We have had another overseas visitor with us for the past couple of days. He flew into Heathrow on Sunday lunchtime, right around the time that the UK's hottest ever temperature was recorded there. We told him that this was normal weather for August!

Not much activity in the field at present, but elsewhere the harvest continues with a constant stream of grain lorries leaving for the mill and an ever-growing stack of round bales piling up behind the barn.

One of the heifers has a damaged hoof so is wearing a bandage and limping a little.

The herd has been divided and there are currently 20 heifers in the hospital field. They are on a special diet (mostly hay) as you don't want first-time mothers to get too large before they calve, as that makes the birth more difficult. The heifers are spending a lot of time in the shade down by the stream but they don't appear to be distressed by the heat. The dairyman is keeping a close eye on them and has taken them in to be checked over twice in the past 10 days.

Inside the house the cat is not coping with the hot weather. He is not moving around much in an effort to keep cool, although even when it is freezing he doesn't move around much anyway. He has taken to lying stretched out on the floor under the desk with his head between his front paws as he must be finding the bed too hot. I have offered him the couch downstairs but even though it is cooler down there, the poor kitty insists on hauling his furry frame back up the stairs and under the desk again.