Sunny Start.

The day began in true Borthbados style, blue skies and warm air but by mid-day (when I remembered to take a photo) the clouds were rolling in and by the time Peter had gone out to row we had the first light shower.

Much as I wanted to get straight out to the garden I got the household jobs done first. If I left them until after gardening they would never get done. I also replaced the garden cane which the Rohan flag was hanging from with a piece of dowel but unfortunately the dowel is too large for the holes in two LOTR banners I have. So the one for the hall is hung from another bit of garden cane until I can find something better. The light blue banner is  now hanging next to the bookcase. We put it high up at first but then I decided it looked better lower down and moved the hook down.

Finally I was able to get outside. Just pottering around today, moving plants in the back garden and moving some seedlings and small plants to this empty corner by the lawn. It's not a permanent planting so I just put in anything I could find to fill the space this year; ornamental grasses, fennel, feverfew, linium and welsh poppies. Once the raised bed under the terrace is done I shall begin diamantling the wall that runs across the garden and using those bricks in front of the other new raised beds.

Peter went off to row, or rather to cox, in the afternoon and I put my feet up as my back isn't too good today. 

Sunset yesterday.

 

Wet.

No more good weather for the moment. Today has been mostly wet, starting with a light drizzle then moving onto much heavier rain with eventually some late afternoon sunny spells. It will interesting to see what kind of sunset we get tonight.

I still carried out my plan to take all the garden waste to the dump. It was only as I was driving through the gates that I realised I had forgotten to bring some stuff I'd put aside in the utility room. Somehow I just can't bring myself to put even one small tin of dried up paint in the general waste instead of separating it out for appropriate disposal. (I've tried Google but I can't tell if the general waste here is incinerated, goes to landfill or is sorted for recycling though probably not as there is a separate recyclable collection.) And a bag of stuff for the charity shop is still here as well.

After the dump I went to Morrisons and the usual round of shops where I was able to find some pots of the dark purple aubretia. Incidentally there was a big fuss on the news about why spending has decreased. Some august body has decided that it was because we had some very wet weather which stopped people from going out to garden centres and shops. I expect that a number of people were paid a lot of money to come up with that conclusion which frankly is the govt clutching at straws. It's blindingly obvious that people are spending less on 'goods' because they don't have any money left after electricity bills, heating costs, fuel costs, rent/mortgages and insurance have all risen dramatically while wages haven't. Duh! is all I can say. I wonder what excuse they'll come up with when the next set of figures are published? 

On my way home I stopped at the builders' merchants and ordered a dumpy bag of top soil which is being delivered on Tuesday. It will be hard work moving all the soil and arranging the rocks but I'm so looking forward to it.

The return of the sun brought out some lovely colours in the sea, and a few sparkles in our hall. It's such a relief to see it finally cleared of boxes.

 

Sunny.

Sunset tonight as my camera saw it though in reality the colours weren't as intense. (See below.)

Today has been bright and sunny with a excellent drying easterly wind. The wind direction is important as it influences both the sea conditions and the weather. Northerly and easterly wind winds bring cold air from the arctic and because they are coming from over the land tend to flatten the sea. Southerly and westerly winds (remember drawing those arrows showing the prevailing south westerly winds on maps of the UK?) bring warm wet air from across the Atlantic often whipping up the waves into enormous breakers. While not so keen on rain I do like wild weather and wind is always good for drying the washing.

In the morning I made a quick trip to the pharmacy for our prescriptions and to the shop for self-raising flour. Speedy was in his favourite shelterd spot enjoying a bit of sun. On my return I baked a bara brith and then cut and painted the strip of wood we had used as a template for the screw holes in the shelves. It's now going to be covering the edges of the flooring in front of the wardrobe doors and the tiles under the smaller hall shelves.

All too soon it was time for our Zoom class. That was after the briefest of looks at the last lesson and a look ahead at the next. That's when I realised I should have done more revision during the Easter break. By the end of the actual lesson my brain had turned to mush trying to separate mi es i - I went, mi wnesi - I made, and mi wnes i + verb -past tense. Not to mention the new mutations we learnt in the last lesson.

After the lesson I had a bit of fun cutting out raindrops from the spare 'stained glass' window film and sticking them on the utility room windows. I should get the full effect in the morning when the rising sun shines through the windows on that side of the house.

It was great to walk down to the hall for disco aerobics in daylight and it was still light on the way home. Another good session and my knee is now burning. Not surprising as I'm attempting to get a bit more bounce into my dancing rather than stomping around flat footed.

Above is closer to the actual sunset colours. Because I'm lazy and stick to auto light exposure rather than using the manual settings I have to fool the sensor by aiming the camera first at something halfway between the brightest and darkest bits of the view and then swinging round to take my photo.

If I just point at the sun, trying not to blind myself, the camera darkens everything which does make for dramatic photos.

 

Pontarfynach.

A stunning sunset last night.

Today has also been bright and sunny with just a few moments when it seemed as if the clouds were returning. It's been windy all day, just right for airing out one of my tubs of stored clothes. 

