Flies!

Back to summer once more, bright and breezy with only one brief shower in the evening. A good day for getting more washing done though I haven't done the ironing yet as it was to nice to be indoors.

The first job of the day, after our usual lie-in listening to The Archers, was to paint the porch wall and the bit over the door. Once that was done nearly all the rest of my day was spent outside. The alchemilla around the pond had flowered profusely but now it was time to cut it all back. My plan was to carefully weed the path at the same time but the flies got so bad I ended up only pulling up the bigger weeds in my rush to get the job done. I don't know how many times I had a fly crawl up my nose! I have actually ordered a bee keeper's veil that should keep the flies off my face once it arrives. After that I had a 10 mins break at my pc to give myself a chance to cool down and escape the flies. Then I had some time just sitting and reading in the sun. Because I wasn't getting all hot and sweaty the flies left me alone. But then I moved up to my neglected scree garden and worked my way along the path weeding and digging up some of the stones that had worked their way down into the subsoil. The flies were still a nuisance but not so bad as earlier. While I did that delicious smells were coming from the barbecue as Peter prepared sausages and belly pork to go with some salads. We had to eat inside because of the rain but it still tasted good.

Cool.

The day started cold and wet. We'd been promised sunshine and showers but it was more like heavy rain and light rain. The afternoon was mainly dry with a very occasional glimpse of the sun.

The house seemed very quiet today with our visitors gone. I'll just have to go back to talking to the cats. (Peter and I do talk but during the day we're usually working in different parts of the house and garden.) My first job of the day was to give the porch walls another coat of paint.

Then I tackled the task of cutting a board to cover the gable above the front door. Years ago, when we dismantled Vytas' cabin bed, I kept the large piece of chipboard that made up the base. I was sure I would find a use for it one day. I measured carefully, made templates and still I had to make a few adjustments before it would sit on the brick/concrete/wood lintel. I painted the back to seal it against the damp and nailed on some strips of wood over the large ventilation  holes in the chipboard. When the paint was dry I put the board in place intending to screw it to the wooden lintel but it was such a snug fit it didn't need the screws. When I board over the rafters the boards will also keep the gable end secure. Once it was all up I filled all the holes with filler and tomorrow it should be ready to paint.

Sunny.

Good news, the sparrow family were chirping away this morning. It all went quiet later on so I guess the young have left the nest. I wouldn't be surprised if the sparrows lay a third set of eggs.

Hooray, the sun was shining again today. Sam and Kate left late morning having for once had a week of fairly decent weather for their summer visit. That was my cue to get back to working on the porch. I repaired a section of the floor using the rest of that tub of cement, cleaned away years of dust and gave the other side of the porch its first coat of paint.

Then it was time to mow the lawns. Taking a break did help deter those infernal flies. 

Although it was lovely and sunny I had to go indoors to iron the bedding that had been washed and dried on the line. I was half way through the ironing when Peter rang to say his car was still in the garage and could I come and collect him. On the way I stopped at the Co-Op again and then filled the car up at the petrol station.  

Back home I finished the ironing, made the bed and my day is done. Now I can relax.

Sunny.

Woke up this morning to lovely sun. This wren, smaller than an egg, was hopping about in the hedge. For us it was a perfect day to head off down to the beach at Woolacombe. Not surprisingly after a week of miserable wet weather, the whole world and his family were also heading down to Woolacombe. Or so it seemed. The tail back started about a mile from the village but luckily there is a great view of the sea all the way down that road.

No chance of parking along the road and the main car park  was full. Instead we parked in the other car park field which must have had thousands of cars in. We then joined the throng making its way down to the beach which was absolutely heaving. 

The dry sand above the tide line was packed out with families in all their encampments screened off from the sharp sea breeze by wind breaks and tents.

Once we got down to the wet sand there was plenty of space for games of cricket, kite flying, wet suit clad children and surfers making the trek down to the sea and dog walkers out for some exercise. 

We walked most of the way to Putsborough before turning back. The beach is one of the few places Milo gets to run off the lead though as both his sight and his hearing are poor he kept losing us and trying to wander off with other people. (Spot him in the photo above.)

Feeling refreshed by the walk and the sea air we walked back to the car for something to eat and a vital cup of tea. Then while Sam went off for a swim we relaxed in the sun.

After leaving Woolacombe we drove to Barnstaple so that I could pick up my car, £170 for a new barrel for the key! I called in at the Co-Op for a few things and right now supper is cooking and Sam and Kate are enjoying the sun in the garden. The sparrows' nest has gone quiet. Hopefully the youngster(s) have flown as sadly we found a dead female sparrow by the conservatory.

A Bit Sunnier.

There was an improvement in the weather today. Not exactly hot but then not as cold as yesterday. Sam and Peter went off to shoot clay pigeons and came home very pleased with themselves after their boy's jaunt. Kate picked more blackcurrants and I was able to cut the whole length of the wire netting fence and take it down.

For the rest of the afternoon we were able to sit outside reading (Sam and I) or knitting (Kate). Milo the dog is now so old that he can roam the garden safely off the lead unlike his younger days when he would try to escape and remain free for as long as possible. 

The sparrows kept up a constant chirping as the adult birds flew back and forth with food for their hungry young.  

Windy.

We had quite a few heavy rain showers this morning so thought it best not to head out for a walk by the sea. Instead (cunning plan you see) we worked outside in the garden (it had stopped raining by then). Kate picked an enormous bowl of blackcurrants which are in the freezer for the moment but she'll take them home as I've still got frozen blackcurrant puree from last year. 

And Sam set to work clearing the waist high weeds growing in the old chickens' run.  Sorting out all that is on my list for this summer but I wanted to get the house jobs done first. This is a great start and hopefully I'll get it done by the end of the summer. Today I also pulled weeds and worked on removing the wire fence. I'd already taken one side down a while back and today I cleared all the fence from the end. The side fence was done a bit too well as I had dug the bottom of the netting into the soil, so it will be a hard job to remove. Instead I'm taking the easy way and cutting the netting above ground level. That's a lot of wire snipping but easier than digging down. Then once I've cleared the weeds on both sides I can take my time to dig out the last bit, or hide it in the soil.

The buddlias are coming into flower so hopefully we should see lots of butterflies soon. I cut the bushes back in the autumn but never got round to doing a harder pruning in the spring so they are all a bit too large. Better not forget next year.

Stormy.

I came downstairs last night (to get my tooth whitening stuff out of the fridge) and found this  very large Elephant Hawkmoth on the kitchen window sill. Once I'd taken some photos I let it go outside.

Yesterday I got an email from my friends letting me know what time they would be arriving today. This was a bit of a surprise to me as I was expecting them next month. It was entirely my mistake as we'd made the arrangements at the beginning of the year so that holidays could be booked. Later I must have pulled up their email from last year where they said they would be arriving on the 27th of August. Luckily the house was tidy with the spare rooms already made up and Peter was able to swap his holiday to  this week. The weather is pretty dire, wet and windy and quite cool. Last night the weather report kept saying it was 'autumnal'. It's not even August, surely the summer isn't over already.