Hygrometer Gate

Our front gate; our new front gate, although if I measure in sensible units, a few years old now, has a pony latch. Essential where we live; all gates have either a folding buckle latch or a sprung hook. This latch, installed by the employed rather than someone like myself, who cares about the result, is attached to the bolted gate. In my opinion, and from experience, it would be so much easier to use if it were attached to the swinging gate. Correctly installed such a latch can be managed one handed, ours may not. With loaded hands, a foot is required to steer the swinging gate to the latching point.

This latch is pinned by a coach bolt with a domed nut that tends to undo itself unless monitored by someone who cares, rather than the employed or the young. Continued attention has maintained the combination of bolt and nut through the few seasons that needed to elapse before corrosion started to do the job of holding the two in a secure embrace. The bolt passes, uncolleted, through the oaken timber.

When the timber is dry, the latch swings freely. It opens with a clank, as the latch handle digs ever deeper into the bolted gate's top rail. It closes on the swinging gate with a similar sound; useful when gardening in the back, to alert the arrival of guests. When wet, the latch will stay, stable at almost any angle, but happiest vertical. This is my hygrometer. A glance out of the kitchen window will tell me if there was rain in the night, but the pony latch will tell me how wet it was.

Most summers, the pony latch swings free, clanking and chipping the rail for several months. This summer it has been better behaved except for a broken period of about 5 weeks. According to the gate, autumn has been here for over a month, yet, the leaves are only beginning to fall now and there is much green remaining. Only the bracken seemed to turn early with the latch's sticking point.