Monday 17th August 2026

I have looked through my blogs, and I am pretty certain that the last time it rained was on the 11th June.

I mention this as the colour of Kent, England and most of western Europe is burnt brown.

And on Sunday night, actual rain was forecast.

I got up at two to use the bathroom, and as I climbed back into bed, I could hear the large raindrops banging down on the carport roof.

It only last ten minutes, but I am pretty sure that it rained again before dawn. So when we got up, the ground was still damp, but drying out quickly, so I thought I had better take shots to record the fact.

Obviously, its not enough. We need weeks and months of rain, even then it will be too late for many plant species and insects that rely on them.

A long delayed task was to paint the outside sills of the living room and front and side bedrooms.

So, me being a man of action now, I would get all DIYy.

I had to get the fungicide solution, then the masonry paint. But I was getting ahead of myself.

First, the lichen.

Its not that we don't like it, we do. But the dirty sills spoil the house, so I would fix that.

I got a brush, a container for the solution, then got scrubbing, and managed to get as much over me as on the sills.

But after an hours or so, it looked better. So I did the two lower ones again, then got some clean water to get the excess off.

I would paint on the morrow.

Having done some actual work, it turned out that we both didn't feel inclined to do much more. The sun dried out the ground, and you wouldn't have know there'd ever been rain.

There might be more wet stuff later in the week. Maybe thunder too. We shall see.

Jools went to Canterbury, so leaving me behind to do the DIY, then sit in the garden with Mulder and Scully, as the day warmed up, until it warmed up too much to sit outside.

Jools returned at lunchtime, so we had chicken salad and a beer.

Which wasn't very clever. So we had to try to stay awake through the afternoon and into the early evening.

Jools and Jen's plans to go to Oz next year are well advanced, and Jools' good planning getting alternative quotes has already saved them £1500.

My plans for my trip to Perth are at an early stage, but I am dazzled on a daily basis by shots in the West Australia orchid group on Faceache.

For the evening there was football. Welsh football. Cardiff v Wrexham, which ended an entertaining 1-1 draw.

There's lovely.