Too Tall.

A day of light wintry showers and bursts of bright sunshine.

There's been much talk on-line of the aurora borealis being visible as far south as Cornwall so naturally last night I stayed up. Cannot resist a natural phenomenom in the sky. I waited up until the main street lights had gone off after midnight but there was a lot of cloud and I couldn't see a single star let alone any colour in the sky to the north. Instead I got to relax listening to the gentle shush of the waves and the soft rumbling of the shingle washing up and down the beach. Later I woke after three and tried again. This time I could see a few stars but there was still too much cloud cover for anything else to be seen.

There have been two visits by men from the council regarding the sign post. They were very sympathetic to our pleas to reduce the height of the sign but despite the first chap speaking to his boss it turns out that the regulation height is 2.1m and nothing can change it. (Health and safety.) The short post in front of my neighbour's was allowed because it is behind a salt bin so even if it came loose and the sign swung around it wouldn't be a hazard to pedestrians. We shall just have to put up with it.

The shelf alcove got another two coats of paint and afterwards I did some crochet though the pattern still isn't quite working. I may have to revert to the original stitch which has the square holes in between the groups of stitches.

I've just returned from Pilates. Finally the heaters at the back of the hall which is where I hide with a group on my neighbours, are working so we ended with a long relaxation time at the end which was lovely. Sadly it's cloudy once more so there won't be any point looking for the aurora borealis tonight.

 

Back to Winter.

It has turned very cold once more. There were some light showers this morning which gave rise to a faint rainbow in the distance.

We were up in Mach again this morning meeting our friends to practise Welsh. Tucked in under the foothills of Snowdonia and away from the light reflected from the sea it felt depressingly cold. The type of day when you can feel the cold being sucked out of your bones. It wasn't quite as warm as usual in the library either but we bring our own coffees and the lovely library lady puts out biscuits for us. Afterwards I had a quick scout round the charity shops where I found a fun book for Peter, 'How to be a Welshman.'

When we got home Peter phoned the council about the street sign. The person he spoke to was very helpful so maybe our request to have the sign lowered might actually happen. He also said we didn't mind if the post was put right against the wall which would be better for people trying to walk along the pavement and then the height of the sign wouldn't need to be above head height. If it can be done for the signpost in front of our neighbour's house then there shouldn't be a reason to refuse to do it for our post. (I took the photo below last June.)

My afternoon was spent working on the shelves. First I sanded down yesterday's filling of the wall and ignored the remaining dents in the wall. And then finally I started painting. All the bare wood has had a coat of primer and tomorrow I can begin on the walls. One advantage to liking white interiors is that we have all kinds of white paint.

A few more photos from yesterday.

I'm not sure of the purpose of this gateway between the field and the lake. Maybe they bring the cattle (and the mythical bull) out of the field that way?

 

Red Kites.

A fine sunny day for a visit to Bwlch Nant Y Arian a local nature reserve where red kites are fed each day. It was lovely in the sunshine but there was also an icily cold wind in the less sheltered areas.

We had passed the nature reserve each time we'd travelled back and forth from Devon but had never visited it or any of the other red kite feeding stations. Our walk organiser had chosen this venue especially for some of the less robust members of the group and also for me as he'd noticed me trying to get a decent photo of a red kite when we were out and about. That was really thoughtful of him.

The initial plan was for us to meet up in the large lay-by on the main road but when I got there it was full and I only just managed to squeeze my little car in. When our organiser turned up he said we'd better park in the official car park so round we went and paid out to park on site. I didn't mind as the money goes towards feeding the kites and the general upkeep of the reserve which has superb trails for walkers, bike and horse riders plus a trail bike course (like a skate park), play areas, cafe and picnic tables. 

The main attraction is the daily feeding of the red kites which takes place on the grassy area on the far side of the lake below.

First we went on a gentle walk that took us across a field with a sign on the gate saying 'Please be aware that at times there may be a bull in this field.' It would not be legal for a farmer to put an aggresive bull in a field with a public footpath running through it so after a group discussion the majority of us opted to carry on that way. No bull was spotted.

From there we walked down to another lake where we had a brief lunch stop sitting by the remains of a wooden fishing hut.

Even if we hadn't been aware of the time the appearance of tens of red kites would have alerted us to the fact that feeding time was approaching.

We made our way back to the first lake and round to the hide next to the feeding spot. There I managed to squeeze myself between two fellow photographers ready to snap away. Although it was close to the feeding site our view was quite restricted and I ended up taking a lot of  blurry photos as the kites swooped in to grab the meat thrown on the grass. The people watching from the other side of the lake were further away but would have had a better view of the whole spectacle.

