Emz by the Thames

We've just lost the sun here,

Weather forced us off out hilltop allotment as the wind and rain made doing gardening annoying! So we went to various garden centres and every one had pots blown over - especially fruit trees and other leafy things.. Not all bad though, ended up having a nice cuppa and listening to Lloyd Cole singing live (at Rewind Fest over the river!) . Thankfully tomorrow is looking better. Amazing how fast the evening goes now - we've put in two hours at the allotment each evening this last week - at 6.20pm it's sunny and hot, by 8.20 - darkness stops work! I love autumn but the shortening days are a shock to the system.

A week ago I said that I was still filling up the bird feeder as it was crazy busy...a week later and it's deserted! Apart from a woodpecker (who usuallyonly comes to the fat block feeder I put out in Jan/Feb) and the collard doves chasing off their many babies, it's very quiet now. Another observation I have noticed is acorns. In recent years, oak trees in our park have hardly produced any acorns because of the gall wasps taking them over - this year however, huge number of acorns.

Very warm yet very windy - not a combo you often see inland! Keeping an eye on those models...another heatwave from next weekend maybe?

That's interesting. My gran always used to say that 'the animals know' what kind of winter it is going to be. I'd tried to test this theory but my results have been all over the place! In the 7 years we have lived in this flat, we have noticed that the squirrels who live in the tree outside.are always building/rebuilding winter dreys on the 28th of August. Daylight amounts hitting the retina tells squirrels what to do - and winter dreys need to be woven when the tree is still in full leaf as the compacted dried leaf is needed for insulation. So the amount of daylight diminishing tells them to get busy building. That's out theory anyway, could be wrong! It's a lovely autumn harbinger, though.

I know, that's what I find so odd. Even my Dad's girlfriend who lives a few miles away says the birds haven't abandoned her bird table in the summer like they usually do. I'm still finding discarded egg shell about so I don't know if it's lack of insects - or birds fitting in as many broods as possible this year. Can't explain it!

I don't know if it's just me - but I've never seen the birds so hungry in August. At this time of year, I am only filling up the birdfeeder twice a week, at the moment I'm filing it up every 36 hours. Not only that but the rowan berries have just turned orange and so many different species of birds are fighting each other over the crop. I know they are moulting and need food, but August is usually a really quiet time for birds here and yet they are decimating the food like it's a freezing winter morning.

August already! Actually looking forward to the rain tonight as everywhere looks like it needs a bit of a soaking. Getting darker earlier is much more noticeable now. Last few evenings I've found myself flicking on a lamp and looking out the window to see if there are clouds coming over at about 8.30/9pm...but then realising it's simply getting dark. When I was younger, I always went to Reading Festival - and when I came back, the way the sunlight falls is always 'different' as the sun isn't so high and you get this beautiful lazy, golden light. I still notice it now in the closing days of August. Glad to hear everyone's crops are doing ok. We officially take ownership of our allotment today. As you can see it currently has a nice crop of weeds and filing cabinet parts!! Funny how your interest in the weather intensifies once you have a plot to keep! Currently wondering if a concealed weather station on my plot is viable. Has anyone ever made their own weather vane?

Unbelievably...me too. I love it hot but from work to DIY and now the allotment...I'm fed up of physical stuff being so taxing and collapsing in an overheated heap every hour. Every time I look at the indoors temperature it's always 26/2728.c despite fans and open windows. Feeling quite dark and airless here.

What a beautiful day. Council rang on Wednesday and by this afternoon we were helping an elderly lady clear her allotment so we could start renting it next weekend! Never expected to get an allotment this quick - it is in a bit of a state, though. It's going to take some work. Already got a tan. Oh lucky man. I'd love to be a gardener.

If you can imagine Jabba the Hutt make out of meringue, that's what I can see out of the window right now (to my south). (Remind me to learn properly how to put photographs on NW forums, it's failed the past few times) Edit: to my west now also - going straight up like rocket.

Yellow warnings for some S/E places: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings/#?tab=warnings&regionName=se&fcTime=1469142000 Feels muggy out here already.

29.c according to my (unreliable) weather station. Cauliflowers going up to my south and east. Interesting.

Yellow warning for some places in the S/E: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings/#?tab=warnings&regionName=se&fcTime=1468969200

Went to bed and it was 24.4c outside, woke up at 6am and it was 22.c. Just come out into the daylight to find it's muggy, overcast and the clouds in the w/sw look dark, wasn't expecting this.

