Chilly.

This morning the north-easterly wind had flattened out the waves covering the surface of the sea with rough ripples. When I threw out a handful of seeds for the birds the wind blew them straight to the far corner of the terrace. The blackbird must have been watching as she flew straight down for her breakfast. Sitting outside it was weird to see that although there were clouds covering most of the sky there was clear space directly above us through which could be seen a pale blue sky.

I rode Cadno today so although it was bitterly cold walking up to the indoor school I still took off my long sleeved top before entering the arena. Not only was it chilly but the sprinklers hadn't quite finished so instead of us lining up in a tidy line down the centre of the school we were scattered about as each of us tried to find spot away from the dripping water. However once we began riding I soon warmed up with the effort of encouraging Cadno to be more energetic.

Afterwards I did my usual round of supermarket and shops. This is what I came home with which filled me with much happiness. Because digging through the ex-lawn/meadow is such a big job I felt justified in splashing out on some better quality knee pads and a new Wolf hand hoe. A German made system where you buy the handle separately and the tool bit slots in. According to the packaging it's guaranteed for 35 years. Best keep the receipt safe. The old 3 pronged hand hoe I had been using had finally come apart after years of being held together with Gaffer tape. The shallow plastic planter is something I've had my eye for for years but didn't have the perfect place for it to warrant the considerable price. I do have acers in the largest of tubs in this range in the dark grey version but the brown of the giant dish is a better match for the terrace. I want to have some pots up on the terrace but needed something that was low so as not to block the view when we're sitting at the table. (The terracotta pots will be moved once the final glass panel of the balustrade goes up.) I also need to rehome some of the very low rockery plants which are being swamped by the more vigorous plants in the rockery so they will go in the new planter.

When I got home I planted out a white azalea that I bought at Lidl and carried on with digging the next trench. After about an hour my fingers were frozen but at least the robin and the blackbird had worms for their supper.