A wonderful Bluebell walk

 

I thought I would share our beautiful Bluebell Walk with you all - the photos will hold such memories through the summer, which could well be wet and miserable (though I hold onto sunshiny hope!)  The wood is just above Crickhowell - Cefn Coed, but known locally (of course) as the Bluebell Wood.  We walked all the length of it, but will go back again and look for the Iron Age hillfort which is in the middle (we were going round the edge).  The views were amazing. Oh my goodness - I have header photos for weeks to come I think - until we go to the next beautiful part of Wales.

This is called Table Mountain.  If you look carefully you can see a few people on the top.  I'd love to walk up there but it's quite a challenge for me.

There were several bushes of Broom in full flower at the edge of the woods.  It reminds me of the New Forest, where it grew happily, along with Gorse.

You can imagine the scent of this many Bluebells.

These hills and the River Usk, form the beautiful Usk valley.  We'd have liked to live here, but demand it high (and prices with it).

It is still wet and windy here and we shan't be going far today.  I shall be busy tackling the ironing mountain which is threatening a landslide, I have lovely material remnants to make up into cushion covers, and plenty of paint to splash about.  Time to start a slow transformation here.

I love this fabric, and am about to order more so I can make curtains and a Roman blind to replace the (hideous to my mind) browny-grey checked Dunelm ones currently in the Library.

Same pattern in a yellowy colourway.

I have two pieces of this lovely pattern.  The smallest piece is just right for a 16" circular cushion for a Lloyd Loom chair we got from a garage giveaway in town (chap clearing his late mum's house during Lockdown, when no charity shops or auctions taking stuff).

So, plenty to keep me busy this weekend! Have a good one.

The wind came visiting . . .

 

We popped over to Hay this morning, and although it was a bit windy and definitely rainy, we still didn't expect to come back to THIS!  50 feet away from where it was anchored (insufficiently obviously) in the paddock, it had come to rest in the pond.  It shan't be going any further as it has a couple of feet of pond water in it.  Our seed-stack, which had a big piece of timber in the bottom to stop it being caught by the wind, was still tipped forward on its face and all our seeds fell out of their pots, and had to be rescued and tucked against the house to recover.  The irony of all this is we took our friend Ian some stuff we (thought we) no longer needed this morning, for his stall.  Amongst this were several heavy cast iron weights!

On the way, the polytunnel took out the very securely fixed rotary washing line.  Well, that's saved me a job - I never liked it anyway!

Meanwhile, in Hay it was mainly wet.  I LOVE this little harvest wheatsheaf with meeces.  SO well done.

On its way for tomorrow's post (and a few days after I should think as I took dozens of photos), a Bluebell Walk with Views, above Crickhowell.

A walk to the Witch's Pool (Pwll-y-Wrach)

 A few hours ago we were exploring the nature reserve at Pwll-y-Wrach, just outside of Talgarth.  The Welsh name translates to "pool of the witch " and in Medieval times women accused of being witches used to be tried there.  Of course, it was not much of a trial - if they drowned they were deemed innocent, but if they floated they were clearly guilty and lost their lives in more horrendous ways.  The area is an SSSI - we saw Yellow Archangel, Bluebells, Common Cow-wheat, and beautiful ferns unfurling.  I was hoping to  see the Pied Flycatchers which are often seen there, but no such luck today.

We went into the lower part of the wood first (by accident) and it was a tad muddy underfoot.  I have now ordered new wellies as my others are falling apart (made in China of course).  Nice to be Walking in Green though  . . .

Yellow Archangel.

I think this is Rhos Dirion, in the Black Mountains.  Height 713 feet.  I shan't be climbing up there any time soon!  We looked at a house at Llanelieu, very close to this.  Lovely scenery and walks, but the house lacked outside storage and had a resident ghost . . .

The beautiful double waterfall was in high dudgeon, as the water flung itself over the fall.  The noise was intense.

Finally, Common Cow-wheat, which used to grow on the bank by the river Cothi at our old home. HERE is the link to its medicinal uses on Plantlife.

Sorry to be short on words this time, but I'm tired and so the photos will have to suffice. . .

An afternoon walk

 

I took advantage of a dry end to the day last week and walked up the hill.  I'd not been this way for a couple of weeks so everything looked so much greener with leaves on the trees. 

The lanes are so pretty at the moment with wild flowers - Bluebells and Stitchwort here.

Looking down towards Builth.

Unfurling bracken . . .  Eaten as a delicacy in China, Japan and Korea, but it is thought to be carcinogenic, including the spores.  Gosh, when I think of the dens we had in bracken when I was a kid . . .

Tawny mining bee??? on Cow Parsley.

We still plan to walk round (and perhaps up when my back's not out - off to the Chiro again next week!) this lovely hill just up the road from us.

It's lovely to look across the landscape now that it is softened by leaves on the trees.

