This is a late missive. I know it would usually be posted on the first of the month but I have an excuse: I have been ill with a summer cold and was laid up in bed for 4 days. It was not a pleasant experience, but gave me an much needed opportunity to rest. We have had such a dry spell that when I returned to work the drought was very pronounced. The hoses and leaky pipe are out around the gardens. I have been speaking to Miss Berkeley who told me that in Yorkshire it has rained every day since the beginning of July. I have no idea whether this random fact is true but we do seem to have had less rain than the country as a whole.
It has also been so hot here that we were starting to worry about the carp in the lake, and the lake water appears really thick and green. This seems to a be a repeat of the drought of about 4 or 5 years ago when the lake became so airless that the largest carp started to suffocate and we called on the fire brigade to help aerate the water again. We have hired a couple of circulating pumps and run them when the atmosphere is particularly still.
We were out on the lake a few days ago paddling around in our Canadian canoe, sadly removing carp that hadn’t made it.
( Actually I didn’t: my husband kindly offered to take on the risk of falling into the green silty water and handling slimy, smelly fish. Needless to say, I fetched the camera but he didn’t oblige by falling in.) The land agent has arranged for the remaining fish to be netted and removed to a safer location.
The peahen is still sitting on what I think are 8 eggs. She rejected 2 eggs about 2 weeks ago. I was expecting the patter of tiny toes a few days ago now and am wondering whether the happy day will arrive or whether the eggs are infertile. Mum peahen is certainly very persistent however and very rarely moves off her nest. I’m not sure what I will do with 8 more peacocks to add to the 4 we already have. Any takers?...
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