Grey Still.

Still grey but dry today. Sort of muggy but the forecast is for significantly cooler in the next few days. I'm still attempting to sort out my sleeping pattern. Today I woke at 7.30 which was good but then fell asleep until 9.30 which wasn't. Must try harder at getting to sleep in the evening and if I wake after half an hour not get up which is what I did eventually last night. At the moment by the time I've done my exercises and music a big chunk of the day is already gone. 

I seem to have spent a lot of today cleaning. I don't mind but it doesn't feel very productive. Patch has a tendency to throw up his food which is not a good sign especially first thing in the morning so I'm cutting down the amount he gets each time and increasing the frequency of his meals.

Two packets arrived with the post today which cheered me up; some stretchy nylon thread for bracelets and a hoover attachment which has plastic pipes like spaghetti so that you can hoover up the dust from things like keyboards. It's quite handy and yes I did order mine from China so not expensive. (stock photo)

When I go out into the garden to take photos I sometimes feel that I'm taking the same pictures but if I stay and  watch for a while I spot changes and new creatures. While the honey bees are buzzing merrily in the fuchsia flowers some tiny flies, pretending to be dangerous critters, were visiting the newly opened pink sedum flowers. 

A pot of a carex? grass has produced delicate black flowers which contrast well with the garden wall and in another pot a self-sown flower that often popped up the old garden has made the journey here. 

Best to finish now as I am aiming to be in bed ready for the 10.45 book at bedtime on the radio. The very soporific ! Jaws, complete with da dum, da dum, da dum music.

Grey.

It was another damp morning, the sort we describe in Cornwall as mizzle.  Perfect for bejewelling all the cobwebs hanging from the rope barrier.

I seem to have been stuck at home for a long time so today I went out and did the shopping. I like being at home but being stuck inside can be irksome. Despite the general greyness it was still warm enough for shorts. I did the usual run; the dump to get rid of garden waste, Lidl's and Tesco's then the pound shop to get another pair of glasses for the PC. The frame of my last pair broke so I chose a sturdier pair. After all no one is going to see them.  I keep a slightly stronger pair in each of my handbags to read labels when I'm shopping and others around the place to compensate for my old age sight. 

As I unloaded the car the clouds parted briefly giving blue sky and warmth but that was over in minutes so no lazy afternoon on the sun loungers. A few more hints of blue later in the evening but once again we are under a blanket of grey.  

Damp.

Grey again today. It was dry but very humid in the morning with light misty type rain arriving in the afternoon. I worked outside for a while, deadheading the roses and sweeping/picking up the rose petals. I also picked up the drifts of fuchsia flowers before they too turned into brown mush.  

The chap who was taken to hospital yesterday sent the rest of the crew a text saying that despite a number of tests they hadn't been able to find anything wrong and sent him home. 

                        

                          

I've not been able to identify this tiny (1 cm across) moth. There were two of them flying around the flowering herbs. Micro wildlife spotting!

Wet.

It's been a wet and miserable day today. That didn't stop Peter going out on a social row. He was out a lot longer than expected as before they'd even before putting the gig in the water, after dragging it halfway round town, one of the crew collapsed, twice. Being a strong farmer type he was all for getting on with the row but sensibly an ambulance had been called. That took 45 minutes to arrive and after he'd been persuaded to go and get checked out they launched the gig but with five oarsmen. It sound like it was a hard as well as wet row but Peter really enjoys it when he can get out on the water.

Meanwhile I stayed home and after the usual round of exercises, which take even longer with the extra knee strengthening exercises, I carried on with the house hunt. It's mainly about the location and I've found two very nice properties. One had amazing sea views to the front and coastal moorland behind but that didn't quite make up for 4 floors and a steep access road with no parking. Five bedrooms would have been a bit too much anyway. Stairs are not good for arthritic knees. The other was a gorgeous cottage almost on the beach but again had stairs. It's only the start of what will probably been a long drawn out search and already I'm getting fed up with scrolling through listing after listing. 

After producing one flower each day the morning glory blooms are now increasing.

Grey.

It's been another grey day with frequent light showers. It's also quite a bit colder now, almost too cold to be walking round the house barefoot but I shall persevere in the hope of the warm weather returning.

Peter spent the day clay pigeon shooting with a group of friends. That's something I haven't tried and as there are so many other activities I enjoy that don't cost so much I'll leave him to it. Instead I've been looking at properties on the internet. I've seen a number of plots of land but getting planning permission can be very difficult and it could be refused altogether so we're only thinking about rebuilding or converting existing structures. Saw a couple of places that were maybes and one that was an almost but this is only the beginning. Google Earth/ Street View is very useful when looking at properties. 

The botanically misnamed Black 'Grass'.

Grey.

No sun at all today. Plenty of wind and light showers in the afternoon. I took a chance and did a small machine load and then sat reading outside ready to jump up and fetch the washing in. That was my excuse for sitting outside. 

I'm trying to claim the conservatory back from the cats as now it's getting cooler I can see the benefit of being able to sit and work at the table in there. So today was the day I moved the litter tray/box outside. I had to drill some holes in the upturned edge of the top cover to stop rainwater from collecting. The cats have access to the outside through the cat-flap so we'll see how that goes.

I had a good sort out of my on-line favourites, deleting a lot of stuff and sorting things into folders. Then I made the tiniest start on out hunt for the next house, researching and saving 20 property auctioneers. Thank goodness it can all be done on-line and you don't have to wait for catalogues to come through the post.

At Last.

After days of rain a sunny afternoon was the perfect reason to head out for a walk on the cliffs. It's been a long time since we walked around Morte Point and conditions were perfect. Sun, wind and few other people.  

As soon as we got out to the headland I realised just how much I had missed the sea and the wild cliff top terrain. Though we've been down to Barricane Beach a few times conditions (weather/work on house/general health) have kept us from more adventurous walks. Hopefully we'll be able to make more use of this lovely spot less than half an hour away. Mind you the sight of Lundy on the horizon (above) also called to the heart.

We took our usual route around and now know that even without stopping for a coffee we need a bit longer than the one hour car parking ticket I had bought. We got back to the car a little late and out of breath, (me) and in future will pay for two hours for that walk. 

My walking always slows down as we pass above these rocks which are the hangout of any seals around. Today we were rewarded with not one or two grey seals but nearly twenty of them sunning themselves on the rocks or having a slow swim. Even though the path is quite high above the sea we were able to hear the seals howling? /grumbling at each other.

Then onward we went, around the rocky point and back to Mortehoe.