Wednesday, 19th. August 2026

Yes ,like Devon summers of old, we have rain! It is actually light and feeble rain masquerading as drizzle much of the time so is actually of little benefit, but is welcome nevertheless. This rain will not help farmers, gardeners or reservoirs: about 1-2mm has fallen during the night – I can tell by measuring the water level in my pond – but that is confirmed by the Apple weather app, which uses data from a number of reliable sources.

Some rain feels like it is better than none at all, despite it being of almost no physical benefit. Much of the moisture is sitting on hard ground rather than soaking into it to benefit the roots of plants. It evaporates from the surface fairly quickly including, of course, from the surface of bodies of water such as reservoirs – and my pond. The net benefit of 1-2mm of ‘rain’ could be as low as zero, but zero is better than a negative value, where moisture is continuously removed from ground, water and trees – and not replenished.

The psychological benefits, for me at least, are enormous. The air feels fresh and clean and pollution levels indoors and out have improved slightly. I feel hope. A few more weeks of this and the ground will recover and at least some autumn crops may survive, albeit with smaller yields. I can look forward to local kale in my winter stews!