Pembrey, South Wales

We have recently returned from a week staying in a beautiful cottage on the outskirts of Pembrey, South Wales.

It was wonderful even though the weather was a little 'Welsh'....dull, windy and damp at times.  There were several fantastic beaches to explore within a short distance of the cottage.  The best for us was the beach at Pembrey Country Park.  It was 7 miles long, with a huge expanse of clean, flat sand when the tide was out and a small strip of fine sand when the tide was in.   Lucy loved running up and down the beach searching for bits of seaweed to chew!

Richard, a long time friend, spent the first 2 nights with us.  He had travelled all the way down from Skye to see us and other friends and family.  It was great to catch up with him.

One day we went to see Dylan Thomas' house and stopped for a cream tea on the terrace.  Lovely (and sod the diet that day!).  On the subject of the diet, I have now lost 1 stone.  I have deliberately done this very slowly as I am not a fan of crash diets (in fact, I am not a fan of diets, full stop).

BBQ weather

Although it is raining today, I thought I would record the fact that we had a second BBQ of the year at the weekend. The main reason was that we had invited my step-mum over for lunch and she does like a BBQ.  It was warm enough when the sun was out but a little chilly when the clouds came over - hence the need for the cardigan.

Christine was looking forward to her feast but Lucy was looking on in eager anticipation!

The blackbirds are still nesting in the foliage behind Christine.  For the record, it is Euonymous that is growing up the fence.  It has been there for about 24 years and has made a brilliant covering for the fence.  Last year I put some manure under it and it has really taken off this year!

Garden wildlife

For the first time in a couple of years, we spotted a hedgehog in our back garden tonight.  
Nice to see it as they are so much in decline these days.  Also, our blackbirds are busy with their nest again so we are hoping to see a second brood of birds in the coming weeks.

Bird nest beside patio

A few weeks ago we noticed blackbirds flying in and out of the euonymus that grows up the fence beside our patio.

We suspected that a nest was being built so kept clear of the area in the hope that some eggs would be laid and new birds would fledge.  Success!  I saw one blackbird fledge but, unfortunately, do not know how many birds fledged in total.

A few days after the blackbirds had left the nest we tried to see the nest.  That was so difficult!  After several attempts to locate the nest, I spotted it behind the trellis and up against the arris rail.

Not the tidiest of nests!

The blackbird breeding season lasts from early March to late July.  During this period, blackbirds rear 2-3 broods.  In a good year a fourth breed may be attempted.  It has now been almost a week since the birds left the nest but, over the last few days, I have seen adult blackbirds returning to the nest and wonder if they might be going to breed again.  I will watch, from the comfort of my sofa, with interest!

Bluebells

Today we went to Micheldever Woods to see the bluebells.  The last time we went was a few years ago, very early in the morning, when the sun was just up.  The bluebells then were fantastic.  This year we arrived mid-morning, could not get parked in the car park and arrived just as the sun was disappearing behind some clouds - not a great start.   The sun made occasional brief appearances from then on but this made the photography rather tricky.

Apparently there is a good display of bluebells in the woods a few hundred yards from my house so, weather permitting, I might take Lucy for a walk in that area in the next few days and see if I can get some better photos.

12 little ducklings

A few days ago, Rod and I walked Lucy around the back of Botleigh Grange hotel.  On the way we crossed a small bridge over a stream.  Much to our surprise, we saw a 'mummy' duck with 12 ducklings in tow.  Unfortunately, we did not have a camera with us. They were swimming against the tide so the stronger ducklings were OK but some of the others had to navigate their way across a few pebbles to make progress.  It was fun watching them learn and watching the mother duck waiting for them to make sure they were alright.   

Next time I do that walk I will have to take a camera with me and see if I can spot them again.  

April activities

At last we have had some better weather....much drier and sunnier but still with lower than usual temperatures.   The garden has had a bit of a tidy up, the patio, path and garden seat has been cleaned with my new Karcher machine - absolutely brilliant.  Took about an hour and a half as opposed to the best part of a day before with the old machine!  Might do the front driveway one day.

I have made my first batch of sourdough bread and very tasty it was too.  I now have a starter which I will have to nurture so I can make some more soon.

This weekend we had our friends Marian and Roy to stay.  They like historical things so we took them to a diving museum at Stokes Bay near Gosport.  The verdict was that it was quite interesting, especially as they got talking to an 'old boy' that was an ex-diver which brought it all to life.  Whilst they were all in the museum I was walking Lucy along the seafront and into a nearby park.

We also visited Farley Mount, near Winchester: