Sunny.

Bright and breezy again today and not too cold so long as you were in the sun and out of the wind. A good day for drying the washing on the line and of course for more grubbing about in the dirt. The blackbird and robin have come to a truce with the blackbird waiting for the big worms and the robin taking the small worms. 

I had to stop gardening in the afternoon and go down to the surgery for some blood to be taken. When I saw him the doctor didn't think there was anything wrong but I insisted that suddenly having ice cold and painful feet wasn't normal so he grudgingly said I should have some blood tests. While I was there I thought I'd ask about the shingles vaccine since there has been a publicity campaign on the radio to encourage people to get vaccinated. Now this I cannot work out, if you are 70 or over you can have the vaccine and if you are 65 you also can have it but if you are 66, 67, 68 or 69 which includes me you can't and have to wait until you are 70. What is so special about 65 year olds?

Back home I baked a Bara Brith and did the ironing and that was the day about done.

Now for Part 2 of yesterday's walk - This was through the sand dune reserve at Ynyslas. There is much consternation locally at the moment because the body that runs the information centre wants to close it down. They tried to do this quietly but an employee spread the word on social media and now there is a lot of anger that this excellent facility might be lost. There's information about the wildlife, plants and the unexploded ordnance that is sometimes found on the beach and you can get a hot drink, biscuits and good quality gifts. Plus there is a well maintained toilet block. Can you imagine what would happen if that was closed?

Walking through the dunes two things were noticeable, a great deal of water in all the hollows and at times over the boardwalk and the presence of dead rabbits due to myxomatosis. 

One of my fellow walkers had been part of the team that made these art works. She operated the cement mixer while artists created the mosaics. We took advantage to the shelter and had our lunch stop inside with tables and chairs. How civilised.

The paths near the visitor centre are topped with a layer of crushed shells giving them a white appearance. Visitors are encouraged to follow the paths to avoid damage to the surrounding sand dunes.

The shell path came from the centre of the bottom of the photo above, behind the bush to the right, over to the centre of the right hand edge and then dipped into what was now a sizeable pond. We followed the path to the water and then diverted up onto the grass. Eventually we had to join the path which was now a wooden boardwalk part of which was still 6 inches under water. The boardwalk is enclosed on either side but mostly with wire so it wasn't possible to keep out of the water that way. I ended up with a little bit of water down the back of one boot. Some of the group chose to stay on the grass but were then faced with climbing over the high wooden fence which was done with much hilarity.

Finally we were in sight of the beach,

and in the distance 4 miles away, Borth and of course our house in the middle of the photo.

Past the stumps of the drowned forest and eventually home once more. There was an invitation for tea and cake at Liz's house but I was keen to get home and take in the washing some of which would need ironing. It was an easy flat walk which would have been nicer without the wind. This is one to do on my own.