Wet Again.

There was a promising start to the day with a hint of blue in the sky and a definite feeling of warmth. But it didn't last. It turned grey in the afternoon and I had to make a mad dash to bring in the washing in the middle of our Welsh class. And from then on we have had some very heavy showers.

After our busy day yesterday I felt quite tired in the morning and didn't do much before class. The class itself was intense, more work on the verbs that take a following preposition where we don't have them in English and of course each preposition conjugates, but differently. 

My brain felt totally fried afterwards. Peter has gone off to practise some Spanish conversation with friends while I had no energy to do anything. I blame that partly on the change in weather. When the sun shines I can do lots but when the sky is grey I feel cold and tired.

I better not be too tired as I'm off in a while for disco aerobics. Here is a video of us from last week. I'm a creature of habit which is why I'm always in the middle of the front row. Mind you quite a few people choses the same spot each week. I may have to take it easier tonight as my knee is tender after I over enthusiastically demonstrated some our kettlebell moves to Pete.

A Walk By The Afon Gamlan.

It has been sunny all day. The perfect day for us to head to Snowdonia for a riverside walk.

Peter had suggested a walk around Borth (not that exciting) but tempted by the prospect of being able to stop in Mach and stock up on same tasty treats from the Royal House Café he agreed to head to the wilds of Snowdonia. 

It was an easy drive to Ganllwyd, just three roads to follow to get us to the other side of Dolgellau. There we found the free NT car park, with clean loos, just off the main road.

We planned to follow the trail which led first to Rhaeadr Ddu (Black waterfall) and then on to a circular 2 mile walk through the oak woods. But things did not go quite to plan.

We crossed the road by the newly refurbished village hall and followed a lane that ran steeply uphill alongside the river.

Compared to our local Cambrian mountains everything- the mountains, rivers, trees and waterfalls, is bigger and grander in Snowdonia. 

Eventually we followed a path to a bridge across the river.

From there we turned uphill until we came to the two main waterfalls which have a combined drop of 60ft. At that point the way underfoot became very rocky  and uneven which is not good for Peter's ankles. We stopped at a viewpoint above the waterfalls and I went on to see what the path ahead was like. It went from the left centre of the photo below winding its way over the rocks and upwards. For me it was a do-able scramble but definitely not for Peter.

Instead we went back down the path (as did two other couples out walking) and instead of crossing back over the bridge walked along the other side of the river.

There was a nice level track leading us on through the woods though at the end we had to follow a more rocky and uneven path down to the river and the main road.

On the other side of the car park was a woodland corner where the Afon Gamlam flows into the Afon Mawddach. There were three picnic tables by the water so that is where we stopped to eat our lunch.

When we got home the fine weather tempted me to finish off the bit of paving I'd been doing in the back garden. I had both sand and cement so first I brushed a dry mix between the slabs and then made a wet mix to fill in the spaces around the edges and across the front of the step to give a neater and hopefully more secure finish.

******

I've just come home from a good session with the choir. It's all chaos on the roads at the moment. Earlier on our trip out we'd come across a plethora of roadworks and temporary traffic lights, I guess the councils are using up their budgets before the end of the financial year. This evening there were more temporary traffic lights right in front of the hall where we sing. 

Also the main road to Mach is being closed from 7pm every night for the next two weeks. Anyone wanting to go further north than Tal Y Bont will have to take a massive detour down to Borth then out to Ynyslas, up to the main road at Cletwr and finally head south or north from there. Luckily this does not affect me. 

On my way home I was still on the main road when two police vans went past, blue lights and sirens on, in the direction of Tal Y Bont (and the closed road). Then when I was almost at Borth another police car again with blue lights, went racing past me. I wonder if he was going to the same incident?

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.