Sun and Wind.

We had quite a pretty sunset last night. 

It has been sunny again today with the wind picking up in the afternoon creating whitecaps all across the bay.

When I sit out in the garden in the mornings, apart from letting my mind wander into nothingness I'm often thinking about the garden. Which is the most urgent job that I should do next and more recently how to create a garden that can cope with the increasingly hot and dry summers. Apart from two brief showers we have had no rain for 36 days and it shows. The plants in the shingle garden are all fine while those in planters or the raised beds have gone over quickly and have needed watering just to keep them alive. Now I'm wondering if I should change the raised bed plantings to more drought resistant plants. I can also see that one side of the garden is drier than the other so some plants will be moved when we start getting rain again.

And of course there is always the problem of keeping the garden looking good all year round. The bigger grasses such as the stipa and the pheasant grass are great in the winter but they're getting quite big and starting to overpower the smaller plants. Oh well, more things to ponder.

Peter took the car for new front tyres in the morning. They forgot to replace the cable ties on one of the hub caps and now it is sitting in a hedge somewhere between here and town. He also called in at the garage and had the rattling exhaust pipe secured and the clutch adjusted to make it easier on the gears.

My main job today was to give the bedroom carpet a clean. I tried some foam carpet cleaner but it didn't have the magic result I was hoping for. I'm not sure if the result was much better than hoovering twice would have been. In the end I scrubbed over the grubby areas with a damp cloth and now have the windows open to dry the carpet.

For the rest of the time I've been having a tidy up in the back garden. At one point I thought I would start putting mortar between the big (street sized) paving slabs to stop the weeds that I keep having to prise out but by the time I'd put things away and weeded the cracks it was too hot to do more.

I've now got an hour to sit outside before it will be time for disco aerobics. 

Something has bitten me multiple times on one leg. 9 times up the back of the calf and another 3 times on the front. They are small bites so I'm wondering if it was an ant. Luckily only some of them itch.

Foggy Morning.

This morning the view was quite dramatic with the fog gathering above the River Dyfi and then blowing out to sea. 

To start with it was cloudy and somewhat chilly. The morning felt like a typical UK summer's day - cloudy and cool but at least not raining but at some point away went the clouds and back came the heat.

Yesterday I had thought Peter was going to the dump and then to buy sand and cement from the builders' merchants on the same industrial estate but instead after the dump he drove into town to do some shopping at the supermarket. And then came home without my building supplies. Let's just say the atmosphere was a little tense yesterday. However Peter went out early this morning and was back by 9.00 ready for me to start work.

And I've had a productive day. Two coats of cement later and all the holes in the render on the garden wall have been filled in. I even found an rough piece of stone to add some texture to the surface of the mortar to help it blend in with the bumpy texture of the original render. I also filled the many cracks in the wall with builders' adhesive, the sort that comes in a tube. I thought I'd come up with the idea but when I looked on-line to see how to patch render on an outside wall that is exactly what was advised for small cracks.

I used the last of the mortar to fill in some random holes around the paving by the garage. Not the prettiest of finishes but better than before.

And that has more or less been my day plus some washing and ironing and a spell sitting out on the terrace. Later I'll be off to choir.

Cycling Again.

It's been hot today but not to the same degree as last week and the clouds are beginning to gather.

I went to the zoo in the morning and because Peter offered to take a whole load of stuff to the dump and get me sand and cement I cycled. I think it's the first time this year. Up til now it's either been too cold, too wet, too hot or I've been too tired for me to contemplate cycling but I'm very glad I did it.

It isn't far, maybe a mile and a half and either flat or downhill on the way there. I noticed people smiling when they see me in my wellies and yellow high-viz waistcoat and wondered are they thinking 'Oh bless, look at that old lady doing her best to cycle.' or is it more amusement at my wobbling progress and look of terror  when a car passes me.' (I'm exaggerating a little.)

