Dry.

A lot of clouds today but also a lot of sun. Any day when it isn't raining is a good day as far as I'm concerned.

First thing this morning we drove to the hilltop barn where the camper lives. The plan was to put a new battery in the camper so that it can go for its MOT. I went along to help because the arthritis in Peter's hands makes fiddly work difficult. In the end all I had to do was hand out tools and the camper is now up and running. I took advantage of the view to take a few photos of Borth on the left, the rerouted River Leri on the right and Snowdonia in the distance.

As soon as we got home Peter loaded up the car with all the bags of garden waste and took them down to the dump. While he was out he bought some sturdy hinges for the inner gate. With the area no longer looking like a scruffy dumping ground I began to tidy up. That was one of those jobs where one thing led to another, and another and another. First I put some more plants in the small raised bed which was full of bluebells but nothing else. I've now added some Tulbaghia (social garlic), a valerian and some linaria for the insects. Then I swept up the paving slabs and progressed to digging out the weeds, mainly dandelions, growing between the slabs. With my eyes on the cracks between the slabs I realised that most of the sand had been replaced by soil so out that came too. Once everything was dug out I made a dry mix of sand and cement which I rammed into the cracks. I still had some mix left over so I added water and used that mortar to stick down the loose cap stone on the pillar. Not the one the builders are supposed to be coming back to do properly. Just the gate to make and one more part of the garden will be done.

The sun was still shining when I finished so Speedy and I sat out on the terrace for a while.

The crocosmia that I bought a Cae Hir is flowering, a cheery yellow flower.

Lovely evening clouds so possibly a good sunset.

 

The Vale of Rheidol.

Another dry and quite sunny day, just right for a walk around the Vale of Rheidol.

The River Rheidol flows westward into the sea from high in the hills beyond Devil's Bridge through a wide valley and then into the sea at Aberystwyth. Our walk today began in the valley next to a footbridge over the river. This was only a few miles up from the stables where the RDA and my lessons take place. 

I arrived early having given myself plenty of 'getting lost' time as I hadn't been there before. There were already cars in the layby but they turned out to belong to a couple of men fly fishing in the river and the river warden (who looked like a policeman) checking on their fishing licences. I had a nice chat with the warden until the rest of my group turned up.

There were eleven of us today including A who more than 30 years ago lived in a cottage we could just see across the valley. Our route took us up through farm buildings and fields on the slope on the northern side of the valley.

Eventually we reached the top of the slope, a sessile oak woodland which according to the govt archeological website is part of the only ancient woodland left in North Ceredigion. We stopped for our lunch at a high point which on the OS map is marked as the site of a fort but I've not been able to find out any more information about the fort.

Part of our route was along tracks which although now only used by farm vehicles and cattle had once been major thoroughfares. In places we could see where the underlying rock had been levelled by hand to allow carts better access. I just love the way the landscape can tell us about local history (with a little help from knowledgeable friends and the internet)

The hill fort was on a promotory jutting out over the river and from there we went a short way down a slope on the far side and then right up to the top of the valley side. That gave us a panoramic view of the Vale of Rheidol looking west towards the sea. After the recent rains the fields were the most vibrant green I've seen in a landscape. 

Before the A44 connecting Aberystwyth with Oxford was built this high track was the main route leading from Aberystwyth to England avoiding the mountains that the main road now climbs with ease. Eventually we turned off the track and went straight down through the woods to the road and our cars.

The sun was still shinning when I returned home and I sat outside watching people walking on the beach and others enjoying a swim.

Bullaces, a variety of wild plum, seen growing in the hedges. A lot of the wild fruit is ripening early and we're already beginning to see mushrooms too.

Windy.

Despite dire warnings on the news that Storm Antoni would be 'a threat to life' with winds of 50-60 mph we have escaped with nothing more than a rainy morning and a windy afternoon. I have just read that there were rip currents on the main part of the beach in the morning. Usually there is only a minor rip current on the far side of the long reef. The worst of the storm was due for south-west Wales and south-west England continuing on until this evening so we have been lucky.

The baskets and compost for the pond plants arrived this morning but after potting up the plants I can see that they are too big for the pond. I was trying to give the plants plenty of room to grow but now there is hardly any of the deeper water. Better buy some smaller baskets and try again.

I haven't done much today except tidy away the last of the carnival stuff. Not surprisingly both of us feel rather tired after yesterday but it was worth it. Now for a few more carnival photos.

One room of this house is our local Post Office.

