WIldfires and Smoke - update: and two NEW fires!

 I shall be staying indoors mostly for the next couple of days as we have smoke being blown up here from the fire above Ebbw Vale (Llangynidr).  Below that on the FireMap are others lit by happy little Arsonists on their school holidays . . .  Llangynidr had been largely put out once, then someone restarted it.  Bring back the birch . . .

Billy Blue Eyes - I hope you're not down at the caravan at the moment.  It is due to go in a different direction on Friday.  Hopefully sooner.

There is a big hill you can't see for smoke.

I've just been out and watered round - Ed's and mine - and am glad to get in out of the smoke as it does my lungs no good.  I shall lurk inside now.  I have my Electricia air purifier on beside me - used to use it at Ynyswen when pollen was bad.  

Covered in bites from yesterday - mozzies?  Blardy itchy anyway.

Keep safe and cool everyone.

4 p.m. update - a breeze has sprung up and blown most of the smoke away/higher and I can see the quarry again and the hills beyond Builth.  Phew.  Let's hope it keeps it away.

Update: 5.30 p.m.   TWO new fires to the West and S-West.  One on Gwastedyn Hill, overlooking Rhayader.  Had this been yesterday, I would have had trouble getting home methinks.  

The other is in the Forestry at Rhandirmwn (Llyn Brianne reservoir way).  That looks pretty bad too.  

Those poor fire crews - never a moment's peace at the moment.  Praying for heavy rain . . .

Open Gardens

 

Pam and I had another little jaunt on Sunday afternoon, visiting two Open Gardens off the Hundred House road near Franksbridge.  I forgot to take photos of the first garden, but she had a lovely Zen Garden by the house, and a super polytunnel crammed with good veg, and a separate soft fruit cage.  All beautifully set out.  She loved Acer trees and had amassed quite a few to plant out when we are not in draught conditions!  She had only been there four years but achieved lots.  

Pam was delighted to see that amongst the plants for sale were lots of Teasels.  She had been planning to buy some seeds and grow some next year.  For a donation (she paid £2 each I think) she got half a dozen and was so pleased, as she cares for her wild birds and is very diligent, washing feeders every other day and putting out all sorts of goodies for them.  The Teasels are for the birds. There were some growing in the garden and she was shocked at how tall they were and didn't know what they looked like!  I think she was thinking knee-height . . .

Isn't this a lovely idea for the bashed sort of Belfast sink, not smart enough to use indoors?

Black Knight Hollyhocks and lots of different roses, all with name labels.  I was just looking up prices (thinking of some here for my roses) and saw some made from squares of slate . . . Now, I have a pile of the original slate tiles from the house, 3/4 buried in a corner of the orchard triangle . . . That gives me an idea.

We could have sat beside this for ages.  There is something so tranquil and relaxing about the sound of a fountain . . .

Plus they had a clay-lined lily pond.

Above and below: both houses (one a former barn) had lovely peaceful views across the countryside.  Pam had to be dragged away - this was her dream house/garden - either property!

Then we drove up the road to the church where tea/squash and cake was on offer.  I had carrot cake and Pam had a lemon topped sponge.  That hit the spot.

It's Monday morning and before breakfast I went and watered round my neighbour's polytunnel and gave his little Orange Pippin tree a good drink as she was looking peaky.  Pippi came to help me (this is her favourite haunt, where she catches meeces and voles.)  I noticed there were a load of wild blackberries along the boundary and picked a pound of those to freeze.

Then off to Llandod for grocery shopping before it got too hot.  I was early enough to nab two lots of reduced strawberries in Tesco - cheap enough to make jam with - so I shall do that in a little while.  The Jordan's berry granola I like was on special offer, reduced from repriced from £4.30 each to £2.75, so I got two.  Earl Grey tea on offer but you had to buy four full packs of 80 each at £5 a time, to get one free.  I didn't want to spend £15 on tea this week.  I will wait until they have a good offer on a single pack and buy two.  I got another pack of good bread flour (Cotswold Crunch) to keep stocked up.  I went to Aldi too, for a bottle of wine as Gabby is here overnight at the end of the week, and some fresh Beanshoots for my chicken stir fry tonight.  

Today's Podcast from The Three Ravens, was Lugnasa, Lammas and Harvest Folklore, very detailed and very enjoyable.  I learned so much.

Everything has been watered, so I will go upstairs now and see if I can get the little dress for Rosie cut out.  This will be my first attempt at clothes-making since I made myself a maternity nightie when I was pregnant with Tamzin!  Wish me well!

An unplanned day out

 I popped round to my friend Pam yesterday, as I was fed up with my four walls.  She was fed up with hers too, so we had an impromptu day out to Leominster.  She'd never been before.  These photos were taken in the best emporium.  Another one Keith and I had been to regularly was moving elsewhere in the town, as the house had been sold.  A lovely local lady we were talking to thought the new owner might  get a shock when he found out the poor state it was in.  It's listed too.  

I imagine the HUGE Victorian dresser is a permanent piece of display furniture.  So few houses big enough to house that now.  It's been there all the time Keith and I have been going there.  We used to visit in January, as our wedding anniversary fell then and not many places we could go for a day out.

This would have looked good in our old home.

The top picture is an Elizabethan stumpwork one.  I have never seen one that wasn't a book illustration before and thrilled to see this, and the two pieces below too.  Rare survivors.

Ditto, this would have looked good at Ynyswen too.  Below are some more great bits of furniture.

Below: elsewhere in another shop.

Above is a miniature dresser and equally miniature blue and white china.

A bigger version.

I didn't put up the photo of the one thing I really really wanted (Keith was at my elbow . . .)  I am trying to talk myself out of it as I don't NEED it, but it would look good here, and a piece which has to come down to be sold is more valuable so would cover the cost when it sells . . .  This isn't a ridiculous price either.  Watch this space.

Pizza and painting

 I did the usual chores this morning, then cut up ingredients for and cooked a pizza topping for tea tonight.  Veggie topping with tomatoes, mushrooms, yellow and green courgettes and a red onion.  Topped off with good Cheddar, grated.  

The Library phoned to say I had a book in, so I took two back and picked up the other Horatio Clare book about his childhood in Wales, Running for the Hills.  Then picked up a Joy Ellis (Shadow over the Fens) and another Welsh book, Welsh Folk Tales by Peter Stevenson.

Lulu on my "lawn".

I chopped up the pack of mushrooms I bought this week, now in freezer, along with 3 Pak Choi, and 2 pointy sweet red Peppers.

I also put another coat of blue paint - properly mixed today - on the front door and the step of the French doors, as when I painted them yesterday, I didn't mix the paint properly and it came out too dark.  I have watered round, watered in the greenhouse, pollinated tomatoes and cucumbers and did the polytunnel ones yesterday (cucumbers and melons in there).  Everything is struggling because of the heat, and here we go, warming up again tomorrow and heatwave next week.  I could do without it, truly, esp. as I have to water my neighbour's greenhouse whilst he's away - 6 to 8 watering cans daily.  The least I can do as he helps me a lot.

Lots of tents have been put up on the hillside above the Royal Welsh showground, ready for tomorrow's show.  

Grateful for:  

Lots of books to read

Being given Organic Cucumbers and Courgettes by my neighbour

Having such a helpful neighbour

Having a good picking of really fresh runner beans daily

Living in a beautiful area

Finding out that Deerhurst, the 8th C Anglo-Saxon Priory Church of St Mary, and Anglo-Saxon 8th C St Odda's chapel can easily be on my route home from Malvern at the end of the month.  Whoopee!!!  I have wanted to go there for so long.

Now I am bushed, and looking forward to putting my feet up.  

Saturday morning, and shan't be going to the WPCS show on the showground, since it's £10 to get in and I'd rather spend that on fuel to go somewhere.  I have an urge to leave these four walls.

Pottering

The fields are still pretty brown . . .