I was just pleased that I made it up and over the level crossing without stopping though on the way home I did get off and push across the uphill turning and again by the house where it really is steep.

At the zoo I gave the gravel garden a tidy over, a few tiny weeds there and plenty of dry leaves from the nearby trees. Then more tidying of some flower beds and to finish I pulled up the ragwort that was growing in the willow circle and the very large ragwort plants growing by the turkey enclosure. Those did not go to the pigs who generally get all the weeds I pull up.

Being the school holidays there was a steady stream of families, mostly with younger children.

Back home, once I'd recovered from my cycle ride I did more work on the garden wall and also chipped away at the concrete surrounding an old drain cover by the back gate. At the moment the gate/door opens easily but in wet weather the wooden door swells and catches on the concrete when I try to open it. What should be done is take the door off its hinges, cut 1cm off the bottom and seal or paint the bottom edge to keep the wood dry. But this door has been there for 30 years and the hinges' screws are completely rusted. No way to get the door off without a lot of damage. That's why I've been levelling the concrete. Today I finished off that job so that when I start cementing the garden wall I can also repair the cracks in the concrete by the door.

I'll be off to Pilates in a while to unwind all those twinging muscles.

Parched Hills.

Schools are out, the sun is shining and it feels like holiday time.

This morning it was a paddle boarders' sea with barely a ripple on the mirror-like surface. By mid-morning the wind had picked up bringing small to medium sized breaking waves. Just perfect for the families thronging the beach and water. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? More of the same I expect. 

In the morning we went to Mach library where we competed against the noise of small children but we're quite rowdy ourselves. It's good to keep up with our Welsh especially as we have such a long summer break before the new term begins.

One thing I noticed on our drive to Mach was how brown everything has become. Even the trees are beginning to lose their green in the heat. This weather might be good for the holidaymakers but the ever present threat of wild fires is worrying. Only last week a 200 acre fire burned for days on the mountains near Harlech and today there are reports of another major fire near Wrexham.

Snowdonia.

(Below) Looking across the bog to the Cambrian mountains.

Yet again I didn't manage to do any more work on the garden wall which left me feeling a bit dissatisfied with my afternoon. 

Instead when we got home from Mach first I hung out in the sun some things to air that had been stored in a wooden chest and I'd realised yesterday smelt a bit musty. I then spent the rest of the afternoon hand sewing a tape onto a throw to create a temporary curtain for the sitting room window. 

While I get fed up with Peter's insistence that we watch the tv with curtains drawn and the lights off (he likes the cinema experience) and to be fair he has compromised in accepting that I have one of the main window blinds raised enough so that I can see the sea and in the winter we have a table light on even I have to admit there was so much light escaping around the venetian blind on the side window it was hard to see the tv screen. 

Last night it was so bad that I pegged a large throw up which cut out the offending glare. Today I used shower curtain hooks to hang up a smaller throw. The sewing was time consuming and even that is only a temporary solution. (Later) and AARGH it turns out not as effective as the larger throw hung up with a couple of clothes pegs.

A better solution will be to make proper curtains using black-out fabric under white muslin (to match the main curtains). I tried to order the fabric earlier but the website failed at the payment stage. I'll try again tomorrow or have to look for another supplier. Patience grasshopper.

Last night's sunset.

I can't resist a good sunset or the dramatic way the camera shows it.

Going down behind Bardsey Island. (Already tonight the angle has changed and the sun sank down to the left of Bardsey.)

Bright and Breezy.

A windy and sunny day today, great for drying the washing.

Yesterday I had woken at 4.00 then gone back to sleep for a few hours and as a result had difficulty in falling asleep until after midnight. So this morning when I saw that it was 5.15 I got up and was in time to see the dawn lighting the sky. 

It felt a bit chilly to start with and I was glad of my dressing gown as I sat outside with my tea but as soon as the sun hit the terrace it turned hot despite the wind. 

