DRIFTWOOD - Nov 2013

So, towards the end of November, we saw the last of the summer sun disappear from our garden. This is its last appearance now until probably mid February...

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Despite living near an abundance and variety of beaches, very little interesting driftwood can be found. Judging by the vast the amount seen in shop windows, I guess that most decent pieces find their way very quickly to budding artists' workshops. 

The pieces we have collected are now displayed in the garden.

One day towards the end of summer we did find a seaweed-covered pallet floating about in the sea. We rescued it, cleared it of seaweed and then attempted to carry it back to the pick-up. We made a great discovery - that water-laden pallets are VERY heavy and that pick-ups are VERY useful!

Once  back at home, we waited several weeks for it to dry out as I had plans to use it in the utility room.

When we bought our house, our utility room was an outside barn with a tin roof.

  
Virtually the whole thing had to be taken down

Since being turned into a room, we haven't really done much to it, although it is put to good use. When we eventually finish the pathway up to the new back door it will become our dirty welly-boot entrance. 

The dried-out pallet is now put to good use as a coat rack

We have further plans for more pallets or driftwood which we may come across. Watch this space!



Next blog - One Year on

RUNNING OUT OF STORIES - Nov 2013

AUTUMN VISITOR

Well, more of an all year round pest . . .

. . . who, clearly not content with the Guinness, decided he wanted a snack . . . of peanuts from the bird feeder!

I caught him trying to escape

 Oh to be a slug . . . from size 22 to size zero in 0.0 seconds

He was probably safer inside, but escape he did, only to hide under the rim of the feeder, presumably out of sight of predators

I have no idea how long he stayed there, but he was there for some time before he disappeared. I never did find out if or how he made it back to ground level. I've never seen a falling or jumping slug so I can only assume one of two things . . .  He either tackled the assault course, over the lid, up the wire hanger, over the squirrel twirler, up the plastic hook, up the nylon strip, along the branch and down the trunk . . . 

. . . or a blackbird got to him first!




Next blog - Driftwood

SUMMER VISITORS - Sept 2013

Every summer, this area of Wales sinks under the weight of seasonal visitors. The roads become busy and we experience traffic jams (they may only be 5 cars long - but here, that's a jam!) Once September arrives, the land rises out of the sea a little, hampered only by the holidaying pensioners benefiting from the late summer sun.

We have had the privilege to meet some of these lovely people.

Sitting outside a local pub, we were joined by a group of 7 laughing ladies. They were celebrating the 70th birthday of one of their members and were clearly enjoying their holiday together. They had arrived at the pub via a long walk and were contemplating an easier return route. I convinced them that if they walked back, the calories put on during their generous meal helpings would be burned off and eating their meal would therefore be guilt-free. This re-motivated them and they started back on a different but potentially longer route back, which we also took. 

We soon caught up with three of the party who were resting on a bench relatively close to where we had parked, while the remainder of the group had called into a golf house to enquire about prices. The ladies on the bench had realised that their 2 mile walk was over ambitious and politely asked if there was any chance of a lift as their hips were 'playing up'. I told them that we only had room for two. While they were deciding who of the three were most in need of a lift, I jokingly suggested that one could sit in the back of the pick-up. As I walked towards the pick-up, all three joined me. I asked if they had decided which two would be taking a lift. "Oh, no, we're all having a lift" said one. I explained again that we only had room for two. "You said one of us could sit in the back" came the reply. I explained that I didn't mean it. It would be uncomfortable and dirty. Especially for smart ladies with dodgy hips! This didn't deter them. In fact they seemed quite thrilled at the idea.

I was beginning to wonder why I hadn't chosen this fun option myself, but instead, not wishing to see any of them suffer, I opted to let them all have a comfortable ride, while I walked and Will picked me up a few minutes later having dropped off the ladies - who, by the way, hadn't informed the rest of their party where they were!