I had a nice walk earlier on, after I'd done the main chores.  Just up the valley a mile or so. I had a natter with my horsey friend, and went to check out the blackberry patch which is normally reliable.  The only ones worth picking were unreachable though.  But I managed 1 lb 10 oz from a bush about 200 yds from home :)

I've been out in the garden, having a bit of a tidy up but after two barrow loads, called it a day.  I may touch up the blue paint on the French doors and front door, as it's not so hot it will dry before I've removed the brush from the door.  

I am relieved to say that the application of Sudocrem to the horse fly bites worked really well, and removed the soreness and then the itching.  Thankyou Mr Google for finding that one.

An indistinct photo of the work done yesterday - the plank screwed in place and then coated with cob, which is still drying.  Now I am glad to report it is wasp proof.

The window over the sink (a double glazed one), didn't have any covering over the pipes above it and had gaps where the wasps could drop through from above.  The dark colouring is the cob mixture. To the left is the wooden stable partition, still left in place.

Gail - have replied to your query, so you can contact me.

The 125th celebration of the WPCS (Welsh Pony and Cob Society) is taking place on the showground this weekend, with a horse show.  I might pop down for a couple of hours.

Buzzy buzz buzz

 I have come into the Utility room the past two mornings to find 4 or 5 Wasps trying to get out of the shut window.  Opening the window involves standing on a chair, climbing onto the counter opening the window, and then in reverse a few moments later.  Not very safe . . .  The bottom of the wall above the window aperture (where two pipes go across) has never been covered over, hence the wasps can come down.  So I had to ask neighbour Ed if he could come and box it in for me, which he did very efficiently with wood, sealed round with cob (he has been making a new shed with cob floor and walls.  He loves working with clay.)  I am now baking him a nice crusty loaf, as he said he would prefer that to cake.  Nothing simpler - bring ingredients to dough in bread mixer, then chuck into oven.  Yummy.

Pippi has been keeping me company on the sofa, as though cooler, still hot for cats in fur coats.  I am desperate NOT to touch the horse fly bites on my back as they are driving me crazy.  It had a blardy good meal from me, that's for certain!  A female one as they can't breed without blood . . . human blood or horse, it matters not!

The Valley of Ravens has been finished and sent on to my friend Gay, who will devour it as quickly as I did, I am sure.  My friend Pam had never read any of Barbara Erskine's books, so I sent her home with Lady of Hay and the Dream Weavers.  My good deed for the day.  I am reading The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis now,

Podcasts this week - part 1 of A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling, will do part 2 today.   Part of a Dark Wales Tours podcast about the Haunting of Plas Mawr - not very impressed.  Something from In Our Time - that made a lasting impression, clearly!  I was trying to get part 2 of Mayerling on the way back from the Fair on Saturday but it hadn't loaded.  

Now trying to get baked on jam off the bottom of my maslin pan.  Apparently baking soda and water, simmered for 10 mins, does the trick . . . and indeed it has.

Country happenings

 

Fresh blooms on my beautiful rose, The Lark Ascending.

This is a video, but it's not appearing on my video clips.  We had two nests of young House Martins launch themselves into the ether today.  They were so joyous in the air, and it was a delight to watch them.

At one point they came back to their nest but "perched" somehow hanging onto the wall below it.

This was a video too, of the flying ants leaving their nests and about to take off on their wedding flight.  Not so good as a still!

This morning I went blackberry picking, as it was wonderfully cool.  Picking a bit with rain but as I picked beside the reservoir at the Elan valley, it came on to rain.  I soon had sopping wet feet as it had clearly rained in the night too, and I was glad to get home and peel off my wet socks in exchange for dry ones.

Above the car park . . .

The fruit of my labours.  I will wash these and freeze them on a tray and they are a free, organic and healthy addition to my winter food stash. 2 1/2 lbs fruit.

Now I am off to put anti-itch cream on the nasty insect  HORSE FLY bites I got in the garden yesterday - my gardener was here to mow the lawn, which was shaggy on the cooler side of the house and standing hay elsewhere . . .

An improvement  . . .