Some of my photos were not bad but I found I was getting better shots of the birds in the air when I stood outside the hide. It's hard to show size but these birds have an impressive 6ft wingspan.

I kept on taking photos until my group had nearly all moved on and then had to hurry to catch them up as we headed up to the cafe. I'll definitely be coming back for another longer photographic session now I know where the birds will be.

It was good that I  got back home a bit earlier than usual as this gave me time for another session on the shelves. Last night, when Peter had gone off to bed I sanded down the places I'd filled and spotted some places that still needed filling. Having put another layer of filler in last night I was up early this morning and repeated the process before breakfast. I thought I'd only have sanding to do this afternoon but what do you know? I found a few more dips on the front of the wall so more filling followed the sanding. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be able to declare the wall ready to paint.

A female chaffinch approaching an extra long (4ft?) bird feeder.

 

A Post About A Post.

 Lots of sun today and windy too later on.

The signpost, giving parking restriction information, on the pavement at the bottom of the garden has been a constant source of irritation. It spoils our view and messes up my photos. I did contact the council asking if it could either be reduced in height to match its 3ft high brother about 20ft away or even got rid of completely. Do we really need to have two signs saying the the same thing so close together? Apart from an automatic acknowledgement we heard nothing for many months. Peter rang to see what was happening and during the conversation was asked if we would be prepared to do the work ourselves which we could do. And so we have been thinking about shortening the pole.

However, less than two hours after taking the top photo I looked out of the window and saw the pole leaning at a strange angle.

Channelling my inner detective I went out to have a closer look and soon worked out what must have happened. On one side there was a tow-bar shaped dent with a long scrape above,

while on the other side the pole was split most of the way round. My conclusion - a large vehicle such as a truck or camper had parked up on the pavement and then reversed too far almost knocking the pole over and then made a hasty exit. With so little holding the pole up I decided it would be safer to take it right off, which was quite easy to do and now it's tucked up against our garden wall. That left the problem of what to do about the sharp stump sticking out of the pavement. A trip hazard for anyone walking along the pavement and it would rip up the tyres of anyone parking on the pavement. (It isn't legal to park on the pavement but as the road isn't very wide people often do.) I put a couple of large stones on either side of the stump first but then dragged a heavy concrete planter out and put that over it to make it safe. Peter will phone the council on Monday and see if he can persuade them to remove the sign or shorten it.

The view is so much nicer without that pole in the way.

In the afternoon Peter went into town to do some shopping and I carried on with the shelves (can't call it a cupboard any more). There were some fiddly bits to do like cutting wood to fit against the shape of the skirting boards and working out how to fill some of the bigger holes that had spaces behind them. Eventually I was able to begin filling all the other holes and cracks with Polyfiller. I'll be the first to admit that my plastering skills are negligible but most of what needed doing was at the back of the alcove and will be hidden by the books on the shelves. So all I'm doing is a general tidying up. I'm getting excited by the thought of filling those shelves and working out the design of the bookshelves on the opposite wall.

I don't know if anyone else is having trouble with their photos but twice the photos went on in reverse order. I suppose I could have selected them in reverse order to get them to appear in the correct order but to be on the safe side I put them on one at a time. A bit of a time waster.

Selfies on the Beach.

The day began with light rain. Weather to match the sad realisation that it has been a whole year since Russia began to wage war upon Ukraine. All this brought about by one man's greed for money and power. It's depressing to think that mankind's instinct for survival degenerates so easily into a loss of humanity and a disregard for others. Listening to the news  there are so many atrocities being commited both in wars and corrupt regimes that it is hard to know what we can do on a personal level. It's not possible to fight every cause so I guess we just have to find our own ways to make at least some difference to other's lives.

It was still raining in the morning when I went out to pick up Peter's prescription from the pharmacy. While I was there I casually asked if they had anything for me as once again we've got out of sync and seem to be forever trotting down to collect our pills. They were just making up my prescription so I sat and waited for five minutes until it was ready. That has saved me an extra walk next week. Don't get me wrong, I haven't become bored with having to walk by the sea to get to most places in the village it's just that if I collect my prescription then I have to take a bag or backpack for all those bulky boxes and I much prefer strolling along the beach without having stuff to carry.

Today I had my backpack with me and with my camera safely tucked inside a plastic bag I went down to walk along the beach to see what the recent high tide had brought in.

I saw my first barrel jellyfish and lots of multi-coloured bubbles nestled amongst the shingle.

I didn't spot it at the time but now I can see my reflection in many of the bubbles. I call this my version of a selfie.

A little more rain, a rainbow and then a glorious afternoon and sunset.

