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Sun and sunflowers

Pic of the week 21/5/23

So this week we have been blessed with sun and blue skies – and what a difference it makes.  I spent yesterday afternoon running around in the sun, refereeing at the Ashcott charity football tournament (did two lines and two middles for a total of 120 mins.  Legs were aching last night, went for swim this morning – first few lengths were tough but then my body loosened up, I glided through 40 lengths and have felt much better for it all day.) and today I have spent quite a bit of time outside – this morning, circa 11am, enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the garden along with the sunshine, and this afternoon reading and then snoozing, Good weather makes such a difference.

On Wednesday I planted out the sunflower seeds I had sown a few weeks ago, putting them in the front trough. They seem to have taken well and are growing nicely. Today I planted some more seeds in trays in the porch, along with some pumpkin seeds – this time of year is busy, busy, busy in the garden, literally sowing the seeds to reap the rewards later in the summer.

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Bulbs

Pic of the week 14/5/23

Well, we’ve had some quite biblical rain this week (flooding in Bruton, Queen Camel and other places) but yesterday afternoon the sun shone and the garden is looking lovely – the alliums in particular.

Today, I lifted the bulbs from the front “trough” and planted them in a corner of the lawn (top right in the pic above) and hopefully they will burst through to give added colour next year.

It was bloomin’ hard work digging the lawn up and I fear I may not have planted them to the optimum depth but, worst case scenario, we just end up with a patch of mossy lawn again.

I must confess, I ache now. I ran this morning, and then spent a couple of hours of heavy toil in the garden but hopefully, come next March, it will have been worth it (I’m clearly playing the long game here!)

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Exercise!

Pic of the week 7/5/23

Having planted them last Sunday, I am pleased that nearly all my sunflower seeds have burst forth. Dead-headed the tulips in the front bed yesterday – it can only be a week or two before I need to dig them up and start planting out my sunflowers.  The back garden is looking vibrant – the alliums are just beginning to flower, purple exclamation marks offsetting the swathe of blue forget-me-nots, the apple tree blossom is magnificent – probably in for a bumper crop this year – and everything that should be green is,  a vibrant range of greens.

I could do my deadheading yesterday as we had the day of for the King’s coronation.  Not really my thing, I don’t like the overt wealth and inequality and having someone “reign over us” really does go against the very core of what I believe (that we are all equal) but some people like the pomp and ceremony so, if that’s their thing, so be it. As Becky & Sophie (Sophie has come home the Bank Holiday weekend) sat down to watch it, I represented the oppressed masses and went and did the ironing.

And then I went for a swim. I have been a busy boy on the exercise front this week: ran last Sunday, went spinning at school on Monday, Tuesday I refereed an U14 game, Wednesday not too much – stood around chatting at volleyball, Thursday: nada, Friday ran the line at Street FC for a testimonial game, Saturday swum, ran another 7K today and will spin tomorrow, although that will then be “it” until next weekend.  Legs are aching a little today, but, more importantly, my foot has withstood all of that.

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Streets and seeds

Pic of the week 30/4/23

So its been back to school this week, the summer term, but not summer weather. Its been grey, damp (very wet at times) and chilly. The winter and spring of 2023 have not been good. The garden, though, is looking lovely – the pic above is tulips and bluebells along the “washing line path”  I’m pleased with the way the lawn is looking, still have tulips flowering in it alongside daisies, and the alliums (both in the lawn and in points) are close to flowering.  As I put out some washing this morning under a grey sky, I was struck by how peaceful the space was, it certainly was a calm oasis although I’ll be happy for it to turn into a scorching fiesta of flowers!

And to help create this, today I planted my first sunflower seeds of the season – two trays (20 seeds worth) of “Titan”, the same of “Giant Single” and 18 seeds of “Autumn Beauty”

This morning I ran 7K – my foot has been feeling fine so I thought I’d risk running again and I’m glad I did.  I was “aware” of my foot as I ran, and since returning, but I wouldn’t say its hurting, so that is a huge step (pun intended!) forward.  There were times when I thought I might never run again.  I was, inevitably, slow, but I was pleased that I was able to complete the 7K. Onwards and upwards from here!

