Lesson Day.

It has stayed dry all day, sunny in the morning and grey in the afternoon.

Peter and I did some Welsh lesson preparation together after breakfast. I find it helps to go through the next few sections in our folders before the class, fewer rabbit in the headlights moments. 

In the lesson we began with more work on those pesky prepositions and then turned to a much more entertaining section about animals. Plenty of opportunities to chat and to learn new vocabulary. We had our tutor stumped when somebody asked what the Welsh for chicken run was and she had to resort to her advanced dictionary. Obviously not a term used in colloquial Welsh. There were some fun animal names, hamster - bochdew [bok d ow] / 'fat cheeks' and hamster - mochyn cwta [mok in coo ta] / short pig. Others were easy , eliffant, jiraffe, mwnci and teigr. I decided we might as well call flamingos - pink birds.

 

During the break and after class I sanded out the last few knots and washed down all the woodwork that will need repainting.

Salad has been made for supper and shortly I'll be off to the Hall for an hour of happy dancing.

The female blackbird in particular is fond of these fruits on the end hedge (can't remember what it is). This hedge is also full of powdery mildew which goes everywhere when I cut it especially with the electric trimmer. There's not much I can do about it but at least it seems that each species of plant has a powdery mildew specific to it and it shouldn't spread to any other plants.

Waiting for ............... .

........... a Spitfire.

After yesterday's anniversary flyby was postponed until today there was much anticipation in the village for today's appearance. It rained in the morning, take off from Valley was moved from 10.00 to 2.00 by which time the sun was shinning.

Peter and I stood on the terrace enjoying the warmth of the sun straining to catch a first glimpse of the Spitfire and two escort planes but to no avail. After an hour the weather closed in again (torrential rain) and we heard that take off had been moved to 4.00.

By that time Peter had gone out but I kept watch eagerly. I and others in the village thought the planes would come swooping along the coast from the Llyn Peninsula but that was not the case. All of a sudden three planes appeared high in the sky from the direction of Mach. As they reached the flat land behind the village they turned and headed off southwards. I managed to take four photos which is better than nothing.

 

Here is a  FB video taken by Kevin Talbot who was up on the hill behind the village.

In between waiting for the Spitfire I completed and sent my Welsh homework and also got on with more sanding of the paintwork. There are still three more knots to do in the hall before I can move on to the next phase.

I'm off to choir soon and for once I've found a bit of time to practise the Sing For Water songs. Luckily most of them are ones we sang two years ago.

All About Birds.

After a cold, wet night the day didn't look too promising either. Yesterday when I'd heard that there was a possibility of frost I'd brought all the succulents and trailing geraniums back into the kitchen. Now they're saying things are going to warm up so out the plants have gone again.

With the rain beginning to clear up and the forecast for tomorrow looking quite dire I went to the zoo this morning (with a jacket in case of rain). 

There I weeded over the small play area, the paths in the grass maze and most of the gravel by the ferrets. Mr Pea, the peacock has been allowed to roam free again. As I weeded the gravel on my knees up he came, as close as he could and spread out his tail feathers in a beautiful display. The shine on the feathers and the bright blue of his neck and body were just amazing. Then, as I had no grapes to give him (his favourite treat) he closed his tail and wandered off again.

It was quite busy at the zoo today. One family came in with a toddler who made a bee line for a large puddle where she jumped happily up and down until her leggings were completely soaked. Her mother wanted to get her into dry clothes immediately but the granny sensibly suggested waiting until the end of their visit.

 

Earlier at home I'd been amusing myself watching the garden birds. While the female blackbird gathered nesting material the male blackbird guarded the small handful of seeds I'd put out. A pair of sparrows had to wait until he'd had his fill before they could come down for their share. When a second pair of sparrows attempted to join in there was much angry chirping and a squabble in the hedge which resulted in the second pair having to wait their turn. No sharing in the bird world.

The lone cormorant in the bay only had to share his fishing spot with a chap fishing from the rocks. I suspect the cormorant had more success than the human.

The latest flowers to join the spring display are the snow-in-summer tumbling over the edge of one of the raised beds. It won't be long before they are joined by the many self-seeded aquilegias.

We had a good Pilates session. We were doing bridge with one foot on an exercise ball (about the size of a football) when the suggestion was made that if we wanted to increase the difficulty we could raise the other foot off the floor. I don't think many tried that though I managed about a micro second before losing my balance and having to plonk my foot quickly back on the floor. I'll try anything once.

Showers.

We've had sunshine and heavy rain today. While you expect to have showers in April what I wasn't expecting was an intense hail shower. My poor plants.

