Still no rain

Still no rain.

A combination of low water levels and erosion has meant that the island in the middle of the pond has almost disappeared and this is the first time for years that a wild duck hasn’t nested on it.

At the Essex Young Farmers Show on Sunday, the main topic of conversation wherever we went was the lack of rain. The newly planted Christmas trees are dying, the flowers on the beans are really low on the stalk, which means they will be difficult to combine and the yield from our wheat crop is predicted to be cut by half. Across the area, farmers who have forward sold their crops are buying themselves out of contracts as they won’t be able to produce enough grain to fulfil them and those who have expensive storage agreements with large co-operative grain stores will have charges to pay even if they have little to put in.

And today there is a burst water pipe down the road so we have no mains water either.

All a bit doom and gloom.

But at least we aren’t being showered with volcanic ash cloud.