There was a strong Barbie theme this year. I thought this was the best of the three Barbie houses.

One downside to walking in the parade is that you don't really get to see all the floats and walkers so it's been fun looking through the photos and videos posted on-line.

Not the best view of our float but that's me being a dancing turtle. (Photo taken by Beverly Hemmings.) You can also see us at the beginning of this FB video.

My neighbour/Pilates & aerobics teacher and friends. (Photo taken by Chris Denny.)

(Photos above and below taken by Maureen Smith.)

 

Carnival Day.

The weather was kind to us today. It was windy, as it always is at the seaside but apart from that it was mainly sunny for the whole day.

We all met down at the car park at 10.00 to decorate the boat. We had been going to use the surfboat which is wider than the Celtic longboats the club rows in but the trailer it was on was not functioning. Instead we wheeled one of the longboats down from the boatpark using the trolley wheels and then transferred it onto a spare trailer. Then began the decoration process. Everyone had brought something from fabric to fish. Eventually the boat was transformed into a sea scene with fishes blowing in the wind and everywhere festooned with real seaweed and dahlias (to look like sea creatures). Add in a sea witch fashioned from an exercise ball and much black plastic and the boat was done, ready to be towed up to the start by a large tractor.

It was at that point that I took myself off to walk up the High Street calling in at the craft gallery where at last I was able to stock up on some seaside momentos. I can't show them but they will make lovely presents. On the way I took photos of the decorated houses and costumed residents. 

Will show more of the houses tomorrow. Because we were at the end of the procession I didn't get to see any of the other floats or walking groups. No doubt there will be plenty of photos on FB for me to look at later.

Spoiler alert - we came 2nd in the decorated float category. Yay. The Friendship Inn came first as usual and deservedly so. They start working on their float and the decor for the building at Easter and it shows. This year their theme was 007 and as well as the locally based puns they had a mock up car and all the characters on their float.

As I walked up there was a major jam with cars held up for half a mile on either side of this (above) when a Tesco van had to inch its way past a tractor and trailer. As there is just one road through the area it only gets closed for two hours during the actual procession. I think that things would be better if they could stop cars parking on the road until after the procession as then we wouldn't have these jams. Just moments after taking the photo the van which had been creeping past the trailer caught the wing mirror of the white car on the right. The owner standing next to it was very annoyed but firstly she should have had the sense to flip her wing mirror in and also not left her car a good 18 inches away from the kerb.

More seriously during the procession an ambulance on blue lights couldn't get past. It was fortunate that we had grass to one side which the tractors could slide on to. For most of the route there are houses on either side with nowhere for any vehicles to go.

The start point by the golf course.

With the arrival of the boat we were able to don our costumes and a wonderful lot they were. The seagull was amazing and I thought Peter looked good with his tail draped over the side of the boat. We also had; mermaids, crabs, jellyfish, lobsters, an octopus, a shark and a prince. Plus me as a turtle. Sorry no photos of me as Peter gets so huffy if I ask him to take photos even without having to contend with a wig, beard and trident. We had music and a guy playing his cornet but the float behind us had a massive sound system so the cornetist played along to that. I danced my way down the length of the High Street and used my wide turtle shell to keep people away from the tractor. Some people have no sense and wanted to let their small children walk along inches away from the gigantic wheels.

The procession ends at the playing fields which for the next few hours become one enormous party. There are the usual stalls selling overpriced tat for the children, food stalls and a bar. That's pricey too and the rowers had brought along their own supplies. People sit in large groups, children run around with bubble guns and of course there is lots of dancing to the loud music played by a DJ. I met quite a few people I know from all my different groups and danced for a long time with some of the walking group one of whom also goes to disco aerobics. I've decided that at nearly 70 I can do what I like and going to aerobics has given me a lot more stamina and confidence than I used to have. As I danced I waved to our aerobics/Pilates teacher who was there with her sister and friend still in their fancy dress with amazing silver wings/capes. My turtle costume, and Peter's had gone in the back of our car as soon as we got to the field.

By 5.00 we were feeling tired and headed off home where there was an nice surprise waiting for me. The plants I'd ordered for the pond had arrived. They've come bare rooted wrapped in wet sacking so I hope the aquatic compost and plant baskets arrive soon. For the moment I've put them in ordinary pots in the pond. Although I really liked the idea of a pygmy water lily in the end I decided agaisnt getting one as it might take a long time to flower and would grow very slowly. Instead I chose; a dwarf bulrush, water mint, bog bean with stems that float on the pond surface and two different water irises. One is mostly white and the other mostly purple. This way I will have more native vegitation to encourage wildlife which is something I want to do.

