The Flood

Pablo is this week’s newsletter cover star, one of our two rescue dogs who were dumped on the side of a Spanish motorway as puppies. Needless to say, he is magnificent - but I was actually trying to snap the stream behind him, because for the first time in months it was full of running water! I know the rain has been relentless recently and some people will be suffering the wrath of flooding, but after all those weeks of heat and drought over the summer, it’s such a relief to see the balance tipping back. This stream was deep with fresh rainwater - so clear and bright that I could see every blade of grass growing at the bottom.

The sky is blue this morning but I’m sure the rain will be back later. It’s my lovely husband’s birthday so I’m about to bake a banoffee cake, complete with caramelised bananas and cream cheese icing! I also planted a rosemary shrub in the chicken coop today, seeing as they’re stuck in their run for the foreseeable future due to avian flu. Apparently rosemary is a natural insecticide and can help keep the hens’ respiratory systems clear - plus it gives them something else to peck around and investigate. They’ve really settled in now! Eggs’ wing feathers are growing back nicely and the pair have established their pecking order, which means Bran Flakes actually allows Eggs to share her food… Progress!