Windy.

With strong winds blowing from the south it has been much warmer today. From minute to minute it has been hot and sunny then pouring with rain. With a depression out in the Atlantic there's a yellow wind warning for tomorrow all along the coast.

I was up early as seems to be the case most mornings so was able to get everything done almost without rushing to be out by 9.15. I can't quite work out how nearly three hours go by so quickly though that does include at least half an hour sitting outside (or just inside the door when it starts to rain), 10 minutes with a heat pack over my eyes as instructed by the optician, Duo Lingo and all the usual breakfast and other chores.

Today in the lesson I rode Margaret, Cadno was having a rest day as he went out on a lot of hacks this week. No wild cantering around (shame) and instead we worked on 'turn on the forehand'. Basically that's starting from a standstill you get the horse to move its back legs around in a semi-circle while its front legs stay still so that you end up facing the other way. Margaret being a young horse I had to be very clear with my aids so that she understood what I was asking her to do. This exercise helps the horse to become more supple and is also very useful if you are trying to open a gate. One big disappointment afterwards was that next week's lesson was already full when I went to book. This happened to me when I first started and I usually book in for two weeks ahead to secure my place but going out for the long hack on the Monday then no lesson the following Friday messed up my system.

Then when I got to Morrisons I discovered that I didn't have the cool bag amongst my pile of shopping bags. It was so warm that I was concerned about the milk so I didn't have my usual wander in town checking out the charity shops. I did pop into the one charity shop near Lidl and found this small (billiard ball sized) glass paperweight for £2 to add to my collection.

Before going to the supermarket I dropped off some garden waste at the dump and called in at the builders' merchants to order the next two bags of gravel. Delivery to Borth is usually on Monday or Tuesday so I was pleasantly surprised when they rang to say they were coming this afternoon.

Even better was the deliveryman's suggestion that he use the crane to drop the bags right inside the garden. That not only reduced the distance I had to carry the buckets of gravel but I was also able to get at the gravel from all directions rather than just digging down one side. Of course I went straight out and emptied half of the first bag so that the remaining bare soil is now covered. Fingers crossed for dry weather tomorrow.