Formation Diving.

We still had a cold wind blowing but there was not a cloud in sight today.

These poor tulips have only just opened but I fear it will not be long before they loses their petals completely. Later I'll move then over to the other side of the garden as the tulips there have more shelter and aren't in such a dire state.

Better news about the pennisetum though. I'd thought the winter had proved too much for it but new shoots are appearing from both plants. I think the catananche is a lost cause but the ruta which had been reduced to a couple of bare stems is doing well. 

There was no walk today as instead people were going out for lunch which they do a couple of times a year. Eating out is absolutely not my thing, for a start the social aspect overwhelms me and when I've been pressured into going on eg a works outing I rarely find something I want to eat. I'm not that fussy but don't like chillies (works do at a Mexican restaurant!), prefer not to eat processed food or anything too greasy and through no fault of any chef the food is generally too salty as we don't add salt at home. Luckily I've now reached an age where I can decline politely.

Instead I spent the afternoon gardening in the sun. That was after going through my boxes of stored clothes to see if anything could do with airing on this nice breezy day. And to see if there was anything I felt could go to the charity shop. Under scrutiny were a number of pairs of jeans. After my favourite pair of jeans literally fell apart as they were so old I have preferred to wear leggings or very loose trousers but you never know when I might decide to wear jeans again. Three pairs of Per Una jeans size 12, which I can just get into stayed as hopefully the weight loss will continue. I'd rather be a scrawny old bird than overweight. And how could I choose between black, grey or blue jeans?

After a long session weeding out the myob in the garden steps (will go out with the weed killer now that the wind has died down) there was time to relax up on the terrace watching the gannets who are still around. There were about 100 birds on the far side of the reefs constantly diving on the fish below. At one point I saw a line of six splashes where the birds had gone in but only managed to get a trio and then a quartet though there is a fifth bird just going in in front of them. I kept a keen eye out for dolphins but there was no sign of any today.

Everyone Is Fishing.

Sunshine all the way today but the strong winds blowing from the north-east were bitterly cold.

Seeing many gannets fishing on the far side of the reef this morning we knew there were plenty of fish around. And at last I got to see a dolphin too. The fish had moved to our side of the reef and by watching the gannets who in turn were watching the dolphin underwater I was able to get some reasonable photos when the dolphin surfaced. 

I didn't have a very good night last night. Tasty as the fish was either the onions, the garlic or the smoked fish gave me indigestion. Peter was fine but I don't feel like eating any of those for a while. That's the trouble with my diet which consists of very plain food, it makes other foods harder to tolerate. Tonight I'll be having fruit, a mix of fresh and frozen, with low-fat Greek yoghurt for my supper. For protein I've already had plenty of mixed nuts and of course we had our usual porridge for breakfast.

Peter was supposed to go rowing this morning, the conditions were perfect but unfortunately several people pulled out at the last moment and replacements couldn't be found so the row was cancelled. He does go and play pool on Saturday afternoons so all was not lost.

After getting more washing out on the line I did lots of tidying up in the back garden. The conditions were perfect for hoeing the vegetable beds and then I removed as many of the tiny seedlings growing between all the paving slabs that run down the length of the garden. My last job was to make sure all the clematis were tied in to the trellis.

This was the Lumishrooms last night with a couple of the bigger night 'flowers' in the background. I'd put them in the stachys where they looked fine but today I've moved them to amongst the bluebells under some hydrangeas to see if that would be a better place for them. When I looked out of the window last night the mushroom were flashing on and off like Christmas lights or roadworks as I hadn't realised there were two settings. I quickly changed the setting to just 'on' which was much calmer.

Lumishrooms.

In between an early morning shower and later light drizzle I was able to sit outside for ten minutes enjoying the sound of the birds and watching the smallest of waves breaking on the sand. The sun didn't really break through until much later in the day.

This morning I got to think about the 'Simple Pleasures' that I get to enjoy; getting into a bed with freshly ironed sheets (well worth the time spent ironing), a good night's sleep (they happen sometimes), watching the sea in the morning, spending an afternoon walking in the hills and chatting with friends, that first cup of tea or coffee in the morning, sitting on a rock with a view, coffee and a slice of cake (bliss), watching insects and butterflies in the garden and being able to eat our meals at a table overlooking the sea. So much to enjoy in my life.

