Hazy.

Today has been hazy but relatively warm. Last night's sea mist was very strange. Although there was not a breath of wind in the garden the thick mist came rolling in across the sea with the sun shining above it. When I say rolling we could see it being blown at some speed from the south towards the shore.

I went for a walk up the beach this morning as I wanted to check if the shop that sells sea-themed ornaments/gifts was open. Some of the wood and metal models of fish and birds are made locally and we have had our eyes on some wooden birds that appeared in the window display. Peter had been told that they will be opening at Easter but we aren't sure exactly when as it's now the school holidays. But the shop wasn't open so I'll have to try again next week. There were quite a few families on the beach as people come to stay at the local holiday parks. Also on the beach were the first of the barrel (dustbin lid) jellyfish. I counted eight large ones on the sand. They are harmless but it might be a shock to bump into one while you are in the water. I must have been giving off good vibes as two dogs came up to me and each dropped their ball at my feet. The small terrier type was on a lead so I only threw his ball a token distance but did my best for a whippet who wasn't on the lead. Dogs are allowed on the beach until the end of the month after which they have to stay off the beach where children play and be walked much further up.

 

For the rest of the day I've pottered around in the garden. I planted out a few plants that I've grown from cuttings, pricked out some of the many thrift seedlings growing in a trough where I left all the seed heads from the garden and tied in the clematis shoots. I also gave one of the water butts a scrub as I plan to install it in the front garden once I get a tap for it.

Yesterday's walk as well as being a test of my knee and general fitness was a time to enjoy nature. Before I had even reached the War Memorial I had been serenaded by a bullfinch with his rosy pink stomach then up by the fields the skylarks were singing. Later I saw a sparrow hawk being noisily chased by a jackdaw.

The yellow gorse flowers that were everywhere filled the air with their heady coconutty smell though the blackthorn flowers were not so pleasant. (above) There were large clumps of sea campion along the way and in a sheltered gully there was a spectacular display of dandelion clocks.

There were a few brown butterflies flittering around the gorse but I was surprised to see this tortoiseshell butterfly resting on the shingle down at Wallog. 

Other wildlife seen were a large (9") lizard rushing off the path and a bit later on a much smaller one doing the same. Then just by the small beach at Aberwennol I saw two rabbits running around on the hillside. I've not seen rabbits on my walks here before. There used to be lots down at the community gardens but then there was myxomatosis and the rabbits were no more. 

Sea Mist.

With the sun shining brightly and a whole free day ahead of me I decided to go for a walk along the cliffs to Wallog. I wanted to see if I could find some rock features there that I had read about.

Having made it up the first climb and silently noting that I had done it without stopping, I was chatting to a couple of holiday makers up at the War Memorial when suddenly I noticed the sea mist rolling in up over the cliff and across the fields.

 

Undeterred I carried on, sometimes I was in the sun and at others I was walking through the mist. Luckily the path is very clear and there was no chance of missing my way and going off the cliffs.

Looking back at the War Memorial.

Eventually I reached Wallog where I went down onto the beach to search for cone-in-cone structures. Imagine a box of ice-cream cones stacked inside each other but tiny and made of rock. Each circle in the stones I found was the base of a stack of cones. I kept the two smallest examples, a heart stone and a piece of sparkly quartz (who doesn't love sparkle?) and left the rest.

From this beach there is a moraine spit of shingle stretching out into the bay. It was formed by the glaciers that once covered this area but of course has fuelled the stories of a drowned civilisation. Though of course the sea level was much lower back in pre-history so that it may have been possible to walk right across to Ireland. I thought about walking out onto the spit but was deterred by the thought of the long return journey. (Probably an hour and half's walking each way - I don't wear a watch so that's just a guess.)

On the return journey the mist had retreated but was thicker over the sea so that it looked as if I was walking above the clouds. Note the steep hill climb, of which there were many, with the path running along the outside of the fence.

There are a few almost level sections of the route but it's mainly very steep steps or slopes. A good workout for my knees and no need to do the evening set of squats. I had a sit down on the beach with my coffee but then saved some coffee to drink while I had a break on the return journey.

Strangely enough there was a separate cloud hanging around the War Memorial.

Needless to say once I got home I had a rest sitting out on the terrace with a large mug of tea.

