Rush bearers, Ambleside, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Was that the sound of a brass band in the distance? I should have guessed - it’s time for the annual rush-bearing procession in Ambleside. I was just in time for the last few moments, before everyone went into church with their flowers and bundles of rushes. The ceremony is a reminder of a time when churches had mud floors, covered in rushes to keep the feet of the congregation dry.

The rain was heavy enough to merit any cliches you can think of - it rained cats and dogs and stair-rods and came down in buckets. Then the sun emerged, just long enough for the rush-bearing procession to make its way round town. As it finished and they prepared to enter church, there was a rumble of thunder. I set off for a walk and a few minutes later, the cats, dogs and stair-rods were coming down again - hopefully the bearers of rushes and flowers were safely in church by this time.

Hawkshead street, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Hawkshead wasn’t always a picture-postcard village, full of holiday-makers. Before Wordsworth made it famous, and had this street named after him, it was evidently a more humble place. You would probably have encountered some poverty there, and occupants who worked hard to earn a small wage. You can guess the occupations down this small, narrow street.

Wetherlam, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Wild roses and rain - we have had plenty of sunshine recently, but somehow this looks more typical of an English summer day. During the long dry spell, the lakes were shrinking and their grey stone edges growing. After last week’s downpours, though, the water levels are back to normal and waterfalls, like Tom Ghyll below Tarn Hows, are full and vigorous again. Here, Wetherlam has its head hidden in cloud, and the remains of the latest shower still gleam on the surface of the road. The only clue to the season is given by the roses.

Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

As you set off for work at the office each morning, just imagine if it was here. This is where Beatrix Potter's husband worked. She married William Heelis, a solicitor, whose office in Hawkshead now houses a collection of his wife's delightful paintings. Beatrix was a working wife - although most famous as a children's writer and artist, she was also a farmer. She became an expert in breeding Herdwick sheep and won many prizes with them.

Helm Crag, Grasmere, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Midsummer was over a couple of days ago and it sometimes seems more like autumn now. Strong, cold winds blew at the weekend and now the sky is heavy and producing some drizzle. Here, as a reminder that it is indeed summer, is another picture from Grasmere last Friday. Helm Crag (also known as the Lion and the Lamb after its summit rocks) and a meadow full of flowers - there is even some blue sky.

Grasmere, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

The longest day - who would think it? It also seems the wettest, greyest, gloomiest. Add to the gloom the thought that days will begin to shrink now, as they begin their steady decline towards winter.

Yesterday was only the next-to-the-longest-day, but its behaviour was much more mid-summerish. Here is the bridge over the river in Grasmere, viewed from the Wordsworth Daffodil Garden next to the church where the poet is buried. Visitors sit outside the café overlooking the water, enjoying the sun. Holiday-makers wander over the bridge and sometimes stop to take a photo. Occasionally a line of Japanese tourists make their way over, the ladies wearing very smart hats, on their way to see Wordsworth’s grave. I hope somebody tells them which one is his - more than one person called William Wordsworth lies there, puzzling the tourists as to which one exactly wrote the poem about daffodils.

Derwentwater, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

There were heavy showers this morning and rain is described as good weather for ducks, although they probably don’t like it any more than we do. This afternoon the sun came out and it was good weather for ducks, geese and humans. The ducks snoozed in the sunshine, while geese and humans enjoyed the lake - either on it or around it. This is Derwentwater at Keswick.

Hawkshead, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Heavy rain today, but probably not enough to refill the lakes to their usual level. Here, on a sunnier day, is Hawkshead. The name sounds fierce, suggesting a sharp-eyed hunting bird, with business-like raptor’s beak. It doesn’t quite match the pretty village, with flower-filled narrow lanes.

It has nothing to do with hawks, however, but was called after Haukr, an early Norse settler, living in his settlement (or Saetre).

The Gondola, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

Normally, if I took a picture of the Gondola from here, I would be standing in the lake among the ducks. There has been little rain recently, and the water level has fallen a great deal. Coniston now has a wide, stony shore it does not normally possess. Yew Tree Tarn, outside Coniston, has almost dried up, and a heron stood out in the mud, looking hopefully down for something to eat, while water fowl wandered among the tiny threads of water still surviving.

Yew Tree Farm, originally uploaded by byamossygnome.com.

A mostly sunny day with occasional showers. One occasional shower fell while we were eating lunch outside Yew Tree Farm, so we had to gather our plates, knives and forks and scurry indoors. Before the rain began, while we were still outside, three black Herdwick lambs who shared our field (or perhaps we shared theirs) were fed their lunch, too, from bottles. Lots of satisfied, well-fed people and sheep. Chaffinches, robins and pied wagtails flew among the tables and ate the crumbs after we had finished.