This person had taken their chair right to the water's edge for their bit of morning 'sea' time. I guess if you live inland you might want to savour every moment by the sea.

The sparrows brought their fledglings to the garden. The youngsters did come down and peck at the seeds but mainly sat in the hedge waiting to be fed. Earlier I'd caught a glimpse of something brown and furry by the pond. Too small to be a rat, even a young one and too big to be a house mouse. My best guess is that it was a wood mouse.

My plan for today was to continue removing loose paint and render from the final section of the garden wall. But then a reel popped up reminding gardeners to remove any clematis wilt asap One of the clematis had wilt last year and I cut some of the affected stems off but then hoped it would go away. Today I gave the two affected clematis a very good trim. It was a shame as both had plenty of flowers and that included my favourite clematis with purple bell shaped flowers. One of the clematis was growing with a honeysuckle that had reached the top of the trellis and was getting out of control so at the same time I gave the honeysuckle a severe cutting back. Quite a few bags later I only had enough time to do a little work on the wall before I gave in, had a shower and went and sat outside with Peter for a while.

Last night's sunset.

A Busy Day.

Still sunny but considerably cooler today.

I managed to get quite a bit done today. My main job was painting the first half of the garden wall. I then began work on the rest of the wall which had a fair amount of blown render to be taken off. 

Another 'tidying up' job was to sort through all the plastic plant pots I'd had tucked away in various corners. I'd needed a lot of the bigger pots when I brought plants from the garden in Devon to here but I don't need them now. And of course there were many small pots from all the plants I'd bought, mainly from Morrisons.

I sorted through and kept 60-70 pots which will be more than adequate for my needs and the rest can go in the plastics skip at the dump.

And now for some photos from yesterday's ride.-

This was our first stop in the Rheidol river. I'm in my purple top on Cody. Next to me (and on the right below) is Betsi the arab mare I've been riding in the lessons.

This was when we crossed the Rheidol towards the end of the ride.

Iola (the boss) on the magnificent Twig. Twig is enormous and dwarfs the rest of the horses. Here is a FB video of them in the river.

And little Daisy who would have been swimming if her rider had taken her next to Twig.

An Afternoon Ride.

There was a touch of haze in the air this morning which kept things cooler. By mid-morning the haze had gone and it was a lot hotter.

I had a change to my Friday routine this week. Instead of riding in the morning we went out for a four hour hack in the afternoon.

That gave me a couple of free hours in the morning so I filled a few small holes (using the builders' adhesive Sticks like .... ) in the first section of the garden wall that I had missed before and scraped more loose paint from the next section. Painting day tomorrow!

Then off to the stables I went. We were wondering if it was going to be too hot but in fact it was fine, either in the dappled shade under trees or catching a cool breeze on the tops of the hills.

There were eight of us altogether and I rode Cody, the dressage horse. He was one of the tallest which wasn't an advantage when having to duck under branches which we did frequently but he is an easy ride. There looks to be a good crop of sloes this year and yes blackthorn is prickly.

Our route took us on roads along the Rheidol valley up past the hydro station. Then we diverted into the river to give the horses a drink and to cool off for a while. A bit more road work and then uphill on the track that leads to a friend's house which I know from having tea there on our Sunday walks. We literally rode around the back of her house on a very narrow and steep track until eventually reaching the top of the hill with views down the other side to the A44. There it was lovely and breezy and we had the chance to have a couple of canters. Going through one field we startled a hare that had been resting in a patch of thistles. 

We followed old miners' roads gradually working our way back down to the valley eventually riding into the river once more. We were encouraged to take our horses into the deeper sections to cool them off and there was much splashing about. The girl from the stables who had been riding a very small pony ended up with water half way up her boots but didn't seem to mind.

Back at the stables I found that my card was still blocked. It's now sorted after a phone call to the bank. I'm just fed up that it wasn't sorted properly on Wednesday.

 

This blackbird doesn't seem to be enjoying the heat.

Sunset last night.