Sunny, Eventually.

Vytas didn't forget me either. We had a lovely long chat last night and this morning these beautiful flowers arrived.

Weather-wise the morning was a disappointing grey with the sea flat enough for two paddleboarders to be out at 7.30. With no wind the grey clouds hung around for most of the morning. Later the wind picked up, blew the clouds away and we were back to sunshine once more. The sort-out of the utility room is going very slowly but today I made a start on the dustsheets stored in the cupboards. Unfortunately stuff get a little damp in those cupboards. Some of the dustsheets needed washing while others were fine with an airing on the line. I went up in the loft to look for some other stuff and brought down more of the large plastic tubs to store the aired dust sheets and old towels in. 

I've also done a bit of gardening mainly weeding and putting in sticks to support things like the hardy geraniums which are already putting out new leaves. 

A few more photos from yesterday.

New-born twin lambs, no more than a day or two old.

A happy Muscovy duck having a bath.

Somebody yesterday mentioned the high cost of adopting a dog from a rescue shelter. Thinking I'd mis-heard I looked it up and I had heard right. The RSPCA charges are - puppies from £400 (my friend's daughter was being asked £600) and dogs from £350. I know there are vet costs for neutering, vaccinations etc but those charges seem very high to me. You'd think they'd want to encourage people to adopt unwanted dogs. Not that I'm considering a dog but definitely a cat (or two) at some point. That would be £75 per cat which is not so bad.

A Walk Above Tal Y Bont.

A chilly wind and some haze at times but mostly sunny today. A good day for walking in the hills.

I accepted the offer of a lift with a couple who live around the corner but when I got there they were quite surprised as they hadn't realised that the clocks had gone forward an hour. If I hadn't of turned up they would have missed the walk! We met up with the rest of our group at Tal Y Bont, left one car there and drove up to Taliesin's Grave a bronze age cairn later said to be the resting place of the poet Taliesin. To our surprise the harp that we had seen on our last visit was still there.

Our walk today was mainly on quiet roads with a few footpaths through fields full of sheep and lambs and one steep climb up a wooded slope that ruled out the walk as being suitable for Peter.

We crossed the Afon Cletwr by a stone bridge the sturdy construction of which made us wonder if it was part of the old toll road system.

Eventually we took a footpath to a high point on some rough ground. We opted to sit sheltered from the wind looking back across our route (Taliesin's Grave is on the hill directly behind the tall tree.) Afterwards we ventured onto the windy side for views out to sea. (Below.)

We returned along the same road we had walked down.

Today is Mothers' Day and I was thrilled to have a long phone chat with Romas this morning. (I suspect Peter might have sent out a reminder.) Later I got to thinking about why I find the day difficult. Apart from losing Linas, Mothers' Day has never been a big thing in our house. For a start it didn't feature as part of our mine and Peter's upbringing. The Lithuanian Mothers' Day is on a different day and for Peter it was about a special mass in church and flowers for the mothers and for me I don't recall anything. I was at boarding school from the age of 6 and I suppose it was thought that making a card or a present would simply have reminded us that we were away from our mothers. Very different from when I was teaching young children when making and writing a card and making a present were great teaching opportunities. When I was older school was for education and not doing fun stuff and with no extended family, television and of course no internet how would I have known about Mothers' Day? I think it was more when I was teaching and hearing from other members of staff how their families treated them that I began to feel I was missing out. And now of course I just miss seeing our sons. Which is probably what all mothers with spread out families feel.

Off on a Demo.

I was optimistic about my chances of seeing the partial solar eclipse this morning as I thought the light cloud cover would make it easier to see. (Through the camera, not with the naked eye.) But although I took a number of photos this was the best I got with a tiny sliver of the sun covered up in the top right hand quadrant.

It was still cloudy when we drove down to Ynyslas to join a protest demo about the closing of the Visitors' Centre. 

There weren't many cars there when we arrived but once more people (and dogs) began arriving there were about 100 protestors in total. We had been asked to wear red if possible and an ample supply of red flags had been made at a workshop last week.

Then we made our way down to the Visitors' Centre and as well as some chanting, for the sake of the videos being made, we heard more about the work of the five wardens who are now out of a job. The NRW who are closing the centre from Monday have tried to make out their role was to provide refreshments which are just a self-service coffee machine and some pre-packed cakes and biscuits. What they actually do is; patrol the reserve clearing up rubbish and dog poo bags (disgusting dog owners!), ensure that the nesting sites of the ringed plover an endangered bird are fenced off to prevent disturbance by people and dogs and as the bird's territories extend to the waters' edge the fences have to be moved twice daily with the tides, ensure that people follow the beach safety rules of no inflatables or swimming (there are very dangerous currents) and because there is no phone signal they are the point of contact for the emergency services which includes whenever suspected ordnance is found as the dunes were a bomb testing site in the war. Last year there were two occasions when lifeboats had to be called out for people being swept away in the sea. One lady told us how she had fallen from her horse last year on the beach resulting in spinal injuries and had lain on the sand for four hours being looked after by one of the wardens until she could be taken to hospital. (The air ambulance had been called but in the end she went in a land ambulance.) And there are school parties already booked to come and see the excellent displays and learn about the dune and maritime ecosystems. They'll be disappointed.

