There once was a way through the garden...

Late last night, we returned from our holiday, parked the car in the garage and forced our way through this to the back door. There is a path somewwere in there, would you believe. It was dark. It had been raining. How the sodden foliage stroked and caressed us, tendrils stretching out to drip down our necks, leaves above holding little pools of water ready at the merest touch to anoint us in a cold shower. What a lovely welcome back! Still Eggy was there, in the house, waiting to greet us. Warm. Dry. Smug.

Apparently he managed perfectly well to use the chip-operated catflap while we were away. Before our holiday he would sit outside in the rain looking pathetic and starved until we found the key and opened the human-sized back door for him.

Incidentally, in the centre of the photo, there is a magnolia flower. In August. The tree has terrible timing.