Windy.

I realised, as I sat at my PC in the small hours of the morning (waiting to take more tablets) how much I shall miss the sound of the wind when we leave this place. Last night the winds were up to gale force 6 according to the shipping forecast but even under less stormy conditions they tend to roar through the trees.

Today the winds were still lashing the trees so we decided to go for a walk on the beach. Imagine our surprise when we found the sun shining, unlike the grey skies at home. Close to shore the cross winds had flattened out the waves while out to sea the waves were choppy with white-caps everywhere.

The tide was high so we ambled around the small amount of beach skimming stones or at least trying to in my case and picking up the occasional bit of sea glass.

While we were there a young man dressed in lycra sports  gear rode his mountain bike down to the beach accompanied by his dog. I think he came down simply for the dog's benefit because without any encouragement the dog ran into the water for a swim. Later the man threw a stick for the dog but mostly the dog just swam around.

We sat on the steps of the concrete platform where the beach cafe sits during the summer to drink our coffee before returning to our grey and windy valley.

It was so windy at home it was worth hanging up the sheets for the last hour before dark. I used plenty of pegs for each item because as Peter remarked they looked like battle flags blowing sideways in the wind. I also dug out some gravel from the stream to fill up the last of the ruts in the drive and back indoors I baked the chocolate chip cookies Peter has been asking for. Before I stopped for the day I got the sheets ironed and hung the tea towels over the rayburn to dry off.