Knowing that rain was due later I got straight out into the garden this morning. I needed to move two plants, an azalea and a spirea. The spirea had already reached its promised height of 1m and was blocking out the small azalea that was behind it. 

The azalea wasn't hard to dig out with all its roots but the poor spirea got rather rougher treatment so will need some tlc in its new position nearer the wall.

I had enough time before the rain came to carry on thinning the escallonia hedge and the first section is now cut back to the width I want.

 

Then came the showers, lots of them with sunny spells between when I stood out on the terrace enjoying the warmth. That was my cue to work indoors carrying on with sanding the paint from the knots in another doorframe. Because my hands and knees can only take so much I have to do the sanding a bit at a time. Hopefully I only need to do one more sanding session.

I've also done all my usual routine including piano practice and washing the blue loo floor so I'm feeling satisfied with my day.

A house sparrow drying himself off after the hailstorm.

Now as promised here are some photos of the chapel at Salem. Originally built in 1821 then rebuilt in 1850 and extended in 1864 for the miners coming to work the new mines.

The Grade II listed chapel has recently been sold and despite objections by local residents planning permission has been given to convert it to a four bedroom home with a small extension.

I wondered why they need an extension as the building is large and high enough to make a second floor but perhaps it would be easier to have drains going to an extension rather than into the listed building.

And what will they do with the graveyard which has 308 graves? In some places the headstones are placed around the perimeter but then all you could is have grass or a wildflower meadow. 

This family grave is relatively recent (1975). The parents lived to 81 and 83 but their son died in 1941 aged 21. How sad.

Salem.

Today has been mostly dry and windy with brief spells (literally a couple of minutes) of rain.

Today's walk began in the hamlet of Salem near penrhyn Coch, (contrary to what Wiki says there are at least 2 villages called Salem in Wales and of course countless chapels also called Salem).

 

We began our walk by visiting the derelict Salem chapel (photos tomorrow) before following footpaths down the side of the valley to the Afon Stewi which we crossed before meandering along the other side of the valley and back round to Salem. With of course a lunch stop where we sprawled in a glade surrounded by gorse and other flowers.

Coming down into the valley we passed a well maintained farm? house which had a number of buildings around it. The building above looked to have originally been a barn possibly later converted to a dwelling.

They had kept some of the buildings as ruins and created a garden around them.

Back across the very small river and up through fields of sheep. The lambs are at the age where they are playing together in small groups. Such fun to watch.

We had a steep haul up the side of the valley before failing to find the final footpath which would have brought us back through the fields to Salem.

Instead we followed the road along the ridge and then downwards where we met two gorgeous Valais blacknose sheep. They were very friendly and I was too busy feeding this one gorse flowers to take more pictures which is a shame. It had the softest face and incredibly white teeth.

On the way home a rather scruffy looking fox ran across the road ahead of me.

The sun was shining when I got home so I sat outside with a cup of coffee planning my next moves in the garden.

Windy.

This morning's sunshine and brisk winds had me loading towels into the washing machine and planning a day of gentle garden tidying. 

But it was not to be as rain soon arrived and it's been shower after shower all day long. (50mph gusts and 90% chance of rain says the weather forecast.) The towels which I thought would blow dry in a couple of hours are hanging in the utility room and the gardening will have to wait for another day.

I wonder what the weather will be like for the Grand National? I am not a fan of horse racing, not when so many horses end up being shot. I noticed that this morning there was no mention on the radio of one of yesterday's race winners being shot after it was discovered that it had broken its back. That's what they said on the radio when I was listening in the night.

Instead I decided to deal with the large amount of carrots I bought when they were on special offer. I peeled and chopped and blanched and we now have plenty of carrots in the freezer. 

But of course I didn't stop there. Having seen recipes for roasted carrots I thought I'd give that a go too. One recipe called for a honey and olive oil glaze which I made. Another suggested herbs and spices so I added part of a packet of mixed Brazilian barbecue spices and then worried that it was going to be too hot for my delicate palate (almost) and finally I grated Parmesan cheese over the top as suggested by a third recipe. They turned out alright but I'd made too much glaze for the amount of carrots. Rather than waste what was still on the baking tray I then made some roasted potatoes which turned out fine too. We've kept some back in the fridge and the rest are in the freezer.

I'm not the most enthusiastic of cooks and all the washing up afterwards makes me realise why people have dishwashers. Plus I needed to clean the oven which as I'm the only one that does it meant more than just a quick wipe over. I'm afraid there was a lot of internal grumbling by that time.

The grumbling carried on as I turned to the next job. Having bought more sandpaper yesterday there was no reason not to get on with sanding down the knots in the skirting boards and door frames that are bleeding oil into the paint. 