On our way home. along our narrow lane we were met by a man and a small girl wearing her pyjamas and a dressing gown. They were blackberrying. (OK, so he wasn't a pensioner - nor were they necessarily visitors, but they could have been!) They were accompanied by a cat. As you know - nothing odd about that here! As they stood back to let us pass, the cat nonchalantly sat sphinx-like in the middle of the road without a care in the world. So the man picked it up out of our way. We expected him to hold the cat and stroke it soothingly, but no. He hurled it at a great height over the hedge!! Clearly not his cat!


On another occasion, I was stopped by 'Skateboard Man'. A middle-aged man with a skateboard tucked under his arm, and headphones around his neck. 

(My apologies Mr Skateboard Man if you are reading this and you don't consider yourself middle-aged!). He wanted to know the quickest route somewhere. I asked him if this was by foot or car? Silly question! By skateboard of course! I gave him directions after first discovering that he travels the country by skateboard, covering a good 50 miles a day! Good for you Skateboard Man!

Variety is the spice of life!


Next blog -  errrm? Running out of stories!

ANOTHER VISIT TO THE NEIGHBOURS TODAY? Oct 2013

Another visit? I think not!

You want a closer look?

I think my visit to her can wait 'til another day!





Next blog - Summer visitors

ANOTHER UNEXPECTED GUEST - Sept 2013

Our nearest neighbours in both directions live across a couple of fields, one is a two minute walk via the road, the other 15 minutes including a trek up a steep muddy track. A quicker route to the latter is across the fields through our newly repaired side gate.

 

On a recent visit to this neighbour, I met a man who lived in our house as a child during the 70s. He told me that his parents converted the house back to living accommodation after it had spent many years housing cattle. He remembered a donkey living in what is now our lounge. His family knocked through something like 13 fireplaces before managing to expose what we assume is the original inglenook fireplace, now housing our log burner.

A week later, as I was about to go through the gate to visit the same neighbour, an unfamiliar couple strolled up the drive. The man told me he used to own our house in the 80s. It transpired that he bought it from the family of the man I had met the previous week. As I showed him around his old home, myths I had created in my mind quickly morphed into the not-so-romantic-reality.

I had read that centuries ago, people in poor Welsh houses used rocks as furniture. I had therefore convinced myself that a stone jutting out of a wall at an annoying shin height (fondly known as the 'Cerys Seat' - named after my 3 year old niece who likes to sit on it) is a centuries old seat. I often pondered over the thought that in days gone by, many a Welsh bottom could have perched on that rock whilst chewing on a goat shank!

My visitor put me right. He had exposed the stone in the 1980s, while opening up a doorway in the thick stone wall!  :(

The Cerys Seat

I also assumed that a stone pond in our 'courtyard' was centuries old. I now discovered that it was made from the stones taken from said doorway. Pah!

Pond now housing plants

In raising a roof last year, an old beam was removed. In order to keep it on view, we re-used it to hold up the stairs and to minimise the bouncing of the upstairs floorboards. I told my visitor of this and he informed me that he had originally put the beam in the house and that it had originated from the old granite crushing building after it closed following the closure of the quarries. My myths, like the granite, were further crushed.

Apparently the neighbours also have a beam from the same crushing building.

And what of this 18 inch high milepost/tombstone lurking in the corner of the kitchen?

I forgot to ask! I'm free to dream. There is nobody here to tell me otherwise. My (very nice) visitor lives far away in Mexico and is unlikely to return for a very long time - if ever again!

Next blog - Another visit to the neighbours?

AN UNEXPECTED GUEST - Sept 2013

Possibly the last barbecue of the year, and Will discovered a new drinking partner!

Good things come to those who wait!! 

(Remember the advert?)

Next blog - Another unexpected guest

IS THE SUMMER OVER? - Aug/Sept 2013

Summer view of the cottage

There was a time many years ago as I waited for the school bus on those damp, misty September mornings with an Autumn chill in the air when it suddenly hit me in the pit of my stomach, that those hot, hazy Summer days were over. 

Then many years later, not quite so many years ago, as I drove to work on those damp, misty September mornings with an Autumn chill in the air, a huge blow in the pit of my stomach served to remind me that those hot, hazy Summer days were over. 

