Nanteos Mansion.

There was a glimmer of sun this morning but for the most part the slightest of mists gave a clammy feel to the air.

Today's walk began at Coed Penglanowen, then around Nanteos mansion before heading to Coed Tamsin where we had a long break admiring Felicia's amazing garden. 

Afterwards Bob took us on a shortcut back to the mansion which involved climbing over two very rickety stiles. Not only were the stiles in imminent danger of collapse but so too were the fences on either side. With my long legs I was able to step over without putting any weight on the stiles but the others who needed to climb on the wooden planks required people holding up each side of the fence.

 

The Nant Paith runs through the nature reserve with muddy trails on either side. Apart from the trees that had been brought down last year by the storms there has been a lot of clearing of the invasive rhododendrons. 

Celandines were everywhere shining in the thin sun and here and there the first wood anemones were opening their delicate white flowers.

White blossom on blackthorn trees in the distance.

The lodge house.

When we last walked around Nanteos Mansion just over a year ago it was still being run as a country house hotel but shortly afterwards it closed and was put up for sale. It is still on the market at a bit over a million pounds. This is the only information I can find on-line but I believe it is being offered for sale outside of Wales. 

The crumbling stable block reminds me of the stable block at Arlington Court near our old home in Devon.

At Coed Tamsin all 15 of us sat around a large garden table enjoying tea and biscuits with whatever packed lunches we had with us. There were even ice-creams. I'm currently doing my best not to eat sugary foods so I stuck to coffee and oat cakes. Afterwards we had a walk around the garden but more of that tomorrow ...... .

Hazy.

The haze has stayed with us all day. Once again if you were in the sun it was relatively warm but the shade was definitely chilly. Less wind today so the washing wasn't quite dry when I brought it in.

I woke at 6.00 then decided to have a couple more hours of sleep for once instead of sitting out on the terrace. But before breakfast I sat out in the front garden enjoying the sun. (All the photos apart from the last one are from the morning.)

That was after I'd put out the seeds for the birds who start hanging around as soon as they see me. The RSPB are now attributing a major decline in the populations of chaffinches and greenfinches to infections being spread at birdfeeders. The small handful I put out each day only attracts a few house sparrows, dunnocks and blackbirds at a time and then a fat woodpigeon who hoovers up the remains. 

Behind me as I sat on the wall I could hear the coastguard's hammer as they set up for a morning of  jumping over abseiling down the cliff training. Next to me a bumble bee searched the arabis flowers. Then two serious runners came along in 'proper' running kit. The morning peace was shattered by one of them playing music really loudly. I'm afraid this grumpy old woman said in a loud voice ' Put your headphone in.' as they went past.

I had hoped that today I would finally be able to set up the last two water butts but that didn't quite happen. I find it very disheartening when a plan doesn't work. I had - two drain pipe diverters, two taps, two fittings to use for overflow pipes and an assortment of washers and jubilee clips should they be needed. But what I didn't have was the drill attachment to cut holes for the overflow pipes. (I've found that the diverters' bit that closes when the water butt is full stops working after a while.) No problems fitting the taps but now I have to wait until we get a 2.6cm hole cutter thingy to finish the job.

Then I moved onto the next garden task which was to shift a large plastic tub from the back garden to next to the porch. I'd already removed the dead acer but still had to dig out all the soil before I could lift the tub and carry it to its new spot. After which the tub had to be re-filled with compost and soil. I made sure not to carry too much at a time but any carrying is not good for my back. The last thing was to plant the tub with corms of crocosmia mansorium (giant montbretia). The porch will shelter them from the wind and they will go nicely with the montbretia growing in the planters all along the garden wall. 

Next I got the pressure washer out and cleaned the last stretch of paving that goes from the utility room door out to the drive.

I also planted the new fruit bushes and then finished my gardening by cutting back a sage plant which had nearly filled a raised bed and was smothering the other plants. I hope it's not like the rosemary which died back to just one branch after I cut it back (a bit) last year.