I do have a small electric hand sander but not only is it too big for the job but although it has a bag it would be too messy to use indoors. Instead I have to sand each knot, 13 today, by hand. It's so annoying having to redress an issue caused by sloppy work on the part of our first builder. That's my grumbling over, at least I've got the job started.

Dry.

It has stayed mostly dry all day with a few moments of sunshine and even fewer moments of light rain.

I knew I wouldn't be riding Tex today as he had been allocated to someone else. Instead I rode Griff (Gruff - strong lord) whom I have ridden once before. He was a real change from Tex both in looks and the way he goes. A little taller and a lot slimmer with a bright chestnut coat and lighter mane he is very pretty. The first thing I noticed after being on chunky Tex was the way he almost seemed to float, at least in comparison. He carries his head well and only needed the lightest of aids to come nicely onto the bit. Leg yielding, no problem. He had no difficulty either in bending his neck to the outside on an 18m circle something that does not come naturally to Tex or even at all! 

We did a lot of the lesson in sitting trot and when I felt how bouncy Griff was I was thankful that I wasn't asked to ride without stirrups.

It was fun riding Griff and being praised for completing the exercises well but in a way I enjoy the challenge of encouraging Tex to become more flexible. I don't think I'll be given Tex every lesson now as there are two people in our lesson at the moment with valid health reasons for riding Tex. My only reason is that I enjoy riding him.

 

I called in at the dump on the way to Morrison's and got rid of 10 sacks of garden waste. We've reached that time of year when everyone is gardening and I had to join the (short) line of cars queuing outside the dump before I could get in.

After that I had my usual look around Hahav. There was a whole collection of crystal serving bowls (they rang nicely when tapped with a fingernail) and other bits going for 99p each. But when would you use them?

At Morrison's I bought three more clematis to fill up a some gaps in the back garden. Really I only needed one but when they are so cheap why not buy extra?

I had a little wander around town and called in at Porthi Aber to see what they had. Often by the time I get there it's just bread rolls and giant pretzels but today there was a lot of bread and trays and trays of pastries from the bakery section of Lidl? I gave in to temptation and as well as our Sunday croissants and a herby bread roll and a cheesy bread roll for Peter I came home with an almond croissant, a pain au chocolat, a fancy doughnut and a giant chocolate cookie. I could have brought home loads more but it wouldn't have done my diet much good. I imagine the uni students must enjoy filling up on those treats. There's no charge but I put money in the box for my goodies. Apart from helping to stretch the budget I can't bear the thought of good food ending up in landfill.

When I got home I unpacked the shopping, planted the clematis, loaded the washing machine and undid the U-bend under the sink as I had problems with it again yesterday. The U-bend was clear and so was the pipe so I don't know why it didn't drain. At the time I got it draining by poking a chopstick down and giving a little jiggle so it must have been a tiny blockage.

Those jobs done I settled down with a big mug of tea and some goodies. I won't be needing supper tonight.

Ssh!

After an initial grey start the sea mist rolled in, rain fell and the sea state was 'no see um' (couldn't even see across to the village for a while). The whole world seemed strangely quiet as if the village was sleeping under a thick duvet. Unlike the hustle and bustle of the sunny days with holidaymakers either enjoying the beach and sea or marching up and down along the cliff top with dogs or children. 

Then little by little the clouds began to clear giving us sunshine again in the late afternoon.

As so often happens my energy levels directly mirrored the weather. For most of the day I was tired and found it hard to motivate myself. 

I pushed myself to make a start on dealing with the marked skirting boards and door frames which is the next big diy job that needs doing. Because of course our first builder did not bother sealing the knots in all the new wood he put in and now several years down the line the oil from the knots is bleeding through and making yellow marks on the white paintwork. It would have been a quick job to go over each knot with the special sealant (which I have) before painting but now I have to sand each one down to bare wood before sealing and repainting. But I came to a halt as I need more of the rough sandpaper which I will buy tomorrow. 

Next I tried to do some admin on-line but came to another halt when I was asked to scan in some documents. Duh, like many people (I suspect) I don't have a scanner so I gave up at that point.

It was only when the sun began to appear that my energy levels rose. First I went through the photos I have for a photobook of the house renovations. There were still a few of the 'after' photos to take which I've now done doing my best to get the same angles as the 'before' photos.

Next I ironed a duvet cover which had had to be washed after a tea incident this morning. I had only just begun when I noticed that the iron had stopped working. I did the usual checks, tried another wall socket and jiggled the wires but no light came on. It's a lead free iron that sits on a base plate like an electric kettle. It's actually less convenient than one with a lead as you have to wait each time for the iron to heat up so I don't think I'll bother getting another. Luckily I had a spare ordinary iron in the cupboard though it is quite old. Ideally I would like an new iron without steam as I never use the steam but there are only a few dry irons on the market and the reviews aren't that good, ie flimsy and/or uneven heating. I guess I'll just buy a basic steam iron.