Despite never following football, I also remember a time when the start of the football season indicated that Summer had ended. That no longer seems to apply as football appears to only have a 2 week holiday :(

Now, here in Wales, overlooking the sea under blue skies, continuing to work outside in the garden, I feel a sense of Summer invincibility. It could go on forever - or at least a lot longer. But no - something hit me in the pit of my stomach . . 

. . . a pungent smell in the air. Goats! 

Face Off

Caught in the act - eating hawthorn

They must have cleared the mountains of vegetation and started to make their way back to the lowlands as is their lifestyle at the end of each Summer. As we had no Summer last year, they never went up the mountain. It's been great to have a goat-free garden for a few months. Now they're back with a vengeance, signifying the end of my hot, hazy Summer days and probably the end of life for many plants in my garden.

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So how have we spent our last few days of Summer?

Well . . . let's start with the obvious ...

. . . sheep chasing!


We've been studying beach life during walks. 

We spent the best part of a day trying to keep up with a 3 year old as she climbed 'our' mountain. Picking bilberries proved a great distraction . . . for me.

Sadly for me, she has put an end to me thinking of myself as a hero, for being able to climb it!

'We' have been shifting and relocating fences and gateposts. It's hard to admit to our age-related lack of strength and fitness, but hey, why worry when there are resources we can use on site? 

Enter big strong son and Beastie with a tow rope. 

Gizmo clearly thinks his hot, hazy Summer days are not over!

Next blog - An Unexpected Guest.

PESTS - Aug 2013

As you know by now, much of my Spring/Summer has been consumed by weeding nettles with limbs suffering from the consequences. Have I won the battle? No! Nettles continue to invade every part of our land. 

Having admitted defeat, I decided to use a chemical weedkiller on them. Then just as I was pouring the liquid over a large patch, I realised that particular bunch was disappearing in front of my very eyes - not due to the weedkiller, but due to hundreds of black caterpillars chewing their way through the leaves. (Red Admirals and Peacocks I believe).

I consider most weeds to be likable, attractive plants and am not a fan of weedkillers, least of all chemical ones. So here I have the perfect solution - caterpillars eat the nettles, nettles die, Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies take their place ... But too late, I had already sprayed them. So I hastily removed the sprayed caterpillars, washed them and placed them on other unsprayed nettles. I hoped they were pleased, but 10 minutes later they had all evacuated the new nettles and appeared to have disappeared for good. A few days later, they were back in abundance having taken up residency on a different patch of unsprayed nettles close to the ones I had already sprayed. What was wrong with the new home I had found them? Clearly those particular nettles did not live up to expectations!

Thanks to all those of you who have suggested nettle recipes, however, where I accept that nettles make excellent caterpillar fodder, I have yet to be sold the idea that they are put on this Earth for human consumption. Meanwhile, the Beast grows on . . .

. . . and is now about 7 feet tall! Where are the caterpillars when you need them?

Will came across a news item stating that nurseries are starting to sell nettles & dandelions to provide for demand by people wanting natural habitats in their gardens. Perhaps I should start a 'Pick Your Own ...'

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We considered leaving our field of bracken as a natural habitat but as it has quite literally taken over and is likely to invade the farmer's fields too, so we decided to destroy that too. There is a very small window of time when bracken can be sprayed, so under the guidance of our friendly farmer and using his loaned spraying equipment, Will has spent the last few days, morning til night, bracken spraying. At last the deed is done, but we won't know the results until next Spring when it does or doesn't grow back.

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We have managed to keep most sheep out of the garden for a good few weeks. That is, except one. Larry is a very determined lamb who continually finds a way into the garden the minute our backs are turned. When discovered, he disappears into the bracken, emerging a few seconds later, bleating for it's mother in the farmer's field. As we exit the field, we turn around and there's Larry again, munching OUR grass. So Will has once again sheep-proofed all our fences. We have since discovered this may not have been necessary as I understand Larry is due to disappear for good over the next week or so. 