Paddington Bear has had to be mothballed, encased in plastic until next year after I discovered that the scarecrow competition is happening when we will be away. Talk about being ready in advance!

By the time I went to sit on the terrace with a cuppa at the end of the afternoon the sun had dipped behind our neighbour's house and it wasn't exactly warm in the shade. I sat there looking at the sun on the beach and feeling cold when I realised I could go and sit on the little wall on the cliff and be in the sun too. Duh. Which is what I did, and had a couple of conversations with people I know.

Not a bad day and those water butts will get done eventually.

Hazy.

There was more blue sky to be seen early in the morning than for the rest of the day after the haze had settled in. There was a bit of a bite in the air though in town plenty of people were walking around in t-shirts (optimism maybe?) and some even in shorts.

There were six of us in the ride today and of course I rode Tex. I found out that unlike many of the other ponies he is not currently 'on loan' as the girl who had him has grown away from riding. The stables has a scheme where you 'loan' one of the horses or ponies on Sundays when there are no lessons. (All horses get the day off on Mondays.) You can do whatever you like, hack out, use the school or the fields with their permanent jumps and generally look after the horse during the day.  Much as I would love this unless we win the lottery, which we don't do or win on the premium bonds, which we intend to buy, my state pension isn't enough for me to afford it.

I had a good ride today, Katie had asked us to work on getting the ponies going with more energy and Tex certainly went up a few gears even breaking into canter when I asked him to lengthen his stride down the long side. He also comes onto the bit, at least at halt. Now all I need is for him to maintain it when we move off though there were a few moments in trot.

 

Next stop after the stables was the dump where I got rid of a carload of garden waste. And since I was on the industrial estate I called in at Hahav. There I found this nicely engraved tankard with a pewter and zinc lid all for the princely sum of 25p. I thought it would be handy for Peter so that the flies don't get in his beer when we sit outside.

On the way in to Morrison's I cast my eye over the plants and came away with three interesting fruit bushes. Although I don't really have room they are part of my future proofing plan of having fruit bushes in the back garden. Less work in the years to come. It's worth a try at only £6 for all three.

By the time I'd got the shopping put away and the apples stewing I was ready for a sit down with a big mug of tea. Looking out of the windows the sea was almost completely flat and an interesting silvery grey colour. For at least half an hour this dog had a wonderful time racing in and out of the sea. No people swimming today as it was verging on chilly.

Later there was a delicate pink sunset to enjoy.

Still Nice.

A bit hazier today and not quite as warm as yesterday but still a very pleasant day.

No sign of a sore throat this morning and my back has settled back to its normal level of soreness so that's good as well.

 

Being Thursday most of the day has been spent working on learning Welsh. As often happens I needed to do my homework at the last moment. This was the wonderful Robin Radio where we have to listen to a conversation, answer questions and do some translation. 

The class itself wasn't so hard today unlike last week's brain fog. Mainly because although it's still conjugating prepositions this week we only had to remember one - am which can be either about or for (in certain circumstances). We did have an amusing interlude where after being in a breakout room where one of the discussion topics was things we did not like about our area the subject of dog poo came up. And of course we didn't know the correct word to use. Our tutor gave us both versions of the word paw = poo and the other stronger word that we wouldn't use in polite company. But as she said we are there to learn the language. And if you for example drop a stone on your toe you might well use the phrase cachu hwch - sow's sh** as an expletive. 

Of course I did manage some time sitting out in the garden. I have a penchant for counting things and already the flower count is up to 22 different varieties just in the front garden. As I sat outside I could hear lawnmowers busy in other people's gardens and when I walked down to the Hall for disco aerobics the air was filled with the smell of fresh cut grass. Even nicer was finding it still light as I walked home afterwards. That's the first time this year. And I had a pretty pink and grey sunset to look at on the way with a single star in the blue sky above.

