Some Sun.

Woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine. By the afternoon we were back to grey clouds but at least it didn't rain.

It was a good day for going to the zoo. As I'm the only person who does any gardening it's very much up to me what I do when I get there. I should cut back the buddleias soon but today I decided to make some more paths in the old woodchip area. It was very much a matter of digging the grass out of the paths and replanting it in the barer patches. 

I meant to take some photos of the paths but got distracted when chatting to another volunteer and ended up going to the secondary site up the lane where the exotic animals are kept. (The zoo's licence only permits them to open this area six days a year.) However we came up with a plan to use a large dumpy bag and my car to bring down woodchips from a pile even further up the lane. The woodchip has got wet and is not suitable to use for the animals so I can use as much as I want. That's what I'll be doing next time.

 

Hermes the the hand-raised owl (remember him as a fluffy chick on the picnic table?) greeted us with lots of hooting.

Steve the emu is very friendly and loves being fed grapes.

I put halters on the ponies and let them out for a quick graze on the long grass. (I did sort Pablo's rope out afterwards.) 

When I got home I did a bit of weeding in the front garden and cleared up after a visiting cat had used a plant as a toilet. To prevent this happening again I protected the plant by draping old brambles over it. The cat had also slept in the middle of an ornamental grass in a planter flattening the once gracefully arching stems. I fluffed the stems upright and put plenty of upright sticks into the planter which hopefully will keep the cat off.

Just returned home from kettlebells. I must say, that even though I worked up a good sweat it does seem to be getting easier. I know it would be good for my bones to do some work with kettlebells at home but it's hard to find the time to do everything as it is.

Wet.

It did not feel at all spring-like today, just grey, wet and cold.

Having completed my morning jobs I was browsing FB and saw that everything at Little Charlie's was half-price. Little Charlie's is the original shop in the centre of town and much loved by locals. Unfortunately the small shop is closing and people will need to go to the main Charlie's on the edge of town.

Everything half-price was my cue to jump in the car and head into town to see if I could pick up any bargains. I think the sale must have been on last week as when I got there the shop was almost empty. Very little in the way of shoes or clothing which was my first stop but I still found enough bargains to make my trip worthwhile. As well as a couple of plastic bins/ plant pots I found myself some gardening gloves, greetings cards, assorted tweezers for craft work, string, glue and the best bargain of all the heavy duty hand cream I use. I was shocked enough to find that instead of the £11 I paid in Mach Charlie's standard price had been £5.29. At half-price I bought two and one for feet.

Returning home it was too wet to do any gardening. Instead I've made a start on refurbishing my old bar stool seat by gluing on foam (from an old exercise mat) and leather (from a sofa I once chopped up). That seat was more comfortable than the one I'm currently using. They both have the same fittings onto the pole so if my repair works I can put the old seat on the newer pole. 

 

And now some photos from from the Forest School woods we stopped in yesterday.

The central shelter with its interesting roof had been there the last time we visited but since then even more has been built.

As well as the fire pit under the shelter there is now a pizza oven,

benches around the outdoor fire and a number of heavy duty kettles and tea-pots suitable for making hot drinks. There was also a very clean compost toilet.

In the wood above were tree house and other things for youngsters to do. There is also a new path of compacted gravel which is suitable for wheelchairs. The Forest School must be a viable venture now.

A Damp Walk.

The weather today has been gloomy, grey and frequently wet though I did see a patch of blue sky at one point.

Happy Saint David's Day,

and to celebrate the first day of Spring-

A Spring Lamb. 

We had a local walk today which took us down to the edge of the bog and back up to Taliesin. 

We met up in Tal Y Bont just behind the hill on the right of the photo, doubled up in the cars and drove to a parking space on the edge of the woods. Our route took us to the right, around the side of the hill then down to the edge of the bog in a big loop back round to Taliesin (to the left of the photo).

From there we walked to a small wood which has been set up as a community space and forest school where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we walked along a lane far a while before cutting across the fields and back up the hill to the cars. The walk was just under 5 miles.

