September '09

Weather This Month

Max Temp = 20.1°C                 Min Temp =  7.3 °C

Max Wind=   20.8 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 29 mm

Max Rain in 1 hr Period =  6.2 mm          Total Rain For Month = 72.5 mm

Live Local Weather HERE

Diary

20th.  Blimey....no rain since the 8th! This spell of drier weather has allowed the Butterflies to visit the garden and take some of the late nectar from the plants I purposely planted to give this late summer food to insects. The Hemp Agrimony is the favourite at the moment with Verbena Bonariensis, Rudbeckia Goldsturm and Japanese Anemone coming in a close distance behind. Mandy and I managed to get a few images over the last week or so ago but I was unable to get a picture of a beautiful Butterfly that is not that common in the garden, a Comma. The country has seen a massive amount of wasps over the last 3-4 weeks and the garden has not been any different where the bird table where the sultanas are placed has been a no go area as many are feeding on the fermenting fruit.

These 3 butterflies  (Peacock - Speckled Wood - Red Admiral) are regulars with the odd visit from a Comma and Painted Lady.

The Common Garden Spider is quite spectacular which often worries people due to it's colour, size and patterning....but they pose no danger. The fly with the bright yellow abdomen landed on my clothing outside and I thought it was rather unusual although I have no idea as to it's species unlike the familiar, and hairy Green Bottle!

3rd. Well again the big issue for the garden is the weather....different day same topic! The Tropical Storm Danny that is moving along the Eastern Seaboard of America is having a mini impact on us here in the North West of the UK. Any hopes of an Indian Summer seem like a fantasy as strong winds and lot's of squally showers have hit over the last 24-36hrs. Looking at the totals above it shows that over 1" of rain has fallen in the last 24hrs and that rain was at it's hardest this morning between 05:00-06:15 where 6.2mm of rain fell in that same hour. It woke myself and Mandy up as the sound of rain could be heard through the double glazing.

The model below shows the Strom starting North East of the Bahamas where it's path turned NNE where it was downgraded to a Tropical Depression. This depression has left us, the UK, with a mild ripple in our weather although that ripple is most certainly felt as it passes in a North Easterly direction across the country.

It's certainly kept the garden quiet as the birds fight the effects of the wind and driving rain. As I write this (15:00) the wind has subsided quite a lot and no rain has fallen for the last 10 minutes. The long range forecast is not really that good with cool temps forecast and at best whilst it is supposed to be drier it will still be very cloudy. Oh well I look forward to the winter which I am betting will be drier and sunnier.