Tuesday 27 July 2021

Getting sorted

 


This rather splendidly threatening sky was encountered on the Llandovery road yesterday, as Tam and I headed towards the Irfon Forest for a short exploratory walk.


Looking across to the Eppynt range.


It was a short walk (just about 1 1/4 miles) starting at White Bridge, through the trees and beside the river.




We got back to the car before it began to spot with rain, although there was thunder and lightening (about 10 miles away) as we walked. 



This is a good swim area - it's called the Wash Pool, as it's where they used to wash the sheep before shearing.  This practice continued long after it was necessary, but the worry of losing 1/3 of the value of because of the fleece being unwashed was  a worry.  Nowadays, when farmers are paid less than 50p a fleece, some farmers burn the fleeces.  When you think - England's wealth was born on the back of sheep farming in Medieval times.  Nowadays a ball of good wool is as much as 10 times the cost of the entire fleece! Crazy.

As you can see we did get some rain, but not for long enough.  Overcast here today and a little rain overnight.

    Today a local company are coming to sort out the wasp nest.  Money well spent.  It became a priority as yesterday we also had a visit from the carpenter who is going to do our sash windows (cords need replacing).  He is quite possibly going to slot us in later this week (it's just a day's work) and it is hardly fair to expect him to work beneath a wasp nest.

        I'm not feeling my best this morning (hence the short post) as I slept badly so I'm back to bed now.

23 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was nice to have a FLAT walk for once! Plenty of hills surrounding it though.

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  2. Two really stand out phots - the clouds and the third one with the forest - will stay in my minds eye for the rest of today at least. Yes - agree with you on the wool thing. Grew up in NZ on a sheep farm - meat and wool. The cost of a ball of wool in NZ these days is double what you would pay in UK. I simply can't believe it.

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    1. Glad the photos brought you pleasure. The price of knitting wool is downright crazy.

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  3. A lovely walk. Thanks for the pictures.
    Hope you feel better soon x

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    1. Hmmm - I snoozed on the sofa but my head still feels groggy and a gut that says too many apples I think! Will rest up today anyway.

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  4. What a lovely walk indeed. Looks cooling and refreshing after recent days. Good luck with all the work. Hope you feel better later after a rest.

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    1. It was LOVELY to have it cool again , I must say. Cool today too - refreshing. Wasp nests (one in the roof too) have just beensorted - money well spent.

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  5. Sorry you are not well - judging by the sun in Pembrokeshire you have some brighter weather coming over soon. I loved the shot of the trees at White Bridge.

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    1. I was sorry I was not well too Mark! Yeesh - brain parked up somewhere that didn't appear to be in the same body as the rest of me inhabits and I had to sleep for half the day on the sofa. Hopefully just a 24 hour thing as I feel slightly better today.

      We had a bit of sunshine and some showers but nothing like the rain the garden needs.

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  6. It looks a lovely walk. Hope all goes well with the work you are having done and that you feel a bit better later. We've finally had a few heavy rain showers here but the garden could do with more.

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    1. It was fairly ordinary, as through the woods and in the valley bottom, but it was COOL and what a difference that made. I am relieved we seem to have the full gamut of workmen we need for the jobs here. No chance of inviting 3 bods and choosing the best of 3 - glad to get one decent one by word of mouth!

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  7. I so envy you and Tam the many appealing places to walk. In spite of living in a rural area here there are few safe places to walk--very narrow winding roads with no handy verge to jump out of the way of traffic, and any path through the 'woods' subject to ticks and copperheads. At any rate, too hot and humid now to enjoy the trudge to the mailbox.
    Wasps built one of their fantastic papery nests under a 2nd story bedroom window at our Amish farmhouse. We tried 'shooting' the inhabitants with an aerosol from the porch below; as I recall it was finally a matter of leaning out the window, spraying and quickly ducking back inside. How did your 'exterminator' deal with the nest?

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    1. Had we been able to open the sash window, we might have been able to do the same, but it was a Catch 22 situation and until the chap comes to do the sash cords, that was a non-starter. The wasp man yesterday had a long pole with a pokey bit on the end which went into the nest, and also beneath the roof tiles to spray the stuff that kills them. He was very efficient and will come back if they return this week, but the majority of them seemed to be in the nest.

      I am so sorry you have no access to walks. There will be ticks here up on the hills, esp. in the bracken (sheep country). NO copperheads though but you have just brought last night's vivid dream back where I was dreaming about snakes - very dark coppery brown Adders (our only poisonous snake), but as I read your comment just beforebed, it obviously lingered in my head!!

      We are loving the walks and I just wish we got here 10years ago so I could enjoy lots more of them than I am likely to.

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  8. I hear you about the price of wool. Need to go through my yarn stash and take better care of it.

    Love the photo of the threatening sky. Could think of all sorts of things based on the shapes in those clouds. Good to hear the wasp nest will be gone. Amazing to look at--as long as I am nowhere near it. Anaphylactic shock treatment is not something I want to repeat. Twice so far. Enough!

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    1. I got rid of pretty well all my stash before we moved. I had Tam on at me because I had too much craft stuff, and I don't do much crochet these days, so the charity shop benefitted.

      That photo turned out well, despite the dirty windscreen!

      I have only been stung by a wasp once in my lifetime, and once by a bee (on my scalp, last summer). I imagine anaphylactic shock treatment is pretty unpleasant. Do you carry an epi pen?

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    2. Yes, I carry an Epi Pen.

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  9. You live in a gorgeous area.

    That storm certainly looked threatening.

    God bless.

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  10. We are certainly blessed Jackie. I can't wait to explore more.

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  11. I envy you your walks, but then we get to go on them with you. Little Welsh rivers are a joy.

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    1. This little Welsh river does get bigger, but not hugely so. It joins the Wye in town. Glad you are enjoying the walks vicariously.

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  12. My brother keeps a very small flock of Jacobs. An exercise in burning money, according to him!

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    1. Aren't they the ones who are show-jumpers in woolly jackets?! They sound like horses - how to burn money works with them too!

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