Sunny.

Quite a lot of sun again today.

We had to be up promptly this morning because the damp course man was coming first thing. There's some damp around the front door but it's really bad in the bit of wall to the left of the French doors in the sitting room. There it's gone up at least 6ft making both the wall and the curtain damp. It's not nice to see the paint flaking off and mildew appearing on what was a pristine white wall. The side wall has insulated plasterboard (sheetrock) on the inside and my biggest worry was that the rest of the house walls might also be as damp. But no, the chap this morning said that because it faces straight out to sea the damp section should not have been plastered straight onto the blockwork. It should have been 'tanked' with a special sand and cement mix first. He also said that having heavy curtains stops the wall from drying out. I'll just have to not pull the curtains so far over. I'd been thinking he would say we needed a chemical damp course injected into the house wall from the outside but he says taking off the plaster and tanking will be sufficient. That may be cheaper but think of all the mess, and just after I've blitzed the whole room. 

Even with the prospect of all that mess (when we can get our builder to come and do it) I shall carry on with my house blitz. Today I began sorting out the sitting room desk drawers. They are not big drawers but were home to little bits left over from ongoing craft projects as well as the things that should be in there. One drawer is finished and the second almost done. However the good weather was calling me outside and I knew there were weed seedlings popping up in the front garden. Better to pull them out now before they become established or even produce seeds. I wrapped up against the cold wind and had a peaceful time weeding. 

More photos from yesterday.- There were a number of red kites, some circling in the thermals but most just drifting past. I should have enlarged the above photo as it was the best one I took but I hadn't worked out how to enlarge and save before I took the photos off the memory card. I saw a sparrowhawk too but it dropped down below the top of the cliff before I could take a photo.

Oystercatchers at Aberwennol.

As I passed by the Memorial it looked as if every seagull in the bay had decided to meet up for a cosy chat near our beach. They were back again today. To be accurate there is no specific bird as a seagull, they are all different types of gulls but I still think of them as seagulls. Ours are mainly herring gulls and black headed gulls. The herring gulls must have hatched their chicks early in the winter because already I can hear the plaintive and annoying cries, a sort of whistle, of the large mottled brown fledgelings sitting on the roofs and begging their parents for food.