Still Here.

This morning's dustbin collection at 6.00 was pretty quiet and I don't think I would have noticed if I hadn't already been awake. But the red bins outside our window have been multiplying. Where once there were two now there are five!

Since our stay is coming to an end I decided to wrap up and go for a dawn walk. It was lovely walking along the beach with stars overhead and the bright lights of fishing boats out at sea. I was almost alone on the beach, just a couple of dog walkers and a runner.

Having gone up and down the beach I went round the Island to catch the dawn throwing a golden light over the mainland.

 

It's gradually getting a little colder especially when the clouds block out the sun's warmth. I've still snatched every opportunity to be outside watching the waves and taking plenty of photos. I thought about going bodyboarding again but decided that there was too much of a wind chill factor.

In the morning we walked round to the harbour where Peter bought us a dramatic beach picture to hang in our sitting room as a wedding anniversary present to ourselves to remind us of this lovely holiday. It's not an original, those cost thousands, but a good quality print which was still very expensive.

Peter also bought himself another wetsuit on sale in the Tikki shop. XL this time as the one he has (also on the sale rale for £199) is quite snug and has to be climbed into through the neck opening. I went to the charity shop and bought a couple of paperbacks, a James Herriot and a Miss Read, to replace a book of Greek myths that Peter wants to take home from here. (The handbook says to do this if we want to keep any of the paperbacks.)

Walking back along the harbour I sat on a bench for a while to listen to a fairly decent (his voice did show his age) busker singing ballads that I recognized. There I spotted waves breaking over Smeaton's pier so of course I had to walk right round the harbour to take photos of the waves breaking up against the back of the pier wall.

Peter didn't think his ankle would stand up to walking along the cliff path on the far side of the beach so instead we walked onto the Island where we sat on a bench to watch the surfers tackle the waves off Porthmeor. One good thing about this place is being able to go straight on to the Island with its easy walking and plenty of benches. Later I took advantage of the low tide to walk right to the rock pools at the far end of the beach and came back with a pocket full of pebbles and a large chunk of rock which in places had a metalic ring due to the high amount of copper in it.

A Sweet Ride.

After a rather wet night today has been mostly sunny with a few showers most of which only lasted a couple of minutes. I've made numerous visits to the beach and up on to the Island, basically whenever I've had a free moment.

In the morning I popped into a craft fair which was being held in a building almost next door to us. There were some nice ceramics and I couldn't resist a raku fired seal swimming on its back just like last night's friendly beach seal.

 

Then off I went riding, just for an hour as that was all that was on offer. When I'd rung last week I'd been told that we should get a canter in at the end which sounded okay. But when the owner, a very nice lady, said she would be walking with us as she'd taken an extra booking I realised this probably wasn't going to happen.

But I still had a very pleasant time meandering along lanes with a great view of the Penwith scenery where I'd spent many summers staying with friends of my mother (this was after we moved to London). 

Megan, the horse I rode was like a super sized version of my old horse Meg. She was incredibly comfortable to ride and took no notice of the cars on the main road. Would I go there again? Maybe, though I might look for a different stables instead to satisfy my need for speed.

The rest of the day has been spent walking around the harbour, buying an indulgent slice of Biscoff cheesecake and taking more photos. 144 today.

A Change Of Beach.

 Apologies for the sudden departure, the internet here in St Ives is pretty dire and initially my laptop refused to recognize any passwords at all. I tried again today with better results though I did have to stand on the doorstep to get a signal to my phone. It's the granite walls that cause a lot of problems.

In case it all goes squit again here are a few photos to give the feel of the place. Above is the view from our front door and we have the same view sitting on the window seat. Our flat is on the slipway to Porthmeor beach and the path on the right leads onto the Island meaning I've been able to pop out for numerous short walks in addition to going for walks with Peter.

Porthmeor beach is great for surfing and bodyboarding which is what we both did yesterday. I made sure to stay under the watchful eyes of the lifeguards (it was really crowded on the weekend which is why we waited until yesterday) just to be safe. The conditions were perfect and I caught lots of waves. Being brought up on St Ives beaches has made other beaches pale in comparison. Peter didn't stay in as long but the pair of us had aches and pains in the night as a result of our exertions. But it was worth it.