A Summer's Day.

Today has felt like summer with the temperature going up to a balmy 20C. There was some wind too which made it a good drying day for the two machine loads I put out on the line.

It was still dark when I woke but my back was too painful for me to remain in bed. Moving around, opening curtains, preparing breakfast etc generally helps to ease my back. Today I needed a couple of strong pain killers as well. I'm pretty sure it was heaving bags of compost into the car that did the damage. Even though I only half filled the bags they were still heavy, I should have known better.

And now to add to my aching back I've got the start of a sore throat. I only hope I haven't caught Peter's recent cold. 

 

Once everything was done including putting the recycling and the rubbish out for the bin men, I settled down to watch the world from the terrace. Out at sea the Genesis was putting out/ taking in? lobster pots while in the garden most of the birds have paired up. It's that time of year. 

With the sun shinning of course I found myself plenty to do outside.

My first job was to give the garden tables and chairs a couple of generous coats of teak oil which I do each year to keep the wood from drying out in the sea air.

Next I took off all the dead hydrangea heads. Now the bushes are no longer wearing their puffy brown winter coats but are looking smart in their fresh green spring outfits. I resisted dead heading or cutting back anything else just in case we have a cold spell. 

I have brought some of the plants (not the succulents) out of the porch and put them back on the terrace. They didn't do too well in the porch as I was so concerned about over watering that I may have let them get too dry. I will try and make a cold frame for next year instead.

In between all the gardening I took my breaks sitting out in the sun and for the last spell before doing the ironing I even put on a pair of shorts. Time to start getting some colour on those legs.

Tribbles!

Remember Tribbles from Star Trek? Well, I went out to load the car this morning and there bouncing and rolling down the road were light brown spheres that were either lightweight hedgehogs or tribbles. The real and not so silly explanation was that my neighbours were cutting the old dry blooms from their hydrangea which were being caught by the wind and blown away before they could catch them.

There was a pleasant change in the weather today. Not a cloud to be seen over the sea and just a few over the mountains. Although very windy it was so warm that I spent my time working at the zoo in just a vest. The forecast for tomorrow says sunny all day and 20C. Wonderful.

 

I was sitting outside having an early coffee when I saw that the RNLI tractor was out. On closer inspection I could see someone attempting to shift the large tree trunk out of the way. It obviously didn't work as the tree is still in the same position. I think he needs a bigger tractor. 

Even if I never left the house there's always something to see. On the road behind the tractor a house is having new roof tiles. The house that is being rebuilt is  three building away on the left and there was a craned delivery of building materials to a house three away on the other side. It seems that building never stops in Borth.

At the zoo I began by planting mint (spares from home) in the gravel garden in a difficult corner where I haven't been able to get anything to grow. Then I went over the whole area picking off the latest offering of cones and catkins. There are still so many left on that tree so I'll be doing this for a few more weeks yet.

Once I got the gravel garden tidied up I cut back the buddleias in a small enclosure. I shared the cut branches between the goats though the two male Welsh mountain goats were more intent on beating each other up. I also took some down to Willow who lives alone in a high sided enclosure by the entrance. 

Before leaving I drove down the lane and loaded up with more bags of compost for my garden.

By the time I got home the clouds had begun to roll in. But there was still enough sun on the terrace for me to sit out and admire the clean paving while planning the next garden jobs. 

I made myself a big mug of tea as I'd felt quite dehydrated by the wind but ended up having to throw it away. As I was about to take a sip I'd looked down and seen a fly swimming in the tea. Not a harmless little greenfly that could be safely flicked out (they only eat plants after all) but something nearer to a horsefly. Not quite as big but just as unacceptable. After making a replacement mug of tea I made sure to keep my hand over the top of the mug to prevent further intruders.

Later I went to the Hall for Pilates. We ended with fifteen minutes of 'relaxation' but had a harder set of exercises before as a consequence. Walking home it felt remarkably warm so hopefully the forecasters will be right about tomorrow.

