The weather here today is proper miserable - you can tell it's bad as all the cats are in and glad to be! First thing, I went across with some carrots for Baz, the lovely fleabitten grey horse in the field across our track, and for a natter with his owner, P. It was pretty cold then, and I didn't linger. Then I had to go into Llandod for sewing things (good Gutermann sewing machine thread and some more white Anchor embroidery floss for a x-stitch project I'm working on for a friend. As I drove back the rain arrived. Plans of a short walk for Keith were promptly shelved. It's been raining most of the day since - the only benefit of this is the Narcissi I VERY belatedly planted this week will have a much-needed drink.
The photos are from a recent walk when the sun was out in various places in the landscape as it escaped through gaps in the clouds. We had bright sunshine about 8 a.m. and then the clouds arrived. It's meant to be getting windy too, but hasn't yet. . . . literally just as I wrote that the trees across the track began to dance, but it's more gusts than full-on gale.
The forecast for tomorrow is heavy rain and strong winds, so we are debating whether to go up to Ludlow for the Antiques Market. It won't be ANY fun having a stand there, that's for certain (poor traders), and neither of us can work up much enthusiasm to get up early to go!
I have finished the Elly Griffiths novel I was reading (The Blood Card, which I thoroughly recommend - I had no idea who the baddy was. She's very skilful with that). Now I'm back to reading a bit more of John Lewis-Stempel's "Woodston". It was fascinating to read how much rent (in kind) was payable on the land farmed for the Lord of an area. In the 7th century , every ten hides of land (1,000 - 1,200 acres) had a food rent of: 10 vats of honey (the only sweetener and used for making mead, as a preservative and medically,) 3,000 loaves, 12 ambers of Welsh ale (an amber being half a mitta or 32 gallons), 30 ambers of clear ale, 2 full-grown cows or 10 wether sheep, 5 salmon, 20 lbs of fodder and 100 eels.
Our tea tonight is going to be proper comfort food as I have a beef casserole in the slow cooker, and it smells delicious. Our butcher sells excellent beef in all shapes and forms and I bought a kilo there today, the other half being frozen for a beef curry in the not-too-distant future. So I had better peel some spuds to go with it and sort out some Broccoli.
It is blowing a hooley over here now and raining too. I don't mind being stuck indoors tonight!
ReplyDeleteWind's got up a bit more and pretty damp out there. We've just had our casserole (hit the spot) and now it's -stitch time. I agree with you JayCee, indoors is GOOD tonight!
ReplyDeleteI suppose all in all our weather hasn't been that bad, but oh! it rained and blew overnight. I think it seems worse as it's been relatively good for weeks.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the Lords of the area ate so well, that's some rent for the tenant farmers to have to find isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI just love how your views are so 'wide open'. I live in a mountainy sort of area, but they are close together it sort of 'pinches in' the view, if you can get what I mean. It stopped snowing, got bitterly cold last night and went up to above freezing today. I would celebrate the temperature except that it is supposed to bring more snow.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit late coming to this--our past week was also horrid weather, snow, sleet, freezing rain--a time for hibernation! I have one of John Lewis-Stemple's books--'Meadowland'--lovely descriptive essays.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how often we have to shop for 'sewing thread'--or notions, or the perfect bit of fabric to go with our ample 'stash!'
February is turning out to be as dreich as January! It better think of it's behaviour and improve... quickly!
ReplyDeleteWe have similar happenings here - comfort food, rubbish weather and cold cats. So far sleep has been the best form of escape although we did attempt a walk but we only just managed it between the waves of hail and sleet. Enough now!