I spent the afternoon working on the shelves. I had a bit of a hiccup when I made the last shelf. I'd saved a shelf from the old cupboard to re-use, wise move. The alcove walls are not level so I had to make a few adjustments and measure each shelf separately. My problems began when I decided to lower the bottom shelf and needed to trim it to fit between the skirting boards. By the time I'd lugged the wood out to the garage my old brain had knocked 2cms off the measurement and I cut too much off the board. While sitting and contemplating my silly mistake I realised that the shelf needed to be above the level of the skirting boards so even my original measurement would have been too small. Luckily we kept all the usable wood that had been up in the loft and there was a piece that I could cut down but it was a daft thing to do. But by the end of the day all the shelves were cut and all bar one have a strip of wood across the front to make them look chunky. 

Quite a pretty sunset.

 

All Change.

The sun has been pouring in through the windows all day. Looking out it was a lovely Borthbados day, that is until I stepped outside when the chill air quickly dispelled that comparison. There was a brisk wind as well so I got some washing out on the line which is always a good thing.

I decided not to bore you with yet another photo of the hall cupboard/shelves but progress has been made. All the battens to support the shelves are up and secure and I glued and nailed some wood across at the top to tidy up the top edge. Also done was putting in some wedges to lift the board across the top of the space so that it now fits snugly against what looks like some sort of cementboard above it. There was still a lot of too-ing and fro-ing to the garage for the right size screws, wall plugs, nails etc. We have so many yet never seem to have the size needed. That's when I start looking in the tubs of mixed screws or nails that I've been carefully collecting over the years. 

Once I'd tidied up I had an hour with my feet up watching the beach. Nobody has braved the icy waters today but one excited dog had a great time running in and out of the waves. 

A thin layer of cloud began drifting in but I expect it will still be cold walking down to the hall for aerobics. No Zoom class today because of half-term which at least gave me more time to get on with other stuff. I enjoy the challenge of learning Welsh but it does take up a lot of time.

 

Cold.

It's turning really cold now with the icy wind blowing down from the north whipping up choppy waves. The only person I've seen out on the water was a solitary wing surfer. The brief showers that we had throughout the day were also bitterly cold.

I slept like a log last night but this morning my back was aching. I must not try so hard in Pilates. The trouble is our teacher talks us through one exercise which we do a number of times. Then she makes the exercise a bit harder and we all do that. Then she says if we really want to push ourselves we can try an even harder version but only do it if we feel able but if not just keep on doing one of the easier versions. Naturally everyone including me goes ahead and attempts the hardest exercise, at least that what it looks like when I have a quick look around. Most of the time especially when we are doing floor work I have no idea what other people are doing. I either have my eyes closed as I focus on what our teacher is saying or I'm staring up at the ceiling. 

As I ate breakfast I was almost hoping that the rain would settle in properly so that I had a good reason not to go to the zoo but in the end I drove down for three hours of weeding. Most of my time was spent tidying up a bed full of mature shrubs and bamboo which gets everywhere. I could see plenty of red cornus in there but it wasn't until I cleared a lot of dead grass and chopped away another shrub that I found a small cornus midwinter fire. (Photo from the web.) The odd coincidence is that I came across this when I was looking up cornus after last Sunday's visit and thought Wow! I found one branch that needed pruning so instead of going to the compost heap it's come home to see if I can get it grow.

For a change at the very end I grabbed a hammer and nails and fixed a bit of fence around another flowerbed. Oh what exciting work I do there. 

Having had a good work session, which after my initial reluctance I enjoyed (there's no expectation apart from my own, that I go there each week.) when I got home I put my feet up to watch the sea from the comfort of the armchair. Didn't even do any crochet. Then it was time for Duo Lingo and next I'll do some voice exercises before heading out for choir.

 

More Wood.

It feels as if it is getting colder though we had the sun break through occasionaly today. Once I came home from town I was happy just to watch the view's ever changing palette of blues and greys

I wasn't that keen to go to town being tired from a late night and spoiled by Peter doing all the dump trips. However he can't go at the moment so off I went. I got rid of all the wood and glass from the cupboard before doing some shopping and picking up a few reductions at Morrisons. I also stopped in town to see if a frame I ordered is ready yet but the frame place is only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. My last stop was at the builders' merchants on the way home to buy some wood to for the shelves. They're a local firm and a bit more expensive than the national chains but I mentioned our builder's name and they gave me the trade discount. I also discovered that I can fit standard 2.4m lengths of wood in my tiny car. I had brought along a saw in case I needed to cut the wood to get it in but I was able to slide it down into the passenger footwell.

Once home I collapsed into the armchair then did my Duo Lingo before blogging and I'll be off to Pilates soon.

Some more photos from Sunday including a history of Ty Glyn.

Fairground mirrors are always fun.