Hot SE'lies cover SE England ahead of an upper cold front. The front brought nothing more than a few clouds over Berkshire. Conditions at 12z (1PM BST): Thickness, 568dam, temperature 28C (dewpoint 17C). Wind from the SSE, 10 MPH. Yesterday's high, 30C, Saturday night's low 16C (source: MetO, the 12z GFS and NOAA). Next week's forecast (00z ensembles, T+156): Thickness, 545dam. Temperature: 19C, partly cloudy.

After a humid and hot Saturday night, Sunday dawned with clear blue skies, no wind and a heavy dew on the grass. It was already 21C as I left Leysdown on my weekly trek to the wolf centre.

By the time I arrived the temperature had reached 23C with skies still largely clear:


View to the north, 0755z

The Euros came over to the fence as I arrived and Alba watched the camera as I took his picture - his sister Latea is the other wolf in the photo:



I then headed down to see Kodiak and Kenai, who were in the side enclosure. The reason was that there were plans afoot to tidy the main enclosure by cutting down some large thistles that were growing between the trees inside. Kenai seemed particularly pleased to see me, jumping up at the mesh with her tail wagging - it seems she still remembers those hotdogs she had a couple of months ago!


Kenai in mid leap, with Kodiak taking a good sniff on the left

The other volunteers started arriving and after chatting about how hot it was we set out to do the cleaning, this time both the Euro kennels and Duma and Dakota's quarters. They were pretty clean, with the wolves not leaving much food behind other than a few small bits in the straw.

After that it was time for thistle cutting - we all headed into Kodiak and Kenai's enclosure with sickles, sharpening stones and wheelbarrows. Despite looking like something from the Middle Ages the sickles proved very effective for hacking down the weeds and I wheeled several barrowloads of them out of the enclosure.

As one o'clock drew closer I headed off to the woods to meet the walkers, who were from Spice (an activities group for adults - we have a few visits from them each year). However, there was a snag in that they thought the walk started at 2PM, so we had to wait an extra hour for everyone to turn up before starting.


Dakota and Duma

I was on car watch duty for the first hour and decided to go online after having some lunch. Annoyingly the connection kept dropping, but I did manage to find out the conditions - 28C, dewpoint 17C, 12mph SSE'ly wind. Despite the high dewpoint it didn't feel too bad sitting in the shade with the breeze blowing.

The ranger came along and I chatted with him for a bit, as he explained plans to fell some more oaks that are growing on an ancient monument. He also mentioned there'd been a fire in the woods earlier on Sunday, but thankfully they were able to put it out before it had chance to spread far. The woods are tinder dry in the most part and the fire risk is high at this time of year....

After an hour or so my replacement arrived and I set off into the woods.


Pines and bracken

As I passed the lake I was greeted with this scene:



I put the camera away and went over to say "hi" to the wolves, then headed along the narrow and steep path alongside the lake. The wolves were very keen to get into the water and by the time we arrived at the other side they leapt in with gusto. A fun time was had by wolves and handlers alike, with plenty of splashing by all!

After a brief "meet and greet" session we headed along the home straight and headed back to the farm at Beenham.

Back in the Obs Room the blinds had been left closed and it seemed to keep the heat at bay. As usual refreshments were dispensed and merchandise sold, then people started drifitng away. However, I'd heard mention of Kenai and was encouraged to stay back, later than I'd usually stay. Around six PM it was announced that Kenai was to be taken on a walk and four of us headed down to her enclosure.

I had great fun distracting Kodiak while Kenai was let out, then we set off around the field by the stream at the northern edge of the Trust. By now there was some cloud moving in, but it did nothing to reduce the temperatures.



Kenai enjoyed herself in the stream, pawing at the water and splashing it all over the place. A bit further around she decided to execute her typical rubbing manoevre and she started off by sharply prodding me from behind! She then rubbed sinuously around my legs, leaving my jeans covered in white hair afterwards. She still had a fair bit of loose fur in her coat as well and I ended up with a large ball of her fur when the walk finished.



After thanking Sue and Sandra for organising the walk (they both know I have a soft spot for Kenai!) I set off for home. Surprisingly the roads were clearer than they usually are when I set off for home, suggesting I usually come home in the heaviest traffic. The bridge was up as I approached the Isle of Sheppey, meaning I was able to take a good long look at the new bridge taking shape over the Swale - in a year's time we'll finally have a fixed link to the mainland!

It was still pretty warm (24C) when I pulled up at home, but that was as nothing to the temperature inside - 35C in my bedroom and it had only fallen to 34C by 1AM! I hope the wolves had a better night's sleep than I did...

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