Grey.

It's been grey, windy and cold today but at least it has remained dry. Last night I heard that 1,500 acres of Dartmoor were on fire but it's now been put out.

I finally got around to clearing some of the paperwork that had been piling up on the corner of the kitchen table. There wasn't too much to do, just filing things in the correct places. I also did some planning for school, typing up ideas that I'd worked out in the small hours of those long nights when I don't sleep. I've been asked to do some D & T (design & technology or in other words - making), based around pirate ships. That should be fun.

I went out to work in the garden later in the afternoon cleaning the paved area by the barbecue before I use the pressure washer on the slabs. Somehow the job expanded to weeding the flower beds on either side so I didn't quite finish. I also cut down quite a lot of the small-ish conifer that had grown out across the path. I hate cutting trees, it feels cruel and the conifer had been happily growing there for 15 years. I have left nearly half of the upright trunks and at least now it is easier to walk along the path. I was sad too to cut and burn most of a large rambling rosemary bush but it has a virus and was not looking good. The same virus killed off the original plant and the cuttings that I took from it. I left one branch simply so that we would still have fresh rosemary for cooking.

Sunny.

The sun was with us again and the wind had dropped to almost nothing. A perfect day for another cliff walk. This time we chose a longer route walking along the track to Bull Point then swinging back onto the coast path. There were a lot of planning application notices up saying that the path is going to be re-routed. It's not surprising as there is a lot of erosion of the coast path with the edges being more and more trodden down as people try to avoid the slippery rocks in the path. But it does look as if the path is going to be a bit further inland. Today the going was good as the ground was so dry. With no significant rain for the past month and the cold temperatures everywhere looks brown and drought stricken.

As I in particular have done very little exercise in the past 2 months we are building up our walks. It's mainly the knees that suffer going up those never ending stairs but I have to admit to doing my usual beetroot impression and puffing and panting at the tops of the steps. (Must start walking up the drive every day.) Peter had packed a picnic and we took a welcome lunch break at Rockham Bay. 

There were only half a dozen other people on the beach and we were able to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the calm sound of the waves. It was so nice that I took off my fleece and was wishing I had worn shorts.

The beach is a mixture of sand, pebbles of myriad colours and flat discs of slate which are ideal for skipping on the waves. I'm not very good but I enjoyed this simple pleasure and as we left I noticed that the other people had taken up my idea. As we stood at the top of the very steep stairs up from the beach we watched a family group down on the beach. The 2 young children were happily playing with Mum while Dad set up his beach casting fishing rod. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon and what a contrast to those miserable children I see trailing around town 'shopping' with their parents.

There is a possibility that we may have rain soon so once we got home we put up our tent so that I could give it a good spray with waterproofer. It's a good make but we bought it second hand and camping on the IOS would not be the best time to find out that it leaks. It looks rubbish in the photo but that's because it needs all the guy ropes pegged down and all the clips fastened to give it it's proper shape. Despite no rain the back lawn, as I discovered in my sock clad feet, is very wet so we kept the tent on the paving. When I took it down I discovered that because it has a sewn in groundsheet you need to start rolling from the bedroom end otherwise you end up with a big air bubble.

I'm now waiting for supper, a chicken curry made by Peter. My contribution was to cook the rice. Not much cooking there as I use easy-cook brown rice. All I  have to do is put rice, water and a chopped up onion into a saucepan and cook. The onion gives it enough flavour so I don't add any salt, there is enough in the curry sauce. We hardly add any salt to our cooking but use lots of other spices. Black pepper is my favourite.

15C !

We were woken this morning by the sun streaming in around the winter curtains we put up where town people have net curtains, to give extra insulation to the double glazing. The blue sky was enough to call me out into the garden. Although it was 5C the cold wind made it seem much colder than yesterday's steady 1C.

By the afternoon the temperature in the front yard had gone up to an amazing 15C but that was because the yard was completely sheltered from the wind. Just right for my tea break after some work with the pressure washer.

I finally completed all of the paving around the scree garden but an awful lot of the mortar has come out. I put off doing it last year but it's now the next job on my list. That is after I've cleaned the paving at the side and back of the house.

Because it hasn't rained for a few weeks the water level in the little pond is quite low so I carefully waded in and pulled out most of the grass that was growing in the water. A little bramble pulling and then I enjoyed a wrapped up ('cos it was windy) read sitting up at the scree garden.

Winter ?

The sun didn't make an appearance today until very late in the afternoon. The morning felt like winter once more and it even tried to snow several times. I wrapped up well and got on with cleaning the paving around the scree garden. I've done just over half as today's section was easier to clean. I think I did enough musing on the different lichen growing on the concrete slabs to write a thesis. For instance the slight shelter from the outbuildings  has decreased the drying out effect of the wind allowing more growth of the black lichen which is so hard to get rid of.

