Saturday 16 July 2022

A Swift Walk

 


On Wednesday evening, my friend Pam and I joined a small group of local ladies for a Swift Awareness Walk down in the town, organized by My Wild Brecknock.  (Brecknock is the old word for Brecon).  I have mentioned that we have the Swifts from the town coming and hawking for insects above us here, with their distinctive screams.  I love to see and hear them.

    Pam had no experience of them and has L plates up when it comes to identifying birds, but she's interested and was amazed to see a group of about 50 (when they joined together) flying above us.  We went to several nest sites - they are up in the old warehouse style building now housing flats, near the Co-op, and nest behind the barge boards, if there is a good enough gap. A private house was another site, but here are many more unknown nest sites about the town.

    It was a lovely evening, and Pam and another lady are going to go out a little later one evening after the Royal Welsh Show has been and gone, and try and identify houses near the Groe where Swifts may have set up home.

    Meanwhile, I have been doing a bit of clearing up on the Bank, till my streaming nose stopped me and I realised that it was the Dock pollen affecting me now.  I really can't win!  After years where my nose didn't run and my asthma was made much worse instead, to the point of a steroid course every summer, a return to a runny nose is a great improvement, though not enjoyable!

    


        We had Tam and Danny visiting yesterday, so were able to get a few "move its" done by our strapping son.  It was too hot to garden though, and neither could stay long as they had other calls on their time.  Lovely to see them though, and they both liked the new kitchen although Tam thought I should have painted the back wall of the kitchen in the lighter colour as it look "positively teal"! I baked a fresh loaf and a River Cottage Sticky Gingerbread cake, early in the day.

    As it's the Royal Welsh show all next week, folk have been turning up early to camp/park up on fields by the showground or just outside of the town.  The farmer our side who has them on his land is having to supply water, and of course, that is a big ask at the moment.  I'm glad we're not camping with the temperatures predicted for  the next two days here (35 deg. C) - ok, better than the 40 deg. in the red alert areas, but bad enough.  We were glad to live in a house that is partly below the land level as it keeps it nice and cool, as do the thick stone walls. Keith and I won't be doing much outside, that's for sure!

    Keep safe everyone, and let's hope we don't have a rerun of post-Lockdown-summer last year when those idiot lads were jumping off Durdle Door.  


6 comments:

  1. Bovey Belle, so lovely to return a visit. The cherry pie filling in there adds something, I'm not sure what it is, if you didn't know it was there I don't think the taste can be picked up, moistness perhaps, for one thing it kicks up the devils food cake a notch. It didn't last long, and my family said keep this one on your list. Not something you want to make every week, but a nice little something different, especially if you are craving chocolate.

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    1. It sounds a bit like Black Forest Gateau, without the cream. I like moist cakes and bake cakes with apples, bananas etc in regularly.

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  2. I had to look up Durdle's Door. The boys are fools, no doubt but the people cheering them on ought to be ashamed of themselves.

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    1. I'm sure people were cheering them on - to a lifetime in wheelchairs, sadly.

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  3. Lovely to hear swifts are doing so well near you as numbers generally seem to be declining. They are wonderful birds to watch. Stay cool I envy you your cool sounding house. Not looking forward to the heat here of the next few days!

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    1. A fair few in Hay-on-Wye too - we always heard those overhead when we used to visit regularly. I've only been once since Keith lost his mobility.

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