflies appeared as if by the wave of some magical wand, and spread their mantle of beautiful colours over their favorite plants, this time variegated Pelargoniums , and the resulting caterpillars devastated everything in sight. All the usual concoctions were tried to no avail, even leaf by leaf inspection failed to eradicate the little blighters. (They hide somewhere when they hear you coming) Now some of the plants have a beautiful tracery of midribs, with a see-through membrane for leaves.