We had the alarm set again this morning as the Sky repair man was coming. Any time between 8.00 and 1.00 but in fact he turned up before 9.00. Ever since the storm last week the tv has been showing 'no satellite signal'. We've been able to download programmes through the WiFi but couldn't get the radio or any other live programmes. When Peter phoned Sky a couple of days ago they tried to get us to pull out cables etc for remote testing and I simply refused. It's difficult for us to get to the back of the box and it was obviously a problem with the dish so I knew an engineer would have to come to fix it. The chap this morning was a very nice local lad and yes it was the dish, or rather the cable leading to it. When the system had been installed one of the clips had been nailed right through the cable which allowed water in. That let the cable rust and movement due to the wind broke the wire. He changed the cable and because it was already rusty, changed the dish as well. That should see us fine for a few mor years.

Afterwards I went to the zoo and spent some hours pulling out weeds and removing yet more tangles of bindweed roots. I could have stayed longer but had to be home by 2.00 as Peter needed the car. While he was out I climbed up into the loft and found a bronze sculpture for the hall shelves and brought down a few other things too. I've moved the sewing machine into the bedroom so now there is one more obstacle to avoid at night. At least it has rounded corners.

And now for my quick visit to Devil's Bridge.

Originally these AA Sentry Boxes would have a man inside to help members and later a phone which could be used to phone for assistance.

Below is the modern road which runs over the top of the three bridges. The wooden structures at the far side of the bridge house automatic turnstiles giving access to either side of the bridge. I decided to leave the one on the left which had more extensive paths until I can bring Peter and instead opted for the right-hand side.

There a series of steps led down to the gorge giving a good view of the three bridges and the hotel above.

A long narrow waterfall tumbled down the side of the gorge to the river.

At the bottom of the steps a viewing platform was directly above the  Devil's Punchbowl. The force of the water was immense as it roared through the first bowl and into the second while the air was filled with the spray. I was the only person there and I was very careful to hold onto the metal handrail as I went up and down the slate steps.

The original bridge was built by in medieval times and the second in the 18th centuary.

Back up on the road looking down the course of the river.

A steam train runs from Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge and stops at the picturesque station. As it's only a 35 minute drive from home it doesn't seem worth spending £25 each for train tickets. 

I looking forward to visiting again and doing the longer walk with Peter. (It's not that long.)

 

An Early Start.

We've had a bright and windy day here at the coast and by the afternoon it was warm enough to work outside without either coat or fleece. Up in the hills the clouds were down low and there was a bitterly cold wind. 

Yesterday Peter said that if it was dry today we could drive up into the hills to collect some stones for the garden. He wanted to leave around 8.00 to avoid meeting other cars on the narrow mountain road. I set my alarm for 7.30 but woke at 5.30 and got up straight away. I prepared the breakfast, hung things out on the line, did my Duo Lingo and made some coffee to take along. 

We left just after 8.00 and once we were up in the hills the road was empty. Empty of cars that is but on the high sections there were plenty of sheep on the road. I had to open the window, letting in the cold cloud, and do my best sheep moving whoops to get them to shift but not too quickly as it's lambing time.

After turning off the good road we had a short section of potholed road to carefully drive over before we got to the site of the disused quarries now favoured by trail bikers. There were plenty of rocks to chose from and we soon had a good selection. I wouldn't take rocks from a pristine wilderness but these were quarry waste and the forestry workers are constantly bulldozing new roads up to the plantations

It was so cold that we drove back to the road and sat in the car to have a quick cup of coffee while looking at Nant Y Moch in the distance. (A romantic looking name until you translate it and find it means the stream of the pigs.)

Below is the section of the road that Peter doesn't like as it's unfenced with a long steep drop. Not much fun if you have to reverse round the tight bends for another vehicle. I assured him that my friends had said you hardly ever see anyone on this road. But .....

Peter had just pulled into this passing space so that I could attempt to get some photos despite the poor visibility when all of a sudden along came a 4x4. It can just be seen in the photo below. How lucky was that?

We were back home for breakfast by 10.00 and I now have enough stones to complete the next raised bed ready to plant up everything I've been propagating in the back garden.

With the weather bright and sunny at home of course I spent most of the day working in the front garden where I where I marked out the circle for the wildflower meadow, weeded and raked a couple of rough corners and replanted some escallonia.

Late last night I cleared nearly everything from the hall. Today I had the idea of keeping the sewing machine in the coat cupboard but sadly it is just 1cm too wide and I can't shut the sliding door.

Off now to Pilates.

 

Grey.

The day has been dry and grey with a hint of sun in the afternoon.

There are a few cormorants around at the moment but no sign of the dolphins.

Straight after breakfast Peter put up a row of hooks (the brass pig hooks) in the utility room. I then hung up things like my handbags, all two of them, and cloth shopping bags. No space for them by the front door anymore and if we're driving we leave through the utility room and not the front door.

From then on I worked on clearing the hall. I had to rearrange a lot of stuff from the big wooden cupboard and of course I kept stopping to look through old photos or to see if there was any more paperwork I could dispose off. I've decided to hang onto all my teaching information and contracts until I'm 70. Not that I'm ever going to teach again especially here as you need to speak Welsh to work in KS1. But you never know if that information will be needed in the future by the pensions dept.

After much rearranging of various cupboards the hall is almost clear. Apart from the sewing machine there's a wooden chest which I need to put somewhere. The sunloungers may end up spending the summers in the hall and the rest of the time they can live in the garage, suitably covered of course. I've still got to bring down some sculptures from the loft and put some stuff on the walls. Considering that it isn't a very large bookcase it took an awful lot of effort to build it but I still think it was worth it. Especially as there wasn't any other option.

I was going to post the photos from my solo walk to see the Devil's Bridge but they'll have to wait until later in the week.