 

Got to the stables this morning to find I was riding Hazel again. She didn't have the lovely dressage saddle with the comfortable knee rolls but instead a GP saddle that creaked continuously. When I went to sort out the stirrups I could see that one of them was going to be too short even on the end hole. I ended up having my stirrups swapped with another rider's stirrups as her legs are a lot shorter than mine. We were going reasonably well, for Hazel but then our instructor noticed that Hazel had her mouth open and was not responding to the bit. That was down to me being too kind and leaving the flash noseband quite loose. That got done up as it should have been, Hazel went better but oh my there was a lot of head tossing going on.

After riding my first stop was the dump to get rid of some garden waste. They always stop you at the gate to find out what you are bringing along (black bags of general rubbish get checked for items that should go in the recycling) and today I was also asked for proof of my address. I guess that's to stop people from outside Ceredigion using the dump. Luckily I keep a letter from the physios in the car in case we need to prove we are entitled to free parking at Ynyslas. Though maybe that's changed now the visitors' centre has been re-organised. Speaking of the closures the visitors' centre at Nant yr Arian is completely closed and they've brought in portaloos instead. Apparently there were many unhappy visitors wondering why there was no café, gift shop or proper toilets anymore.

I called in at Charlie's for a little browse of the plants and while I didn't buy any plants I succumbed to more garden lights. These are sweetly called Lumishrooms and are small (egg sized) mushrooms that will glow with a white light in the evening. I'm trying not to get too carried away but I do like a bit of a fairyland effect. 

At Lidl I saw they had trailing geraniums and for the first time I found some that were dark red. I've been wanting the dark red ones for a while but last year I could only find ones that were a tomato red, too orange for my garden colours. I only bought two (£1.99 each) as they're easy to propagate once they get going. When I got home I sat outside for a while and then did a little gardening. I've just put some fish parcels in the oven as I got some smoked Basa in the reduced section at Morrisons. Oven baked with onions, mushrooms and red peppers with boiled potatoes, peas and broad beans. A lovely supper to look forward to.

Sunny.

Lots of sun and very windy today.

With such perfect drying conditions I did two lots of washing in the morning. The machine beeped to indicate it had finished the second load only minutes before our Welsh class was due to start. I was glad I got the washing out for that extra hour as everything was ready for ironing as soon as class had finished.

After such a chaotic start to class last week I made sure that the laptop was on stand-by with everything open and hopefully working. There was still a slight issue with the sound from my microphone but a quick call for help to Peter got it sorted. It was a good class with lots of conversation though the topic of sport and sports people wasn't really my thing. I've never had much interest in either watching or playing sports (totally uncoordinated as a child). The nearest I get to a sporting interest is riding though I've not done a lot of competing. I just enjoy the process of becoming a better rider and being able to communicate with the horse I'm riding.

This morning's wind whipped the sea into choppy white wavelets with a few gannets diving into the sea beyond the reef. After class it was just like a lovely summer's day but by the time I had done the ironing the clouds were gathering and it wasn't quite so warm as I sat outside.

I did some some admin as well and wasted ages searching for one thing. I'm sure there is a black hole in my study into which things disappear never to be seen again. On the surface my study looks very organised with everything sorted into white tubs but the tubs by the pc are also full of random things that I haven't quite got round to sorting. Plus I have the habit of thinking 'I'll be needing that soon.' and stashing said item in between boxes and then losing it forever. Apart from the letter I was looking for today recently I have lost the same book twice. The first time it reappeared quite randomly, I looked up the information I needed and then .... poof, it vanished again. 

 
 

Signs of Spring.

As it was yet another windy but sunny day Peter and I decided to go out for a walk. 

Our original plan was to walk up the hill behind Furnace but then Peter wasn't sure if his ankles were up to the hilly section which is his call as only he knows what state his arthritis is in. But after looking at several alternatives including driving up the lane and parking higher up he decided that the original plan would do. We packed up some coffee and sandwiches for lunch as although we don't usually eat lunch it's different when you're out walking. Right at the bottom of the hill we were greeted by a very friendly small black cat very much like Mitten, a stray we once had. Cat petting over we made our way up the lane to the rough land at the top of the hill. From there we turned onto the footpath that runs around the hill giving great views over the estuary and out to sea.

(Below) That's Peter on the path while I had climbed up a pony path for better views. One day I'll do the walk alone and go right up over the hill to look for the ponies that live out there. As we were eating our lunch a man came by. He told us he was going up to check on his ponies. 

The hill behind had been providing welcome shelter from the strong north-westerly wind but as we got further round the hill the wind picked up. We had our snack sheltering on the small knoll to the left of the lonely tree.