Pressure Washing.

Today has been grey with a fair amount of rain.

In the morning it looked as if the day was going to stay dry so I decided to get the pressure washer out as I had noticed a green tinge to the terrace paving. Not surprising considering how much rain we've had this year ie just about every day.

I got myself organised and was able to clean up half-way down the path by the house before I had to admit that I needed to stop due to the quite heavy rain that was falling. I was fine with waterproofs trousers and jacket but I don't think I should be using electrical stuff in the rain. (I had put a plastic sack over the pressure washer when the rain wasn't too bad.) Since then the pressure washer has developed an intermittent stutter when I stop using the washer hose, possibly some water has got into the works?

Looking at the forecast I could see that we were due a dry spell at the end of the afternoon. Sure enough the rain eased off and another two hours work saw the rest of the path, the terrace, the steps and the new paving in the front garden all cleaned of that green layer. It wasn't that noticeable before but once you start cleaning there's a real contrast as the water jet moves across the paving. I'm glad that another job is done. It's one of those maintenance jobs that needs doing to prevent slippery paving. And it looks so much better.

 

Mothers' Day.

Today is Mothering Sunday and I was delighted to get a bouquet from Vytas and a planted basket from Romas. Those helped to lift my mood which can be quite low on Mothers' Day. Not helped by the fact that due to Peter's coughing and snoring along with the usual aches and pains I haven't slept well for the last few nights. As usual I found myself filled with sadness at how little contact we have with the boys. Busy lives and distance mean that visits are rare and I guess you never appreciate your parents until it is too late. 

Peter got all the breakfast ready and did the washing up which is my job, which was nice.

Usually going out with the walking group helps to distract me but there was no walk today. It seems that the walk was changed to yesterday because of the weather but there was no information either via e-mail (which is how we know where to meet) or the WhatsApp where I saw a few other people wondering what was going on. Some people were going to meet up anyway but by that time it was raining and I decided not to bother. 

It had rained on and off all morning but at mid-day, just after low tide, I decided to go for a beach walk. 

First I had a wander around the rock pools and amused myself by looking for silly images amongst the natural objects.

It didn't take much imagination to turn these stones into a fat cartoon penguin.

From the rock pools I walked up along the edge of the water enjoying watching the foam and bubbles being blown across the wet sand.

I walked to the end of this little cove before turning back and heading home.

I spent the rest of the afternoon replacing the zip in a pair of black leggings. All by hand as I wouldn't trust myself or my machine for the job.

Right at the end of the afternoon there was a bit of blue sky and then some golden light as the sun went down.

Chicken Soup.

At last a day of sunshine. (The forecast for tomorrow is not looking so nice and there is still no email regarding the walk so who knows what I'll be doing.)

Peter was coughing badly yesterday evening and most of the night so I decided to make that good old folk remedy, chicken soup. 

I had most of the ingredients but no celery so I went early to the shop to see if they had some. But they didn't, they don't stock so much until the holiday season starts at Easter. They did have things like fresh blueberries and raspberries, tempting but pricey and the leeks caught my eye. Well, they are the same shape and colour as celery but as chicken soup needs hours of cooking they would have turned to mush.

Making the soup has been a good way to use up random veg from the fridge and the last of the Christmas parsnips and carrots. That's tonight's supper sorted. Oh and Peter is hardly coughing today. Let's hope he's on the mend.

 

I sat out on the terrace first thing and later enjoyed the sun sitting on the wall in the front garden. It's been so nice that the washing on the line has dried (I think) but just to make sure it is on the airer in the utility room until tomorrow. I was also able to leave the bedroom window open for most of the day to give the room a good airing.

My afternoon has been spent finishing off Paddington. The length of the legs was a bit of an issue as the original version had short legs but the latest film has him with much longer legs. Still he's done, just a few accessories to do or find and that's another project completed.