Zoo Day.

A greyish morning which got brighter and warmer as the day progressed. 

I didn't have the best start to the day. Getting ready to go to the zoo my denture snapped in half when I put it in. I wasn't totally surprised as it has always been hard to put in and would make a snapping sound when I crunched it into place. Plus it would be painful to wear to start with, something the dentist told me to expect. I guess that's what you get with an NHS denture. With no NHS dentist in the area taking on patients I've no chance of getting a new denture for £250 and I doubt if the old one can be repaired. I'll have to go to a private dentist and pay out considerably more. After a little smoothing down with a nail file I can still wear the half that holds the teeth that fill the visible gap so maybe I can wait a while to arrange an appointment at the dentists.

At the zoo today instead of working on a new spot which is very satisfying once it's all done, I went back over all the places I'd previously weeded. The bed by the wolf-dogs had a lot of seedlings popping up which I eliminated with my trusty hoe. The stinging nettles were also making a reappearance so they had to go too. A sure way of discovering where the holes in your gloves are. I had to make use of the dock leaves on several occasions. I also felt as if I was getting bitten by tiny unseen midges on my arms and face but so far there's no evidence of bites.

Not wanting any of the small children feeding the goats to get stung by stinging nettles I went along a lot of the fence around the goat paddock pulling up all the stinging nettles. A quick weed check of the gravel by the wolf-dogs and removal of all the docks growing in a plant container and then I moved to one of the children's play areas. There I removed any weeds and raked the woodchip to level off the area and add extra cushioning at the base of the slide and the various ropes and poles that the children slide/climb down. 

I only spent a couple of hours at the zoo as none of the usual volunteers I chat to were there and I did have things to do at home.

The two billy goats have been doing too much head butting. This one had plenty of purple antiseptic spray on his head and horns and the other had a small, fresh wound on top of his head.

Back home after a break I sawed, snipped and pulled at the last of the big ivy stem/root clumps so that althought there are a number of roots sticking out of the ground like utility cables the main part can go to the dump tomorrow along with all the others I removed. By late afternoon it was lovely and warm so out came the sunloungers and we had time on the terrace.

There was a spectacular sunset last night.

I went out on to the cliff to try and get some better shots so Speedy followed me out and then rolled around in a very daft manner on the pavement. I don't like him going out that way as there are at least two young idiots from the expensive houses on the cliff who drive at reckless speeds along the cliff road.