Still Smokey.

Lots of blue today much to the enjoyment of the holidaymakers already thronging the village. Right now (5.00) a cold sea mist is rolling in and the temperature is dropping. Last night I could smell smoke again. This may have been coming from a third wild fire which is burning near Aberhosan (the mouth of the sock?) a village on the far side of Mach, 22km away as the crow flies.

We had our usual Welsh lesson this morning. We started with a difficult exercise to do in pairs where we had to fill in the blanks in a piece of writing. Most of the blanks were prepositions which are tricky in Welsh. Basically there is a different use of prepositions so you cannot always say that they translate the same way or at least where we might say eg 'of' in English in Welsh you might say 'with'. Don't know if that example is correct but we have to just learn which prepositions are used in specific cases. Looking in the dictionary ar has eight different meanings/uses and I bet the rest are as complex. Halfway through the lesson our tutor lost power and disappeared from our screens. She was able to contact us through WhatsApp by which time we had already begun the next exercise which we could see was a set of questions to answer. The first question was How do you watch programmes? (Sut dach chi'n gwylio rhaglenni?) I was the last to answer and as everyone had already given most options I had to be silly and answer - I watch programmes with my eyes.  There's always one in every class or is it just my literal mind?

Earlier I had done some more sorting in the utility. Having lost three-quarters of a cupboard I need to be even more organised. The lack of ample storage is a problem in this house, I may even have to clear out some things. I'm working on it bit by bit. After class I sowed some more lettuce and some round courgettes that I'm trying this year. 

Shortly I'll be off to boost my endorphins with an hour of dancing in the hall. 

Wild Fires.

It was kind of hazy this morning but with the promise of sun to come.

As I stood outside first thing I was sure I could smell wood smoke. Surely it wasn't from the fire over at Cwm Rheidol but the dark wood of the outside table was covered with tiny flecks of grey ash. When I opened FB somebody had posted (in the early hours) a reassurance that the smoke people in the village could smell and were worried about was coming from Cwm Rheidol almost half an hour's drive away. Though people with breathing difficulties were advised to stay indoors. Not that they were likely to be out at that time of night. We didn't see any sign of the fire when we were riding yesterday as we were were on the far side of a ridge that runs into the upper valley though we did see a fire engine on one of lanes and people were talking about the fire which had been raging since Sunday. They have been using helicopters to drop water on the fire and some people have been warned that they may have to evacuate their homes. You can read more here. There is also a large fire burning on the 'green desert', the remote area above Teifi Pools. That's where we stopped at a bothy on one of our Sunday walks.

Pictures of Cwm Rheidol from the web.

I skipped going to the zoo this week as I wanted to continue with my diy in the utility room. I like planning diy jobs even though I'm not very accurate and yes I measured once and had to cut twice today and that was with a hand saw through the wood from the beech worktop. Apart from getting frustrated with my lack of skill I also get annoyed by the chaos in the garage. Peter has been 'organising' the workshop (most of our large garage) for at least a year but doesn't seem to be making a lot of progress. Looking for tools is a nightmare and stuff like piles of odd pieces of wood is piled on top of anything you need to use like the chop saw. The old workmate went to the dump and was replaced by a cheap new one. The wedges don't stay in place and the whole thing leans at a drunken angle. A better replacement was bought and sits there half assembled. This was a particular annoyance as having broken the blade in the jigsaw I had a lot of hand sawing to do. Not easy when the wood keeps sliding about. But it got done eventually and I have completed the whole job. I had to cut the unit into two pieces under the remaining worktop and then salvage the side of the extra piece and fit it back under the worktop. Once all that was done I treated the wall that was now exposed with anti-mould solution and then two coats of the anti-mould paint. There wasn't significant mould on the wall but dark marks were beginning to appear. I'm still not sure that the damp man who sold the paint to me didn't take me for a ride as the mould keeps returning in our bedroom wardrobe but it's better than nothing. The freezer fitted nicely into the gap and the room feels a lot more spacious now. There was just enough left over worktop to make two shelves for the open unit that I made but I need to buy more of those little peg things to hold up the second shelf. Plus I need to find the tin of white Hammerite that is somewhere in the garage so that I can paint the metal brackets I used to secure the side of the cupboard. 

