At the watering hole

Look who came to have a long drink at my bird bath early this morning! I think I’m going to have to leave this clay dish down permanently because it’s becoming very popular with the local wildlife population. The same can’t be said for the new, and somewhat more elegant, bird bath on the other side of the lawn! So far I’ve only seen two magpies take any notice of it, and that was only on one occasion, but the pleasure we are getting from looking at it makes up for any disappointment at the lack of customers. Maybe in time they will venture across to check it out.

The drains chap duly arrived this morning. He discovered that there was an internal trap fitted in the outflow pipe, which is intended to prevent odours (a bit like a U-bend). It was causing the water to be diverted upwards at a right angle and he thought that was the cause of the water backing up, so he's removed it. It shouldn’t matter because it’s clean water that is being pumped out, which is odourless. We shall have to see if the removal of the trap does the trick but, in the meantime, he recommended contacting Thames Water in case their pipe in the road has become a bit blocked after the cloudburst.