 

Cloudy.

Windy and cloudy all day long with a flash of sun in the evening and some heavy showers in the morning. Apart from a few people having surfing lessons the beach was more or less empty until the end of the day.

My neighbour called round to let me know that Cake and Cultivate at the community gardens had been rained off. I could have gone round to chat over cake in the home of C. who bakes the cake but instead I chose to stay home and do a bit more work on the carnival stuff.

Peter had an MRI scan of his knee booked at the hospital in the afternoon so as parking is a nighmare there we drove down together, I dropped him off and carried on down to town. I did a shop at Lidl and just as I finished Peter sent me a text saying he was ready to be picked up. This was after I'd had a short chat with C outside Lidl. 

When we got back to Borth I drove down to the nice craft shop only to find it closed and a note on the door saying they will be opening at 11.00 tomorrow. Peter had managed to go there in the morning but I'm concerned that as the items are mostly locally made they probably don't have much spare once things are sold. Hopefully I'll be able to stock up on presents on my way to the start of the carnival procession. I noticed some of the houses along the High St already making elaborate preparations including what looked like a 10ft tall wooden castle on the drive of one house. I imagine that village carnivals, or at least Borth's carnival are similar to Halloween in The States with people, houses and vehicles (floats) decorated here not for sweets but for community spirit and maybe a certificate for the winners in different categories.

Having returned home from my third visit to the shop sans gifts I cheered myself up with a bit of gardening in the front garden. In the rockery some of the low growing sedums are already butting up against the other alpines. I removed a few of the stems and and replanted them to provide ground cover in the planters containing taller sedums (ice plants). All the rockery plants are doing well. It just remains to see how they do over the winter as the rockery faces directly out to sea.

I was having such fun out in the garden that I forgot about disco aerobics. Fortunately when I remembered (I prefer not to wear a watch unless I have to) there was still time to feed Speedy, do some supper preparation and get changed before walking down to the hall. I like to arrive early for aerobics so that I can claim my spot at the front where I have the best chance to see what I'm supposed to be doing with my arms and legs. Also it's nice to chat with my fellow dancers some of whom I know from my other activities.

 

Sunny.

I wasn't too sure what the weather was going to be like first thing this morning but it ended up being a lovely sunny day. There was a brief but heavy shower at around 6.00 but I think the holiday makers should have been happy today.

While Peter went off to do his morning volunteering in the RNLI shop I threw some washing in the machine and then went down to the garden to finish off the wall by the bottom gate. Once I've made and installed a gate it will be held closed by some rope looped over the stone that can be seen sticking out of the wall. (When the wind is blowing it should keep the gate closed against the wall. ) Once the wall was done I had a good tidy up of that space stacking the bags of sand to one side and even hauling the unused bag of cement up to the garage out of the weather. 

After a bit of weeding around the garden I made some mackerel for the carnival. Four large ones and four smaller ones. It's amazing what you can do with some cardboard, kitchen foil and a permanant marker.

 

Dry.

At last, a day without rain which made a nice change though of course it would be awful to never have rain.

I love being able to start my day with a coffee outside while I do some wave and bird (young gulls) watching.

It wasn't until after I had driven down to the zoo that the dark clouds finally cleared and we had a lovely sunny day. At the zoo I did the usual things, weeding and more weeding. I hand cut one narrow strip of grass, and gave the cuttings to the rabbits. I'd planted some valerian there in spring and in spite of being munched by Willow the goat soon after three of the plants have survived and I wanted to make sure that they didn't get strimmed in the general grass cutting that is going on at the moment. Not so lucky was the wild flower meadow which once again has been razed to the ground. Some of it did look untidy especially after Mr Pea had been sleeping in the long grass but a bit of it could have been kept. That of course is just my opinion.

Now that it's holiday season the village has filled up with almost every parking space along the High Street filled and people milling everywhere. (Lots of visitors at the zoo too.) After I'd spent three hours at the zoo I drove down to the far end of the village where I ended up parking in one of the few side streets before walking back to the shop full of lovely crafted items. I was happily chosing Christmas and birthday presents when I heard the shopkeeper tell a customer that his card machine wasn't working and he could only do cash sales. As I'd been planning to use my card that brought my shopping spree to an end and I'll have to return another day.

Back home I mixed up a bit more mortar and stuck the next row of blocks down on the garden wall. Then there was just time for Duo Lingo before heading down to the hall for Pilates.