Later- I've just come home from choir. Some of the songs were really hard to learn tonight but we sang a couple of lively easier songs as well. All good for the old brain.

A Good Day.

The clouds have returned but the day was warm and very pleasant.

In fact I've had a wonderful day. Before he went off to man the RNLI shop (two customers & £11) Peter gave me a hand to turn the freezer in the utility so that I could measure how much space it would need. My next step was to cut the beech worktop. Five minutes with the jigsaw got me to within two inches of the wall and then the fun began. Tortuously I was able to get through the next inch using a hand saw which took quite a while. The last inch was a problem, with the wall and the overhanging windowsill I couldn't reach it with saw or any type of blade. I was forced to drill a series of holes until finally I broke through the wood. I finished just in time to get ready to go riding. Instead of my usual hour's lesson this week we went out for a two and a half hour's hack. And what a ride it was. We rode through so many different aspects of the valley. From bridleways and country lanes with verges glowing with a carpet of golden celandines sprinkled with the occasional clump of primroses or a brash dandelion, to fields full of ewes and their lambs, woods with trees bursting with fresh leaves and blossom to forestry land where we had the usual long canter through the trees. Sometimes we were riding down in the valley and at other times we were high on the tops of the steep hills. After the canter a teenage girl who was riding with us said "that was wonderful, I've never done anything like that before.' I was riding Meg one of the newer horses. She's less rotund now and getting fitter but she did fall back to trot several times on the uphill canter. Behaviour wise she was fine, she took a sideways look at a few stranger sights, such as a fallen gate in a gateway we were trotting past but nothing that would have counted as a spook. She did start tossing her head towards the end probably because she was getting tired as this was the first longer hack she had been on. Back at the stables we untacked our horses and the instruction came to put their rugs on. It took me a while to work out how to get Meg's rug on as not only was part of the lining coming away but it had an extra neck piece attached and the clips were unusual, eg three straps under her tummy rather than two. I'd just got it all worked out when we were asked to take the rugs off as they would probably want to roll once they were out in the field. So off came the troublesome rug and we led the horses up to the field. It helps the staff out and of course we like doing it too. We had such a good ride that we've booked a four hour ride in a couple of weeks. One of my reasons for doing today's ride was to see how my aged body would cope but regular riding and/or the squats regime has paid off and I was fine afterwards.

That was a good thing as no sooner had I got home that it was time to change and head out for Pilates. It was an excellent session tonight with the focus being on the small muscles that link the vertebrae. Very useful for me with my poor back. We still had to work hard but then finished with ten minutes of 'relaxation'. By the end I could have just gone to sleep on the hall floor I was so relaxed.

 

This morning there were a couple of Great Crested Grebes swimming by the reef. Not a bird we see there that often while my resident blackbirds were enjoying the sun perching on the newly trimmed hedge.

A nice sunset to end a lovely day.

Sunny.

The cold wind made for a choppy sea this morning. There had been talk of frost again last night so I covered up some of the plants just in case. The sun has been shining all all day and anywhere that was sheltered from the wind felt lovely and warm.

Far out in the bay a trawler was checking its lobster pots while (on the left) a gannet went into vertical dive mode. There were far fewer gannets today and even though I spent quite a bit of time staring out to sea there were no signs of any dolphins.

With less wind than yesterday it felt like a good day to tidy up the hedges which were beginning to look a bit unkempt. I even managed to level up the bottom hedge which has always had a decided slant. Peter helped by sweeping up all the debris which came to less than a bagful and saved me all that extra bending. After a disastrous time when he chopped great holes in the hedge, and that was with hand clippers I won't let him do the cutting especially not with the electric trimmer even though stretching over the hedge isn't good for my ribs. Afterwards my neighbour kindly offered to take the bag to his land to burn. 

Earlier as I sat outside with a coffee I spotted two newcomers to the spring display in the garden, the lamium which has gorgeous foliage and the brachyscomb an impulse buy from Lidl last year. Considering it is a half-hardy perennial from Australia and is often grown as an annual I think it's doing really well.

The tomato red azalea is covered with flowers much more than the pink one. It was the red one that I dug up as best as I could and moved away from its clashing pink neighbour so that's another surprising success.

