Welcome to August.

July has now left after an extended spell of extremely hot weather. However it did rain last weekend, and a copious  amount, with torrential downpours, which refilled the water butt once again. 
The lower temperatures have had their benefits, making sleeping more comfortable.
August arrived today, the sun returning and temperatures on the rise. 
We have a pair of hedgehogs in the garden. There is a nest under the summerhouse. I am thrilled that they grace us with their presence and bought some "Hedgehog" food and Dried  Meal Worms to supplement their food as there is a lack of slugs and snails, not to mention worms and grubs with the  lack of rain. 
They are an endangered species.   
I crept up one evening to watch as they demolished the meal worms, evidently a favourite, and then the hedgehog food. I made a couple of "feeding" stations using an old upturned garden planter, which is made like a small barrel. I removed a few of the pieces of slatted wood and put the small tray inside. The fox will not be able to pinch the "pellets"!    
The other feeding station was made of an upturned plastic vegetable basket which I stood on two bricks, concealing the gap at the back and it is low enough to stop other animals from gaining access. This has worked very well so far. 
  I went out last night at 10.15pm and one of the hedgehogs was foraging in the border. I checked the food stations and it had already been eaten. 
I put it out usually about 9.00 pm. 
     The garden also recovered a little from the drenching it received, the grass showing signs of recovery. I do not water it in the dry weather, as it does eventually recover on its own. 
       The fresh smell outside after the rain was wonderful.