Borth Bog or to give it its proper name Cors Fochno is the largest lowland raised peat bog in Europe. The browns of the dry vegetation contrast with the bright green of the surrounding fields that were once part of the bog.

Looking back at Snowdonia on the far side of the Dyfi.

We walked along the side of one of the many ditches that help to drain the water from the bog. You can see the woods where we stopped for lunch right in the centre of the photo. With all the recent wet weather the ground underfoot was generally rather wet and muddy. Luckily my boots remain waterproof.

Once we reached Taliesin we stopped at a handy shelter in the community woods to have lunch. Since our last visit there have been a lot structures built, more photos to come.

As usual there was much discussion of the tree and plants we passed. Already flowering were dandelions, celandine and of course snowdrops.

Almost Spring.

Whilst not exactly warm today's sun gave a good impression of springtime. There was even some wind which helped to part-dry the washing I hung out on the line.

I like Saturdays because I can if I want have a 'rest day' but today the sun lured me out to work in the garden.

My first task was to re-lay some paving slabs in the back garden. When I was first sorting out the back garden I laid some random slabs straight on the ground (with a little fine gravel beneath) to make it easier to get to the path that runs down the centre of the garden. I wasn't too surprised when some of the slabs ended up being a bit wobbly. More recently, when there was sand left over from one of the building works I earmarked it to use to re-lay the slabs. My first step had been to pressure wash the slabs which I did a while back. Today, while Peter had driven to town I shifted the sand from the drive to the back garden and re-laid the slabs. Having a base of sand made fitting the different sized slabs a lot easier. All I need to do now is brush some dry mortar mix between the slabs.

After a short rest my attention turned to the front garden where I gave all the clumps of pheasant grass a trim. I love seeing them blowing in the wind but they were getting quite bushy. Hopefully cutting them back will keep them at a more manageable size. And if I've cut them back too much I have a number of young plants that I let grow in the vegetable plots. The front garden all looks a bit too tidy and flat for my liking but plants do have a habit of growing! If only they would get to the required size and then magically stay that way.

 

I spotted this dog having a wonderful time digging up a stone to play with down on the beach.

My too tidy garden.

The usual spring bulbs are already flowering but I wasn't expecting to see so many other flower buds.

Slightly Warmer.

Today has been a little warmer and the rain has confined itself to a gently falling (?) mist. 

Since coming home from our weekend away we've been even more appreciative of our view, always the same but always different. And how instead of a background rumble of distant traffic the air is filled with the sound of swooshing waves and the occasional boom as the waves hit the cliff. I don't think I shall ever tire of spending time sitting out on the terrace or as was the case today sitting inside the open door with that welcome cuppa to hand.

There were only four of us in the lesson today and we were all on our favourite horses which for me was the lovely grumpy Tex.

Katie taught us today and for a change she set out poles on the ground for us to ride a square instead of the usual circles. We had to keep on a straight line and then make a fairly sharp turn at the corners using pressure from our legs rather than relying on the reins to change direction. It was quite interesting.

In Morrisons I had a long chat with a lady I know from the RDA. They fatten on cattle and she told me how a new youngster had got himself completely wedged between a metal gate post and a wall after panicking when coming off the lorry. It couldn't go forward and it couldn't go back. They left it there while they dealt with the rest of the cattle then had to get the tractor, remove the gate and then lift the gatepost out of the ground to free the daft animal.

Then I did the usual run around town taking the last bag of clothes to the Oxfam shop and and in another charity shop found what may be a suitable cardigan (50p) for Peter to wear for the carnival. It could do with being bigger and baggier so I'll stick it in the washing machine. It's acrylic which I'm hoping will lose its shape after washing.

 

Guess What?

It's raining again. It was dry first thing but then the deceptively gentle wet of the morning's sea mist intensified by midday to torrential proportions and continues still. I'll definitely be driving down to the hall tonight for disco aerobics.