I also made up more honey and mustard vinaigrette salad dressing some of which will be on tonight's salad. I make plenty using the fool proof closed container method. Put everything in a jar with a lid and shake well, so much easier than the traditional method of slowly whisking in the oil which you add drop by drop.

 

Sea State - Family Friendly.

Another sunny and warm day though even in the morning there were already signs of a light sea mist.

I've decided to use my own interpretation of descriptions for 'sea state' and today was sea state - family friendly. An almost flat sea suitable for paddle boarders and kayaks with widely spaced single waves breaking close to shore perfect for children to jump and people learning to surf. The large group in the middle were from The Wave Project a charity helping disadvantaged youngsters. 

I was distinctly weary last night after the long ride. Not too surprising since I haven't ridden for more than an hour since last year. This morning my knees and back were almost back to normal which is a good sign.

It seemed a shame to waste such nice weather so off I went to the zoo and put in three hours of gardening before heading home. I planted more lamb's ears and ground cover sedum in the gravel garden and also put in three lavender plants that I'd grown from last year's cuttings. I'm not sure if the conditions there are the best for lavender but it's worth a try. Before leaving I went over the paths in the grass maze which was a lot easier to do than when I had the whole of the woodchip there to keep weed-free. The zoo was full of families which was good to see.

I must say that working at the zoo can be a dangerous activity. Not only was I stung - by a stinging nettle but I was also bitten - by a red ant. I've had to take an anti histamine to counter my body's over reaction to such things.

Later in the afternoon my time sitting outside was cut short by the approaching sea mist which brought a distinct drop in temperature. Luckily I brought in all the dry washing before it reached the back garden.

I should be going to choir tonight but an increasingly sore throat, sore eyes and muzzy head have made me decide to stay home. I can't sing properly and no point in passing on whatever it is. 

An hour later.

An Afternoon Of Riding.

The man on the radio said that today was going to be the warmest yet this this year and he was certainly right. Perfect weather for spending four hours out riding in the afternoon.

First thing this morning our part of the bay was almost flat with just a hint of some large swell coming in. But looking across the bay there were lots of whitecaps and a line of enormous waves by Tywyn. A bit later, as Peter and I were walking back from the pharmacy the waves had picked up here as well.

 

I'd run out of things to put in the washing machine but it was a good day to air part of my small collection of dresses. Dresses do not feature in my day to day wear but sometimes you need a dress for a party or even a wedding. My nicest dresses are Per Una ones cut on a bias which are flattering for my figure. Of course before deciding which ones could do with airing I had a little try on and a twirl around while Peter said nice things about them (sensible man).

But as I said the main thing today was going out for a four hour ride around and above the Rheidol valley. I was down for Meg, one of the larger horses but once I'd tacked her up and taken her out of the loose box I could see she wasn't walking right and sure enough she had gone lame. When her feet were picked out there was a large stone in her front foot and even after it was removed her feet were sore. A quick change and I rode my lovely Tex instead. 

I was glad to be riding a smaller pony when we had to duck under trees which had fallen right across the tracks in the woods. On the whole Tex behaved really well though at one point as we were going along the road he started getting spooked by seeing his shadow moving alongside. Once another rider moved up beside us so he couldn't see his shadow he settled back down.

Our route took us on tracks and roads for about the first hour following the river, then we turned up onto even smaller tracks going up the side of the valley with a long uphill canter that had all the horses puffing away by the time we got to the top. A bit more steady work as we came out on the crest of the ridge above Cwmbrwyno and the A44 before more cantering along the flat. Of course next time we drive out that way I'll have to point out our route to Peter. The poor chap gets all the details of my rides.

From there we worked our way back down to the valley floor, had a long fast trot along the road before wading our way across the river and eventually back to the stables.

My exploits did not end there, oh no. When it came to dismounting my dodgy knee seized up and my elegant dismount ended up with me sitting on the ground. As I tried to get up my knee still wasn't working and combined with Tex doing his favourite trick of rubbing his heavy head on me had me flat on my back in a most undignified position. It took a moment for me to scramble to my knees and up with a chorus of people asking if I was okay. So embarrassing. Never mind, these things happen. By the time we had given the ponies a good rub over and led them out to the field I was functioning fairly normally though of course feeling quite worn out. Nothing a hot shower, mug of tea and a brownie (and my regular painkillers) couldn't fix. I wonder what I'll be like tomorrow.

Yet another pretty sunset tonight.