I also think it worth recording that yoga isn’t taking place this term, so perhaps my days on the mat are done for good (did still do some stretching when I got back from my run) Perhaps I’ll do it again if it re-starts in September, but you never know, once something stops it can be quite hard to start again.

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Rhodes

Pic of the week 23/4/23

On Wednesday we returned from a week in Rhodes. It was a wonderful week, the first three days spent in Lindos  – small, picturesque, historic and with some great swimming spots (St. Paul’s Bay, and also the hidden cave swimming, off the main town beach) The water wasn’t warm, but it was swimmable, but it was crystal clear, and the most beautiful colour.   Swimming in St Pauls bay it was deep, but you could see all the way to the bottom and the colour was a deep bluey green. Beautiful and serene.

On day 4, the Saturday, we went by bus to Rhodes town, which initially seemed quite big, but by the end of our stay seemed much smaller (although we did walk miles!) It was (Greek Orthodox) Easter and we discovered that midnight on the Saturday into Sunday was a key part of the celebrations, so we went to the local church and stood outside as the crowds began to gather and the service was relayed via PA to the growing throng outside (of course, we didn’t understand a word of it) Whilst I’m sure that inside the church it was highly respectful and reverential, this was certainly not the case outside: it appeared to be an excuse for all the local hooligans to gather and throw around very loud fireworks! It certainly was a spectacle to behold!

The next day, we left the madness of Rhodes town and set sail (well via ferry) for rthe island of Symi, about an hour away. What a beautiful island! It being Easter Sunday, it seemed the whole population had gathered on the harbour front to eat roasted meat from the many, many spit roasts turning away. We wandered around the harbour and had lunch in a perfect taverna on the water front – on a holiday in which every meal was wonderful, this was the best. I had grilled lamb, it was delicious.

Back to Rhodes that evening, we spent the next couple of days exploring the old town and new, and finding the beaches on north-western tip of the island. Again, I swam in beautiful waters and we chilled in the sunshine.

A good time to go? Yes – I am sure that in the height of the summer some areas (Linods – I’m looking at you) would have been rammed full, and in the heat we wouldn’t have done all the exploring we did.  The water was still a bit chilly and this was a disadvantage of visiting in April, and there was a real sense that not everything was yet fully ready – things were still a little tired and tatty in places, I’m sure in a few weeks all will be spruced up and looking wonderful.

A good island to visit? I’m glad I’ve been, but I don’t think it was as pretty as some other Greek islands. Basically it is a long island with strips of beach down each side. The geology seemed quite angular – lots of right angle cliffs, and quite barren, although the flowers – the yellow daisy’s in particular – were beautiful and it was great to watch some swifts swooping and Lesser Kestrels soaring magnificently around the Acropolis. It didn’t, perhaps, feel as “Greek” as, say, Corfu, particularly around Rhodes town – the old town was again to disneyfied, like, but not as bad as, Dubrovnik, and the new town could have been anywhere-hot-on-sea. But, to be sure, I had a great time and a wonderful holiday.

Beckys’ blog (1)   and Becky’s blog (2)  give much more detailed accounts, along with loads of excellent pictures

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Cars, bikes and pavements

Pic of the week

Well, what a full week this has been!

Monday saw the 205 complete (not pass, but not abandoned!) its MOT. It didn’t pass – I didn’t expect it too, but was surprised that it failed on a couple of brake lines being corroded and headlight alignment. After some initial disappointment, I have decided that these are not major jobs and I will do them myself, as a summer poject.

Tuesday saw me back in the saddle – spinning at Strode leisure centre for the first time since the pandemic. It was tough, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, I may be tempted to return …

On Wednesday we went to Cornwall in the rain (and returned in the rain – it pretty much rained all day) for a gathering of the Woodhouse clan.  A long way to go, but a nice afternoon.

Thursday – a big day: I ran again for the first time since my plantar fasciitis. It was not easy, partly because I was conscious of my foot, and partly because I haven’t run for 4 months. I ended up running 4Km, my foot was OK afterwards, but my left calf felt like a knotted ball. I ran again on Saturday, this time running nearly 6 Km (the 3km “Grange-High Street” loop twice) It felt good to be running again. I think I do need to manage my miles – my foot doesn’t hurt, but I’m “aware” of it – not sure its still 100% recovered. Have also swum a couple of times as well.