The Bluebells are quite late here - in Carmarthenshire they are nearly over - Tam went to the Bluebell Woods at Dinefwr yesterday and said as much.  Still, we are further north and spring is later here.

A close-up of Lady's Bedstraw, once used for bedding as its name suggests.  One Medieval legend has it that Jesus was born in bedstraw and bracken.  The bracken refused to acknowledge Jesus and had its flower taken away.  The bedstraw "bloomed in recognition" and was rewarded with a golden flower.

It was also associated with birth in Scandinavian mythology - it is called Frigg's Grass, as a sedative given in childbirth is made from it. (Frigg is the goddess of married women).  (https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/ladys-bedstraw)

Common Vetch and Garlic Mustard snuggled together.  Another name for this vetch is Poor Man's Peas, and there is evidence to suggest it was regularly eaten in the past and even cultivated for its seed pods as they are high in protein.  Medicinally it has been used to treat eczema and similar skin conditions. Garlic Mustard is an antiseptic herb, used on skin ulcers, bruises and sores, and also for clearing coughs and colds.  The greens are high in vitamins A and C and apparently the roots taste like Horseradish.  Vetch from: 

https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-plants/vetch-3/

Looking down across Builth, sat in the valley bottom below the hills.  When the Royal Welsh show is held and the weather is very hot, the showground acts like an amphitheatre and holds that heat. Folk have been known to swoon from it.

Finally, a rose in a planter, one of several I inherited with the house, is almost in bloom.  I gave them all a feed this week, which you are meant to do before they bloom and some are putting out buds now.

Lights on a dark hillside, and P.S. Blogger has been removing my posts

 Whenever I get up for the loo in the middle of the night, I can see distant lights out of the bathroom window.  The main ones are from the Quarry down in the town.  Not the best thing to have a view of, I'm sure you are thinking, but at night they leave office lights on and a light up on the building where the stone is graded (think that's what it does anyway) and they are cheerful.  The weather can also be read by their clarity!  To the right, on a hillside over by the church, there is a farmhouse that always leaves a light on at night - end of hallway I assume - there's a bit that sticks out the back of the building.  It is exactly between two bushy fir trees that are planted in the garden of the empty house opposite us. That light is soft and yellowy and often isn't on when we come up to bed, but is always there in the middle of the night, and I find it comforting.  We leave our top hall light on too, so I guess we are also a friendly light in the night to someone living round here.

Above and below: displays at Velvet Fern.  We bought middle daughter's birthday present from there last week - she has some lovely things in store, and at sensible prices too.

This is a shop which always has an interesting window display.  Lots of French stuff.  Not sure what anyone would want shabby distressed doors for, but that's me - I like my antiques to be less shabby-chic I guess.  Love that mixing bowl with the pears on but as I had a brand new mixing bowl for Christmas last year, I can't justify it! - although there is a smaller one on the left . . .

Further down the road is this rather scary Hare Mask.  Beautifully made.  A statement in the right setting.  This is the shop which Marina used to have and whoever made the hare mask, used to do dog ones too (Bulldogs I think) and she had a few of those to sell.

Grunge antiques.  Who would want a rusty old pram?  Or an old 60s record player with the covering peeling off?  Ah well, there must be a market or they wouldn't have them on display.

A thrifty purchase from our friend Sal's antique shop.  Just what we were looking for and a snip at £40.  Sorry about the wonky picture and the wonky shade - I can't get it to sit straighter.  I will have to sidle behind Keith's chair to straighten up this morning.

Sanderson curtains for our bedroom.  I had to let the hems down, but they are Sanderson and good quality and so pretty - and only cost £6 from a Charity Shop in Brecon.  

Wallpaper samples, with the Hot Pink bedroom in mind.  We are papering below the dado rail only as above it is still the original pitch pine planking (painted) and we will just paint it a different colour.  They both look nice on the wall, and although we all love the black one, not sure if we are going to use such a bold colourway.  Feel free to think Yuk if you want - wallpaper designs are such individual taste.   I am waiting for the William Morris designs to arrive - they may knock these clean out of the water!

Finally, I also got this in Hay.  Very like the Veronica I saw in the Open Garden. It may be a tad paler, but near enough.  Not sure quite where to plant it yet, as it needs to be admired not stuck at the back of the top of bank plantings.

P.S.  Apologies for past posts which Blogger have deemed offensive for some obscure reason (buying plants in Morrisons, REALLY?) or going for a Covid jab?  Anyway, they have removed them - just re-read their emails and it's on the grounds of malware or viruses, none of which I am generating personally.  I cannot for the life of me think WHY as in no way have I transgressed their rules.  Update: Just twigged - my fault for reporting spam.  If you just delete it, nowt happens.  If you report it, they take your post down!  I shan't make that mistake again.

Further update:  Blogger has had a look at the post content, found nothing offensive, and reinstated them.  Hmmm . . .