So next time you are tucking into a good piece of Welsh lamb, watch carefully, as it might jump off your plate the split second your eyes are averted!

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Rabbits are supposed to cause a lot of damage to plants and especially young trees. We have plenty of rabbits here, but fortunately we also have 3 excellent rabbit hunters. I shall refrain from adding the photo of Gizmo half way through a rabbit lunch. So hopefully, once the bracken has gone, I should safely be able to start growing my woodland.

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The cats are on mole No 7, but they still can't catch squirrels. We moved our bird feeder to a better location and now the squirrel baffler works. They have learnt the feeders are now out of reach, so hang around underneath waiting for bits to fall onto the grass below. I hung up the 'Tilt'n'Spin Squirrel Repeller' with a peanut feeder beneath it in the hope that I could watch pesky squirrels flying off in all directions. I think they must have learnt their fate away from human sight, because we have yet to see a squirrel go anywhere near it.

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The cats, especially Gizmo continue to get more than their fair share of tics, which we are now experts at spotting and removing, but they seem to get bigger as the Summer progresses. Yesterday's tic was the size of a peanut!!

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Why were slugs ever put on this Earth? At least snails have pretty shells which can be used as handles when removing them from plants and slinging them over the border!. If the sheep and goats don't eat my plants then the slugs and snails do. Top of my Christmas list? The book: "50 Ways to Kill a Slug" selling on Amazon for £4.00!

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Apparently the collective noun for spiders is a'cluster'. This is far too a gentle term for hundreds of spiders gathering on the house walls. Surely a word such as 'Hitchcock' would be far more appropriate - 'A Hitchcock of spiders'?  They are an absolute menace. Why? Because I hate then nearly as much as slugs. At least with slugs I have time to move before they decide to crawl up my arm. I will not open any windows for fear of making their route inside easier. If you get too close to these particular spiders (now what daft person would do that?) they suddenly wake up and speedily dart in all directions like something from a nightmare in a Hitchcock movie. (Sarah, if you are reading, - note to self: 'Do NOT visit during mid August'!)

Next blog - Is the Summer over?

DALIWCH I GREDU - August 2013

Blogger's curse . . . I mentioned the sun!

For the 48 hours following my previous blog, the heavens opened and poured out its contents right over us!

It rained like never before! There were 8 waterfalls tumbling down the mountain. The most we've seen before is 5. 

Our little dried up stream took up where it left off in 2012's wash out. 

Puddles appeared inside the house (the part which has new tanking plaster up the walls and floor!) A nearby brook overflowed and caused a flash flood on our road. The farmer said he had only known this happen once before in 30 years. 

So why didn't it ever appear during the very soggy 2012?

Somehow our own waterfall which appeared during last year's rain, 

stayed dry . . . 

 . . .  and so did the bog!!


It seems to have rained ever since and it has cooled down somewhat too, so sadly the tomatoes have been brought inside to mature.

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Our new existence means learning new skills which would have had little use in our previous life, but are deemed essential now.

We have managed to stockpile wood taken from donations and fallen trees in the garden. The farmer has also given us access to his woods to collect further fallen branches. To make use of this, Will has been on a chainsaw course and is in the process of creating wood-burner size logs from our supplies. 

These logs have proved excellent for keeping warm during evening barbecues.

And with an unexpected deterioration in the weather, they have come in useful indoors earlier than anticipated!

Meanwhile, I found a metalwork/art course - not very essential, but great fun! 

 The finished product to be displayed in the National Library of Wales!


A high proportion of people here speak Welsh as a first language. So to support a language under potential threat, we embarked on a week long intensive Welsh speaking course. It was a mind-boggling experience. Most of what I was taught went straight over my head, and I am now trying to digest and process it. The views from the window probably didn't help my concentration ...

I never had views like this from training venues where I used to work!

As we practise our new found skills (language - not chainsaw!) on the locals, they put us right, ensuring we use 'proper local' Welsh - not the posh stuff we learn on courses!

The one important phrase I did learn is "daliwch i gredu". It translates to "keep believing". Our new motto!



Next blog - Pests