The living bench here is much valued as a place to rest awhile part way round a walk. There is a pleasant springiness about it which compensates for the lack of depth to the seating. But like most living things it varies according to the conditions. During prolonged dry spells it becomes more rigid and liable to creak and even crack. Users are then advised to sit nearer to the tree itself and avoid the further extremities which create more leverage and more alarming creaks. This goes especially for those whose mass exceeds about, say, 12 stones. But after rain the bough is immediately restored to maximum flexibility as the flow of moisture strengthens the living timber. Today of course it was back to full springiness.
(A hygrometer is an instrument that measures the humidity of the air.)
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