The horse and the oats .

Back from a 24 hour trip to Germany and Switzerland to find that water rationing has been imposed. Initially , we're supposed to cut down on our usage by 20% . Already, the local farmers are having to cull cattle because of the shortage of silage . This years wheat harvest looks to be nothing short of a disaster with yields forecast to fall by upto 40% . The melon growers , probably the major source of income around here , are finding that their 2011 crop is ready a full six weeks early . This mean that they have to compete with the cheaper , early season , imports from Spain and Morocco . We'll try to keep our newly planted lavender beds going but the lawn and some of the recently installed trees look like they're goners . Can it really be the driest year since 1947 ?

After his early morning croissant run, Wilf spends much of his morning asleep in the shade of the cherry trees in the orchard . Sometimes he savages his toy but most of the time he uses it as a pillow . Then the old fellow rouses himself for lunch before passing his afternoon dozing on the cool kitchen floor. As he might say , " It's not the horse that pulls the cart , but the oats " .