There were plenty of signs of Spring around us including a great swathe of wood anemones. The whole of the area if you draw a line from top right to bottom left of the photo above was filled with the delicate white flowers. Not something you would expect to see on a bramble covered hillside.

And there were wood violets everywhere.

We carried on round the hill then down the slope to where a wood ran alongside the old toll road. I tried my best but could not get a photo of the large yellow brimstone butterflies that kept appearing and then fluttering away. There were also some red/brown butterflies but never close enough for me to identify.

At least plants stay still for their photos.

At home I hung out some more dust sheets I'd found and hoovered the bedroom before spending some time sitting out in the sun watching the cormorants diving into the sea with that tell tale plume of water as they plunged underwater. If the fish are around hopefully it won't be too long before I get to see the dolphins again.

It will be choir tonight. At least that's not as hard work as last night's kettle bell session. 

The Mole's Revenge.

Bright and sunny today with a good drying wind too. I got the last of the dust sheets out on the line, again some only needed airing while others needed washing. 

It was a good day to cycle to the zoo, apart from the wind which I had to battle against. I think all those squats might have made cycling easier though as it is the first time I've been on the bike this year it was hard to tell. And I forgot to put on the memory foam seat cover I bought in Lidl last week. 

Once at the zoo I went to the large play area to carry on weeding. Last week I'd flattened down 20 mole hills and tidied the soil that had gone over the grass as well. This week there were a few mole hills in one corner so I dealt with those first before weeding most of the wood chip. It always gets me that a couple of tiny green leaves hide several inches of roots. I was pleased with my progress and was having a chat with a fellow volunteer whilst easing my back when !!!! there was a brand new mole hill on the spot I had cleaned up earlier. I'm afraid I made sure to push some of that soil back into the mole's tunnel as part of my clearing up. Mr Mole can go and make his hills elsewhere thank you very much.

But that wasn't the only 'event' of my weeding session. While I was working a chap and his daughter came over to me to tell me there was a dead mouse or baby rat in the rabbits' enclosure. Over I went to look and sure enough there was a brown furry creature lying on the ground. The chap said that it had been running round and round trying to find a way out but had been defeated by the concrete walls of what used to be the meercat enclosure. I hopped over the wall (long legs are useful) and as I went to scoop up what definitely wasn't a baby rat I noticed that it was still breathing. It was too big to be a mouse and it had a long tail for a vole. (I have since looked it up and bank voles have much longer tails that water voles.) I carefully took the vole over to a sunny spot in some rough ground beside the pony paddock and soon after the vole scurried off. Much to all our relief.

After cycling home (I did get off and push the bike up the two steepest slopes by the house.) I had a lovely relaxing time with a mug of tea out on the terrace. From there I can check on the progress of the latest flowers and see which garden jobs need doing next.

Not to mention watch the waves. With a strong wind blowing the spray once in a while the water droplets would created a prism effect as the sun shone through them.

I didn't do anything else apart from my exercises and preparing my supper. Shortly I'll be off to the hall for Pilates with my new mat and groan - my kettlebell. I'd been meaning to buy a new mat for some time as my old one is all crinkly on the edges and is hard to flatten out after 7 years of use.

Sunny, Eventually.

Vytas didn't forget me either. We had a lovely long chat last night and this morning these beautiful flowers arrived.

Weather-wise the morning was a disappointing grey with the sea flat enough for two paddleboarders to be out at 7.30. With no wind the grey clouds hung around for most of the morning. Later the wind picked up, blew the clouds away and we were back to sunshine once more. The sort-out of the utility room is going very slowly but today I made a start on the dustsheets stored in the cupboards. Unfortunately stuff get a little damp in those cupboards. Some of the dustsheets needed washing while others were fine with an airing on the line. I went up in the loft to look for some other stuff and brought down more of the large plastic tubs to store the aired dust sheets and old towels in. 

I've also done a bit of gardening mainly weeding and putting in sticks to support things like the hardy geraniums which are already putting out new leaves. 

A few more photos from yesterday.

New-born twin lambs, no more than a day or two old.

A happy Muscovy duck having a bath.

Somebody yesterday mentioned the high cost of adopting a dog from a rescue shelter. Thinking I'd mis-heard I looked it up and I had heard right. The RSPCA charges are - puppies from £400 (my friend's daughter was being asked £600) and dogs from £350. I know there are vet costs for neutering, vaccinations etc but those charges seem very high to me. You'd think they'd want to encourage people to adopt unwanted dogs. Not that I'm considering a dog but definitely a cat (or two) at some point. That would be £75 per cat which is not so bad.