As well as walks on the beach and the Island we've also walked out along the coast path, explored the narrow lanes and browsed in many shops. So far I've taken over 400 photos in my attempts to capture the feel of St Ives, the colour of the sea and the shapes of the waves. Not to mention a curious seal that swims close to shore, so close that Peter spotted it tonight while he sat in the window.

Here's hoping this post gets published and I'll post again if I can.

Never Short Of A Cuppa.

It felt much cooler this morning. With no wind the sea was fairly nondescript but the sky above was dramatic.

I think that a lot of my lack of enthusiasm for our Welsh lessons is the sheer amount of time it seems to take up. That and the fact that learning languages is hard for me.

Not only is the lesson three hours long but I spend at least an hour beforehand going through the last lesson and looking at the next exercises. Looking, translating and making plenty of notes of course.

But by the time the lesson is over I do feel a sense of achievement and I know it is doing my brain good. Plus it is nice to be able to chat to Pete in Welsh.

 

During the lesson the postman delivered the Kelly kettle I'd bought. Now, whatever disruption to daily living occurs all will be well with a cup of tea or coffee.

Later - I had a good time at disco aerobics, burning off the calories with some energetic dancing. Rachel bless her, was still suffering with her cold and had to refrain from too much spinning around as it was making her feel dizzy. Towards the end people were getting too hot and opened the doors at the back of the hall to let in some air. These doors open onto the football pitches and children's playground and from her viewpoint up on the stage Rachel spotted a couple of lads, around 10 years old, joining in with our dancing, bless. One lad even came and danced in the hall for a while.

More Plants.

A brief post as I've only just got home from choir.

The day began grey and dark with frequent heavy showers then later we lost the clouds and it was another hot and windy day. (I've just remembered that the washing is still out on the line.)

 

I had some things to do in town first which included a quick visit to Charlie's where somehow I came out with four pots of the little cyclamen. I couldn't resist as they were only 50p each.

When I got home I gave the inside of the car a hoover. It was full of dirt and small stones, not surprising as we carry so much garden stuff to the dump and wellies, riding boots and walking boots all add to the general mess.

Once the car was tidied including washing off the worst of the dirt from the outside I turned my attention to the terrace hedge.

Seen from indoors it looked to be cut at quite a slant especially when viewed against the horizon. This was mainly an optical illusion as when I measured carefully it was only about an inch higher at one end. Like the builders of the Parthenon I would have to adjust the top line to fit the view rather than to the true horizontal.

However I took off the offending inch and a tiny bit more to make it acceptable to my critical eye when seen straight on.

The washing is now in and on the rack in the utility room.

Warm.

There was hardly a breath of wind this morning. Just a  silvery grey flat sea under a cloudy sky. It was warm from the start and the afternoon was sunnier and hotter.

 

I went to the zoo this morning and somehow managed to spend five hours there. I wasn't weeding all the time, there was the usual chatting with another volunteer and every now and again I'd take my tub of weeds to the pigs or armfuls of branches to be shared out between the goats and more armfuls of mint and lemon balm to the animal kitchen to be given to the wolf dogs (bedding). I hadn't meant to be so long at the zoo but right at the end I thought I'd check on the spiral paths in the grass maze and to my horror they were full of tiny weeds. If I left it any longer the paths would soon be obliterated. The paths are all clear now but will need checking while we have this warm spell after all that rain.

I got back home just in time to clean up, prepare some supper and change for Pilates.

Busy.

It must have been cold in the early hours as the central heating turned itself on (the thermostat is set at 17C) but on the other hand the day has been hot, very hot. A reminder of being in Crete this time last year.

 

I've been busy today. In the morning we went to Mach library to practise our Welsh. The new group that have joined our Zoom class seem to be more fluent than us so preparation for the next lesson is even more necessary. By the time we finished in the library it felt like a summer's day in Mach and the town was filled with tourists browsing the shops or eating in the cafes.  

As usual I dropped Pete off for his afternoon of playing pool and for me it was more gardening. I managed to give the long hedge a trim, possibly the last one for the season though if the weather stays warm it will carry on growing.

Then I baked a Bara Brith for Pete and after picking more tomatoes and preparing a salad I had 15 minutes sitting out in the sun. 

The forecast for tomorrow looks to be just as nice so hopefully I'll get plenty done at the zoo.