If I looked closely there were quite a few distinct species of lichen. Looking closely at the photos I can see little orange fruiting bodies on this yellow variety. (For some reason the pc isn't recognising my camera when I try to upload the zoomed in photos that I've just done on the camera. Hope this is only a temporary blip.)

This grey lichen might be crabs' eyes according to the limited guide in my book. There was also an orange lichen which was exactly the same colour as the orange slabs. I assume it had extracted the colour from the concrete. Well, I have to think about something as I wield the pressure washer. We've had a brief moment of golden sun streaming in to the sitting room but now the clouds are filling the sky once more and the temperature is dropping. 

Sunny Again.

Another bright and breezy day so off we went for a walk along the cliff path at Morte Point. There were a lot of people around in the village but numbers thinned out once we got out on the cliffs. It was high tide so we didn't expect to see any seals but we saw one as it dived into the depths. 

It was very windy on the north side so we waited until just around the point where it was more sheltered before stopping for a coffee. It was warm enough for me to take off my coat, roll it up and strap it with the carrying strap I made that fits over my shoulder. It was so good to get out and stretch our legs.

Nearly all the properties in Morthoe are either holiday lets or places to eat and drink. I wouldn't mind staying in this cottage with its garden full of daffodils. Back home I carried on with washing the slabs around the scree garden. Most of the slabs there don't come up like new as the algae have grown right into the concrete leaving grubby black marks. I'll have a try with my home-made weed-killer (salt & vinegar) and see if it has any effect as I don't want to be using strong chemicals so close to my plants.

Finally- meet The Snout, my home made adaptor for the garden vac. I found the broken road cone top left behind by road workers (along with some empty beer cans which I put in our recycling box) at the top of the drive. I drilled a few holes around the top and used string and a bungy to stop the cone from falling off. And it works fantastically! It picked up 90% of the leaves jammed under the stones of the scree garden in a fraction of the time it would take to do by hand. I quite enjoy kneeling and picking up every last leaf but my knees can no longer cope with it, that's probably why my knees are knackered anyway.

Sunny.

No matter how cold it is there's nothing like a bit of sun to make everything seem so much better. I was only too pleased when Peter suggested going down to the beach today. Although I want to crack on with cleaning the garden paving my back is protesting so it would have been foolhardy to carry on today. Instead I waited until after our walk to tidy up the planted walls by the scree garden in the late afternoon sun.

Everybody seemed to have the same idea to get down to the beach today. Woolacombe was heaving and we had to drive twice along the sea front road to find a parking space. That's because we still want to take advantage of the free weekday parking rather than paying for the private car park. The main beach was crowded but the decent waves were up by Barricane Beach which is only for more experienced surfers as you have to avoid the rocks. Peter and I sat up on the cliff watching and commenting on the surfers and generally enjoying being out in the fresh air. 

Now that we are in Summer Time the golden evening kept me happily working outside until after 7.00 though once the sun went down it got very cold once more.

Cold.

It's much colder again today. On the radio they are saying it's been the coldest Easter since 1965 with -12C yesterday in Scotland. The Rayburn is hardly able to boil water so I've had to resort to the electric kettle for hot drinks. Peter was out rowing once more this morning and they had to go to The Reform to 'warm up' afterwards. Still he did come home with a dozen free eggs from someone who keeps hens on his allotment.

My back is protesting a little after yesterday's session with the pressure washer but I wanted to get started on the paving around the scree garden. First I had to suck up all the leaves with my sturdy garden vac. It does a fairly good job but doesn't shift the leaves stuck under stones. I'm trying to think of a way to make a nozzle attachment to pick up individual leaves but so far all I can think of is using lino. I need something that is pliable enough to wrap around the 6" end of the vac but sturdy enough not to fold together with the suction of the motor. Finally I made a start and washed the paving in one corner. The white pool edging slabs are the most satisfying to clean, The orange slabs clean up more quickly than yesterday's grey slabs but they have little grey stones in them so the overall effect is not so dramatic. I think I should plan to give them another wash in the summer this year.

As I was walking down the hill rewinding the extension electric cable I spotted this frog sitting on the path by the little pond. He was so cold that he hadn't moved an inch when I came back with my camera. Fearing for his safety from predators I gave him a little assistance to get into the pond.

Sarah has started putting the ponies out in the field though they are rugged up against the chill wind. I think these are the 2 fillies, Persey and Doris. 

We're waiting for some pizzas for our supper. They've been in the oven for 25 mins (from defrosted) and the cheese hasn't melted yet! It might be a little while. That's what happens when there is a cold wind in the wrong direction.