There has been hardly any rain since the end of April, and the beck has almost dried up.  Shocking though it may be to other parts of the UK where apparently the rain has been falling regularly, the Lake District is lacking one of its fundamental elements, water.  Derwentwater is so low, the boat to the island can't be used, and the ground is dust. 

The recently planted trees in the arboretum and the fruit garden are suffering from the lack of water.  Leaves are crisp and brown, as if autumn had come early, and the shoots are wilting.  When this happened a couple of years ago in the new woodland, the cherries changed leaf colour to lovely scarlets and yellows, then shed their leaves.  But they came back the following year, full of vigour.

Despite the lack of rain, or perhaps because of it, people coming here on holiday are having a matchless time.  Brilliant day follows brilliant day, starry night follows starry night, and the sun shines as if this was quite a different place.  Not quite the south of France, but perhaps the Loire valley.  The greens are as intense, the flowers as numerous, the views as stunning as in any wetter year.  The fish are very visible in the pool in the beck, as the water is so low and the light so good.  Clearly the heron thinks so too as he is a regular visitor to the pond. 

There is a young fox to be seen on the far side of the beck, up in the woodland.  He must know there is no risk, as he stands for several minutes looking at the humans on the other bank, quite confident.  A young hare often dashes out in the field.  It has been good to see this, as the hare family have not been very obvious this Spring.  Last year they were a constant presence.  This year they have been rare sightings.  Perhaps the drought is not kind to hares.

The beehive is awaited.  They like the sun so the siting of the hive is very important.  The man who loves bees is bringing the hive and the swarm, and the honey is shared out between the bee keeper and the landowner.  Bees are very important to food production, and they should live well up among the wildflower meadows round the pond.  Let's see how much honey they can make.

This evening the first drops of drizzly rain are falling, and the long spell of summer weather may be drawing to a close.  It will be strange to wake up and not draw the curtains to a sunny morning every day.

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