I thought that last summer was going to be a one off, but it seems this summer is going bring us lots of rain too!
Very disappointing, I enjoy walking in the rain but I was also looking forwrad to some warm weather for once. Hopefully it will clear up a bit as the summer goes on but we are already in july now...
It ABSOLUTELY poured in Essex yesterady. Unfortunately, I was out on the AstroTurf doing P.E when it started!
And there was lightning and thunder last night.
When your preferred method of transport is two wheeled and.. exposed.. it can get a bit tired..
Still, I'm sure it'll be nice once I'm back studying and returned back to the life of a hermit under a pile of books.
Could be worse though.. could be Norway.. (just wait for the gulf stream to stop)
Could be worse though.. could be Norway.. (just wait for the gulf stream to stop)
True, it does help to remember once in a while that we aren't the only country to have terrible summers 
It's been really nice weather today but I've been fooled into thinking summer has started more than once this year so I won't get my hopes up yet.
Planting up a new garden and planting 4 trees in it as well I haven't minded the rain - it's saved a lot of time with the hose!
Then again digging out the garden, pond, stream, paths, bird feeder area, rockery, herb garden etc etc has been a bit of a wet task.
i dont mind the rain one bit, never stops me getting on...HOWEVER, it does get a bit tiresome listening to the forecasters and all there optimism and excitment over 2days over 70degrees. why dont they just admit/accept that our 4 seasons our gradully leveling up to become one long season of 'average' climate. not too hot, not freezing, half rain, half sun.
sorry, i didnt mean to go off on one!
Personally I don't mind the rain too much either, although I do like to moan about it a bit whenever possible
I think that one long season of average climate seems to be what we're getting at the moment, but it sounds very boring to me. I do agree the forecasters need to calm down a bit sometimes though!
Well, after two days of good weather its gone cloudy again! This is going to be the pattern of the summer I suspect....
Today has been by far the hottest day of the year here. The sun is out, and it's actually so hot I'm almost uncomfortable. I can't complain though, I love the warm weather. If we had weather like this for the rest of the summer I would say it's been a good one.
Well, the year progresses. Night temperatures until very recently were somewhat low even when the days were fine and warm. We have had both wet periods and dry periods. Last year my lilies were ruined by the wet, but this year they were well developed before the rain arrived. Seed would not germinate this year as early as last.
But the most obvious change to me is the lack of several species of butterfly and moth which had become common in recent years. Speaking of my garden alone, we do have a lot of meadow browns, skippers and a few speckled woods but noticably missing are red admiral, painted lady, peacock and even small tortoiseshell and the whites are very few. Most striking because of its very sudden appearance 3 years ago is the equally sudden and complete disappearance this year of the cinnabar moth.
Mudskipper, that's interesting and worrying, is it just the weather causing it?
I can think of no other cause than the weather but I would assume that it would involve weather at least throughout winter. Whole generations of several species are apparently affected. As far as the cinnabar moths are concerned, we are not short of ragwort.
But I have just read on a gardening forum the words 'You may have noticed a lot of butterflies this year'. So are my observations only true of my locality?
It could just be a local fluctuation if others are seeing more butterflies than usual. I suppose we will know in the next few years whether it was a one off or if it was the start of a trend.
It's raining again here.
Re butterflies, I have just been looking at this site:
http://www.yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk/frostreport.htm
Here are two extracts:
I keep trying to be optimistic about this summer and its potential for seeing moths and butterflies. But each bit of news which reaches me persuades me that it is not to be! Last year, with all its heavy rain and floods, is now reckoned to have been the worst in 25yrs for the Lepidoptera (ie the butterflies and moths). This year shows every sign of suffering from the fewer eggs that were laid last summer as a result.
and the 2nd, writing about his trip to France:
In summary, there are very few butterflies about at all and just as in Britain, those that are flying in any numbers are the browns, particularly Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper. The reason for this is that because the butterflies are brown coloured, they can absorb the available heat better than most.