Our Welsh class today was all about the prepositions that conjugate. Much repetition to help us learn the different forms to go with I, you, he, she , it etc. Plus those prepositions are used where we miss them out in English. And they can be different if the noun being referred to is a person or a place.

Before and after class I did some small jobs such as putting a suitcase up in the loft and setting up the digital piano. I thought I'd found a better place for the piano on the other side of my study but then the curtain made it impossible for me to put the sheet music on the stand. So it all went back to how it was before.

Now for the last of the photos from our weekend away.

With a garden voucher burning a hole in my pocket (there is only one small garden centre near us that accepts vouchers) I carefully planned our homeward journey with a stop at a large garden centre close to the motorway.

Having settled Peter in the restaurant with a bacon and egg bap I first went to the plant areas. It's a bit early in the year for them to be fully stocked and I can hardly fit another plant in the garden so it was only a quick look.

Then I had a lovely long browse around all the indoor stuff. I began by finding an acceptable hand cream tester (I can't bear a lot of perfumes) which made my hands lovely and soft.

A lot of the ornamental stuff was on the twee (or even tacky?) side. I tend to like more natural looking things but it was fun looking around.

This display with wooden carvings and glass caught my eye. Eventually I chose the little mouse sitting on a toadstool. Now it sits on the bedroom windowsill as a reminder of a lovely family weekend.

I also bought a long handled hand-fork and another air plant to join the gang on their branch in the sitting room window,

Crossing the Severn Bridge into rainy Wales.

A Trip To Newtown.

A break in the clouds allowed enough sun through for me to enjoy my morning cuppa out on the terrace listening to the waves and working out a plan of action for the garden. The sun was still shining for my visit to Newtown (Drenewydd) making it feel pleasantly mild. 

However, once I returned to the mountains the sky turned grey and increasingly wet. I hoped that once I reached the coast that the rain would be gone but no, it was still raining.

My trip to Newtown on the far side of the Cambrian mountains, was to collect my digital piano which has had the faulty parts replaced. It's a very easy journey, from Aber, head west on the main road through the mountains and at Llangurig turn left and go north to Newtown. No Satnav needed. The second road was almost empty and even at a steady 55-60 mph it was stress-free driving.

 

I collected the piano from the music shop and then went to the nearby Tesco's for petrol, the loo and some shopping. Peter had asked me to pick up some tomatoes and of course I checked out the sale rail in the clothes section. There I found some black leggings reduced from £15 to £5. Black leggings are my everyday, out of the house outfit unless I'm doing a specific activity. My current pair have gone baggy on the knees but when I put on my 'good' pair last weekend the zip pinged open and I had to wear the old ones. They don't have changing rooms at that Tesco's so I tried the leggings on over the ones I was already wearing and then bought two pairs as the price was so good.

I then drove to the main town car park and had a leisurely stroll around the town checking out the charity shops. I didn't find anything this time but looking is part of the fun. I did see some cardigans that would have been suitable for the carnival but didn't fancy paying £7.50 for a single day's use.

There were lots of interesting buildings in the town but many were for sale and there were a number of empty shops. All signs of a town in decline or at least from its heyday.

This is the market hall. I got excited when I found a place that sell 'barefoot' shoes but they were closed. I've been wanting a pair for a while as they look the right shape for my broad feet but have heard too many horror stories about buying them on-line. Going somewhere to try them on first is what I need so it was a shame the place was closed.

On the way home I stopped in the mountains for a coffee and some shortbread that I'd bought in Newtown. I enjoyed the view, what there was of it and then found myself behind a tractor and trailer going to 25mph. There were too many bends in the road for me to overtake and by the time he pulled into a layby there were about a dozen cars behind.

I had every intention of going to choir tonight but by the time I got home late in the afternoon my aches and pains and general fatigue got the better of me. Plus the road inland out of the village is closed while they do work on one of the railway bridges. This morning I took the coast road instead but to get to Tal Y Bont I would have to go the long way round nearly doubling my journey. So instead I am having a quiet evening at home.