Although I have spent most of the day outside I did do a bit more in the utility room. Having cleared everything from the cupboard that will be cut down so that the freezer can fit next to it, I was able to remove the doors. I also undid many screws but came to a halt at the metal bar that runs across the top of the cupboard. When Peter returned from playing pool we had another look and following his suggestions I was able to prize out the last fittings and also remove the central supports. All that needs doing is to cut the beech worktop and the cupboard, make good and move the freezer. No doubt it won't be as easy as I imagine but I'm sure we'll get there in the end.

Later - The gannets were back for a while and this time they were accompanied by a flock of Manx Shearwaters.

Formation Diving.

We still had a cold wind blowing but there was not a cloud in sight today.

These poor tulips have only just opened but I fear it will not be long before they loses their petals completely. Later I'll move then over to the other side of the garden as the tulips there have more shelter and aren't in such a dire state.

Better news about the pennisetum though. I'd thought the winter had proved too much for it but new shoots are appearing from both plants. I think the catananche is a lost cause but the ruta which had been reduced to a couple of bare stems is doing well. 

There was no walk today as instead people were going out for lunch which they do a couple of times a year. Eating out is absolutely not my thing, for a start the social aspect overwhelms me and when I've been pressured into going on eg a works outing I rarely find something I want to eat. I'm not that fussy but don't like chillies (works do at a Mexican restaurant!), prefer not to eat processed food or anything too greasy and through no fault of any chef the food is generally too salty as we don't add salt at home. Luckily I've now reached an age where I can decline politely.

Instead I spent the afternoon gardening in the sun. That was after going through my boxes of stored clothes to see if anything could do with airing on this nice breezy day. And to see if there was anything I felt could go to the charity shop. Under scrutiny were a number of pairs of jeans. After my favourite pair of jeans literally fell apart as they were so old I have preferred to wear leggings or very loose trousers but you never know when I might decide to wear jeans again. Three pairs of Per Una jeans size 12, which I can just get into stayed as hopefully the weight loss will continue. I'd rather be a scrawny old bird than overweight. And how could I choose between black, grey or blue jeans?

After a long session weeding out the myob in the garden steps (will go out with the weed killer now that the wind has died down) there was time to relax up on the terrace watching the gannets who are still around. There were about 100 birds on the far side of the reefs constantly diving on the fish below. At one point I saw a line of six splashes where the birds had gone in but only managed to get a trio and then a quartet though there is a fifth bird just going in in front of them. I kept a keen eye out for dolphins but there was no sign of any today.

Everyone Is Fishing.

Sunshine all the way today but the strong winds blowing from the north-east were bitterly cold.

Seeing many gannets fishing on the far side of the reef this morning we knew there were plenty of fish around. And at last I got to see a dolphin too. The fish had moved to our side of the reef and by watching the gannets who in turn were watching the dolphin underwater I was able to get some reasonable photos when the dolphin surfaced. 

I didn't have a very good night last night. Tasty as the fish was either the onions, the garlic or the smoked fish gave me indigestion. Peter was fine but I don't feel like eating any of those for a while. That's the trouble with my diet which consists of very plain food, it makes other foods harder to tolerate. Tonight I'll be having fruit, a mix of fresh and frozen, with low-fat Greek yoghurt for my supper. For protein I've already had plenty of mixed nuts and of course we had our usual porridge for breakfast.

Peter was supposed to go rowing this morning, the conditions were perfect but unfortunately several people pulled out at the last moment and replacements couldn't be found so the row was cancelled. He does go and play pool on Saturday afternoons so all was not lost.

After getting more washing out on the line I did lots of tidying up in the back garden. The conditions were perfect for hoeing the vegetable beds and then I removed as many of the tiny seedlings growing between all the paving slabs that run down the length of the garden. My last job was to make sure all the clematis were tied in to the trellis.

This was the Lumishrooms last night with a couple of the bigger night 'flowers' in the background. I'd put them in the stachys where they looked fine but today I've moved them to amongst the bluebells under some hydrangeas to see if that would be a better place for them. When I looked out of the window last night the mushroom were flashing on and off like Christmas lights or roadworks as I hadn't realised there were two settings. I quickly changed the setting to just 'on' which was much calmer.