Wednesday 19th August 2020 - Much Needed, Tragedy, Caterpillar and New Signs

Holiday makers may not agree with me, but we have had some much needed rain. This has been accompanied at times with thunder and lightning, and for Sheringham the volume of rain has resulted in an area of road surface lifting and the appearance of two sink holes. The garden has benefited in some ways but not in others. The soil is now moist, which is good, but on the other hand the geraniums and begonias look battered after being pelted with large droplets and the greengages have swollen so much, many have split their skins. The wasps thought this was great but we spoilt their fun by picking the ripe fruits, half of which I made jam with and the other half I stewed for the freezer. There are still plenty more to ripen and we were not entirely spoil sports as we left a few split fruits for the wasps.

We have also had sea frets and last week the sea was rough, preventing the fishing boats launching. It was the rough seas that resulted in a tragedy here in Overstrand. A seventy seven year old woman was recovered from the sea and without going into detail, taken to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, where five days later she passed away. A local woman and reportedly a strong swimmer, this has to be a warning to others to take extreme care, no matter what your capabilities are.

Peter spotted a large brown caterpillar on our drive the other morning. Very impressive by its size alone it is an elephant hawkmoth caterpillar. I photographed it before Peter placed it on a fuschia (its natural food source) in a part of the garden where the ground is left covered in leaves throughout the year. Here hopefully it will pupate, taking shelter in the leaves and emerge from its cocoon next year. There have been several of these caterpillars spotted in the area but as the elephant hawkmoth flies as night, no mentions of sightings of this stunningly pretty moth.

Every year the District Council not only erect large metal signage, showing were dogs are required to be kept on leads and where they are permitted on the beach between 1st May and 30th September, but also stencil signs on the paths and promenade. It only takes a few showers and sandy footwear before the stencilled signs fade and eventually disappear altogether. Today, we saw the Council are trying something different; stickers. Let’s hope these are more durable, giving clear indications to holidaymakers as to where they are required to have their beloved canine on the lead and which sections of the beach they are welcome.