It may only have been a small demo but as someone said- It's just a start.

After our protest Peter drove home but I had decided to walk back to Borth along the beach as it's only four miles.

No sooner had I started walking than I felt the first drops of rain but being me I carried on. I didn't even have a waterproof coat on as I'd borrowed a red fleece jacket of Peter's to wear. The rain got heavier and by the time I reached the beach my camera was safely in its plastic bag inside my backpack. I just put my head down and strode on with the wind sending icy needles of rain into my face. Very luckily before we left I'd grabbed a neck tube which I pulled over my nose to protect the lower part of my face. With that and the hood of a black hoody pulled over my woolly hat I must have looked like quite a suspect character. At least I could stride out on the sand and once I reached Borth I walked along the sea wall and then down the High st instead of on the awkward shingle. The four miles only took an hour and a quarter which is good going for me.

Once home I put on my warmest clothes, hung up my wet attire and warmed up watching the tv and the heavy rain outside the window.

Surfs Up.

Lots of rain in the night and none during the day. Looking out of the windows this morning, in one direction was a clear blue sky while in another black clouds could be seen. The day has been mostly bright but with a strong and cold wind.

I got to the stables this morning and had to park in the lane as part of the entrance by the level crossing has been re- concreted this week. After falling into the same pot hole two weeks in a row last winter I've driven very carefully as close to the fence as possible. It was not nice hearing the car going thunk into that hole.

There were seven of us in the lesson and I had Hazel again. I repeated my act of rebellion and kept her flash noseband as loose as possible. I'm enjoying riding her and working on getting her to bend to the inside of the school. The best exercise is to do lots of circles which I tried to do but it was hard to find a gap to slot back between the other riders. As a class we worked on turn on the forehand and did some leg yielding as well, both of which Hazel can do.

 

I did my usual shopping run but didn't go to Charlie's. I did find a couple of grasses in Morrisons, a blue fescue and another which might be stipa tenuissima or a greener version. (The label just said mixed grasses.) In town I carried on my search for something to make a Viking tunic for myself. It needs to be knee length, have long sleeves and be brown/ beige. I kept finding tops that ticked two of those criteria but not all three. That's why having plenty of time helps. 

At home I threw my riding clothes into the washing machine, got a Bara Brith in the oven and plonked myself down with one eye on the telly and the other on the surfers enjoying the waves.

Computer Troubles.

There was a lot of rain in the night and though the day has been dry it has remained grey.

There I was this afternoon all ready to start our Welsh Zoom class, I could see that everyone was present though with the sound and cameras off until our tutor was ready to start when ......... my pc buzzed and developed coloured rectangles amongst the black looking like a modernist quilt. There was nothing for it but to call Peter to help. He did his best but couldn't get past the start up screen with the circling dots. I fired up the laptop to use instead and that played up too. It's set up for both of us and I shouldn't need a password to get to my stuff but it wouldn't let me in. In the end I joined Peter in his study and did the first half of the class sitting next to him. By tea break time Peter had got my pc back to working again which was a great relief. He's going to investigate both the pc and the laptop tomorrow. 

Here are more photos from yesterday - 

 

Harlech Castle -   

Built 1282-1289b by Edward I.

Criccieth Castle -built in the 1230s by Llywelyn the Great.

Sitting above the estuary Portmeirion is a whimsical Italianate hotel/ holiday complex built in 1926. It is also famous for being the set of the 1960s tv classic The Prisoner. I've never seen the programme but I do know that the mysterious large ball that chased the prisoner on the sand was just an inflated ball tied to his ankle. I hope to visit Portmeirion next year on St David's day when entry is free and I can also use my free travel pass. Peter is adamant that he has no interest in visiting Portmeirion but I'm happy to go on my own.

In Barmouth I was impressed by a row of trailing rosemary bushes growing over a wall.

Having failed to steal any of our fish and chips these seagulls gave up and merely kept their beady eyes on us from the beach wall.

A Day Out.

Each winter bus pass holders get free train travel on some (not all unfortunately) local train lines including the line that goes from Mach along the coast to Pwllheli. This stops at the end of March and for the three years we have known about this weather and our numerous commitments meant we didn't take advantage of the offer. We would have gone last week but the line was closed for maintenance and we didn't think we could go this Wednesday, our only free day as Peter had organised the rowing club's AGM for this evening. But when I saw the sun this morning and double checked the train times I saw that we would be back in Mach by 4.00. This was at a quarter to eight and by half past we were in the car on our way to Mach. Minus breakfast but as we left I grabbed a couple of sliced of Bara Brith and a banana. 