26.c indoors here and the fan in the office is doing nothing. What's the point!! Just topped 30c outside and it feels a little uncomfortable, I'm drinking water but I just feel lethargy and find it hard to concentrate. I went to school in 100f plus as a kid daily so I feel like a wimp when I complain about these sort of temps now. I wish I was a man in hot weather...I'm sure I'd be able to hold more water, my partner is like a camel - he can drink like a fish - pints (water or beer) but I can't drink a couple of pints of water, I'd burst!

Forgot how much I love the smell of sun tan lotion - glorious!! Shame we're out of the thundery breakdown zone - but still so glad we've got this weather - it's great for us veg growers!!

Thanks for the link, interesting. I'm sure I read someone on Twitter joking with meteorologist about the freezing winter ahead. I've known courgettes go mushy when the balance on sun and rain isn't right. My pumpkin flowers are over-run with ants at the moment..really not holding out hope for any pumpkins this year. Yet another sunny morning is cloudy by lunchtime. Gutted Sundays is looking humid and cloudy rather than sunny now. And now it's raining....

Allotments are a shifty business in my town and they get closed and developed, so I applied for one in a nearby village a 10 minute bike ride away. Because most people in the village already have gardens, the allotments have a short waiting list, so I might be invited to view this October! I'm pleased to hear lassie's courgettes are doing ok - but my vine pumpkins are really slow this year. In the heat of 2013 I grew s 36kg pumpkin at my Dad's old garden - if there is one thing I know about the squash family is they love sunshine. I wonder how the commercial growers are doing? Back to the weather and this week has been so annoying. the flip flop-ing of the charts mean I have change my plans for the weekend about 5 times and even cancelled a hotel booking. Sunday is looking reasonable - but that will probably change again tomorrow!! Wonder what this winter will be like?

I hope so! I'm looking forward to being outside a lot more. Might even be allowed a weather station on the shed, who knows! (management of my flats told me I couldn't have one!) Although my tiny garden loved the rain, I'd rather be traipsing up and down the stairs and have the opportuney to go to the park and enjoy some sunshine. I walked home in that rain showers and hour ago...and even though I had a waterproof coat on, I was cold...COLD!! in July!!

Thanks. I'm at the end of my tether so I put my name on the allotment waiting list last week...and they have an outside tap, hurrah!! Heard thunder few miles south of High Wycombe a few moments ago.

No outside tap, unforch! And not practical to shove a hose out the bathroom window due to location. I hate living in a flat.

Very heavy rain - no lugging a watering can up and down 3 flights of stairs 8 times for me tonight Lovely, lovely rain .

Feel a bit foolish having last night booked (and paid a premium price!!) a hotel for this coming weekend on the south coast. Wake up this morning and the plume is off. Oh well, it's the gamble you take when model watching. The phrase 'perpetual autumn' is being bandied about - well to be honest, I do feel a bit seasonless. It's frustratingly boring. Half the reason I read the Netweather forums is because I love the changing of the seasons and the weather it brings. Been hoping for a weekend of blue skies in order to take some photos needed for a commercial product but it's proving impossible. Had two weekends away so far this summer and both of them involved me taking the journey home in my pyjamas because my clothes have been too rain soaked to drive in!! And my vine growing pumpkins seem dormant. Sorry, whinge over. I'm sure many of you must feel it, though.

In the race to get my washing in this week, I ran up the bank, grabbed the washing and slipped on the wet grass, breaking a toe. Had it with this weather - it's the season when try washing should be at its easiest. I haven't had any balmy evening walks either - and I haven't yet seen a glow worm. And my mini pumpkins haven't flowered at all when the should be setting about now. Sorry about my weather whinge. Here's an odd thing. 4am-ish Thursday last week (EU Ref day) I was woken by an really intense rain shower. As I was drifting back to sleep I heard a snap, then a crash. As we are decorating at the moment, I thought the crash came from the front room as things are piled high - but I found nothing. When I woke a couple of hours later and opened the curtains, I was stunned to see a huge 15ft bow of an old damson tree had snapped in the garden. It had been learning yet secure for years - but I was surprised to see a shower finish it off. Meanwhile, another very healthy, enormous tree in the garden just randomly lost two 12ft huge branches in the same rain shower. A friend a mile away was up eating as it was Ramadam - she said she saw lightning with no thunder. It's just really strange how an intense rain shower could have badly damaged two trees.