Oh what a tragedy, my magnificent 15ft high and 15ft wide Sumach brought from my old house in Oakdale 17 years ago as a 9 inch rooted sucker has fallen foul of today’s stormy weather, the victim of a summer squall. Classically vulnerable, in full leaf, so with maximum sail effect and following a long spell of dry weather, the combination of these and the sudden heavy rain and strong wind proved too much and a gust this afternoon took her over. …………Where now will that blaze of autumn colour that annually bids farewell to summer come from, and no longer will I be able to watch the Greater Spotted Woodpeckers from the sofa, feeding from the hanging fat balls, where will the Blue tits now to hide from the local Sparrow hawk and where can we suspend our tacky flashing garden lights from this Christmas…. A puff of wind and my cosy familiar French window panorama has changed forever

Still every cloud, as they say….at least now I can undertake the long overdue redesign the top terrace and we might even find the pond again.