From then on all the timings went perfectly. We parked in the Co-Op car park in Mach, had a brisk 10 minute walk to the station in plenty of time for the train. It was a very interesting two and a half hours along the coast to Pwllheli across estuaries and through tunnels, where we had 20 minutes to stretch our legs and find the station toilets before getting back on the same train back to Barmouth. There we had two hours to have a quick stroll along the main street (me) and buy some fish and chips (Peter) which we ate by the beach. We had a walk on the beach and over sand dunes before catching the next train which got us back to Mach for 4.00. That gave Peter enough time to get home and print off some papers before going out to set up the AGM while I washed my hair, sorted the photos and made a start on the blog before going off to choir.

 

One feature of the landscape was the many stone walls something we don't see in this less rocky area. And sheep with lambs everywhere though we have sheep here too.

Apologies for the reflections from the train windows. We sat on the landward side on the way out and gave ourselves sea views on the way back though some times I took photos through the windows on the other side of the train.

The train was quite busy and I reckon a lot of people like us were taking advantage of the free travel offer. Also notable were the numbers of dogs on the train. All well behaved thankfully.

I think this was the marina at Porth Madog.

This is the seafront at Barmouth, a small seaside town with plenty of summer attractions; amusement arcades, a funfair, trampolines and donkey rides on the beach. We saw many holiday parks and camp sites all along the coast and I can imagine it gets very busy in the summer. 

We found ourselves some quiet sand dunes to march over.

Looking back along the coast towards Tywyn, Aberdyfi and Mach. This was definitely the most scenic part of the journey with rocky hills on one side and the sea on the other. For part of the time we could just make out our side of Cardigan Bay.

Part of Barmouth with Snowdonia behind. I'll post more photos tomorrow.

Update on the scavenging seagulls- following the mess (recycling strewn across the road) caused by the seagulls last week I noticed that this week a number of the households in our road had put their recycling and black rubbish bags in a variety of lidded containers ranging from a clear tub (us and the chap across the road) to dustbins and even a wheelie bin. A bit more bother for the bin men having to remove the bags rather than just pick them up from the pavement but at least the seagulls can't get to the bags.

Hazy.

There wasn't much of a view this morning as the sea mist kept everything hazy and damp.

That didn't stop this bumble bee investigating the daffodils.

 

It visited most of the cheery yellow blooms getting liberally covered in pollen. Then the tightly packed petals of the double daffodil proved too much of a challenge and eventually it gave up without finding any nectar.

Yesterday's fine weather had got me thinking about cycling to the zoo but once again I took the easy option and drove using the mention of possible showers as my excuse.

I didn't spend too long at the zoo as Peter needed the car later. In the two hours I was there I planted up more mint to bulk up a narrow border of mint that I've been trying to establish, did some weeding and sorted out the worst of the damage done by the mole. There were more people around this week as we get closer to the Easter holidays.

At home I completed Peter's Viking tunic with very basic hand sewing of the hem and using a shoe lace instead of the buttons on the placket neck. Next I'll look at images of Viking chest armour. Much as I would love to replicate some of the complex designs as it's only for the carnival it needs to be simple but with impact.

Off in a minute to Pilates.

Mach Monday.

It took a while for the sun to break through the morning haze. Later in the day when we returned from a sunny and very warm Mach the haze lingered under a blue sky giving a distinct chill to the air.

When we got to Mach this morning because I was wearing a bodywarmer and had thrown my phone and purse in with my Welsh books and course folder I found that I didn't have any glasses with me. As I only need cheap over the counter glasses I have numerous pairs. A pair in each jacket and one in each of my three handbags. This was a potential disaster as I would have struggled to read anything in the library. Fortunately I also keep a pair in the car so I quickly went back to the car park to get them. To be on the safe side I've now put a pair of glasses in the bag that I use for my course folder.

We had our usual useful session. Anne had brought along copies of a crossword from a magazine for learners which we had fun doing. Much use of dictionaries and Google translate for both the clues and the answers. Now we know that 'swallowed a mule' is the phrase used to indicate 'sulk'. We went through the rest of the unit we are currently working on in class and there was much laughter when after carefully translating a list of questions illustrating the use of  'sy wedi bod' (who has been) I eventually noticed that the translations were written right next to them. In general we laugh a lot anyway.

 

I had hoped to be basking in sun at home but it felt cool even in the sun. I spent some time using a bottle brush to remove blanket weed from the pond checking carefully for water snails. There were some tiny water snails, about the size of a mustard seed, which shows that the snails, either this year's or last year's are breeding which is good news. Then back inside I came to do more sorting in the utility room. 

A few more photos from yesterday.

Not zoomed in! This friendly Section C Welsh pony put his face right up to the camera.

(Below) One of his field companions. All around were more ponies, all trace clipped, in fields sectioned off with white tape electric fencing. 

Earlier, by the ruined cottages I'd looked down and seen a strange black bird in a paddock next to a property and then some others of different colours. I'd only seen the usual spotted grey guinea fowl before so it took an on-line search to find out they come in a variety of colours from black through to very light grey. There were chickens in the same field in a fully enclosed coop as per the avian flu restrictions and these free roaming Guinea fowl should also have been enclosed to prevent contact with wild birds. Tut, tut. 

Common dog violets. I've been calling them wood violets and wondered if that was just me but having looked them up I see that they go by either name. No scent unlike sweet violets.