Friday was lovely day, weather wise, and spent much of it in the garden, doing some pruning, but also a lot of reading and soaking up the sun.  After much promise, though, sadly neither Saturday nor today lived up to the promise of more good weather, and now it seems the rain will be back tomorrow (good job we are off to Greece (Rhodes) on Wednesday).  Over Friday and today, I chopped back the “brown” tree and the buddleia, reducing both significantly in height, a job that needed doing.

In addition, on Tuesday, the cooker stopped working. It was the heating element – quick bit of fault diagnosis, part identified and ordered, arrived on Thursday and within 20 minutes I’d fixed it. On Monday, the Corsa threw a EML light – Sam thought it was like when the timing belt slipped 18 months ago, diagnostics showed a misfire on cylinder 4, and after initially finding no fault, I was able to replicate it – a low speed lack of power.  Whipped of the coil pack and found some moisture ingress around the no. 4 spark plug: cleaned it up, dried it off and the problem seems to have gone away. Pretty sure that this was the cause and correct solution.

So a busy week, a full week, but an enjoyable week.

 

 

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Its coming up …

Pic of the week 2/4/23

… tulips!

At last everything seems to be flowering. The front trug is looking really good, awash with daffodils (big and small), offset with blue grape hyacinths (the yellow and blue together make me think of Ukraine) and along the back the tulips are opening up.  It does seem later this year, but worth the wait.

It has been the wettest March since 1981, and also one of the dullest on record. It does seem as though it has been a long, cold, wet and grey winter – those lovely spring like days have been very few and far between. But at least the bulbs are now flowering and the holidays have begun (finished on Friday). With the clocks going forward last week the evenings are now longer but summer (or even a half decent spring) still seems some time away.

My foot is a lot better – may risk a run this week. It was my birthday on Tuesday – I had a nice day (albeit at work for most of it!)

Now time to rest and recuperate and enjoy some leisure time.

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Return of the bambinoos

Pic of the week 26/3/28

Both bambinos came home yesterday – Sam as his term is over and Sophie just because; she’ll work from home for the next few weeks,

Other than that, though, not too much to report. My daffodils are looking good, both in the trough and the lawn, the clocks went forward today so its nice to welcome in the longer evenings, although we still haven’t had much spring like weather to enjoy.  Its been showery, grey and not warm, Still have one more week of term to get through, but light is definitely beginning to glimmer on the horizon.

My foot continues to improve  – still not sure I’d want to go running on it (although that day may need to come in the next weeks/months) most of the time I just don’t notice it; it doesn’t hurt but can still be “aware” of it at times.  Although when I think about it, its been a  term, or 3 months, that is quite a hefty length of time needed for recovery.

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Hope!

Pic of the week 19/3/23

After what has seemed a long, cold (and for the last few weeks, but not the first, wet) winter there is, at last, hope!

The daffodils are now in flower, their yellow heads mirroring the yellow sun that we saw for the first time today. This week, the temperature has risen – by no means scorchio, but not freezing –  and this, coupled with the lengthening days does give one hope that we’ve broken the back of winter. It has seemed long – I don’t know if it was because it was, or because I’m getting older, or because my foot hurt for much of it, but this week has seemed like a week of change, and filled me with a sense that things are getting better.

My foot is much less painful now – in fact I would go as far as to say that it doesn’t hurt, although  I remain “aware” of it.  I’ve refereed quite a bit this week (Wed, Fri and Sat) and haven’t really had to modify my running, and I think doing this exercise has helped my mood as well as the improving weather. Swam again this morning, and I’m enjoying being back in the pool. This week and last, I swam 46 lengths, 1.5km.

Two weeks ’till the Easter holidays, I’m looking forward to them, I’m ready for them!

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Visit from Sam

Pic of the week 12/3/23

Sam came home on Saturday for a couple of nights and it was lovely to see him. (He had been to a party at Smithy’s in Bristol on Friday night) He pretty much slept for most of today, emerging at circa 12.30pm, is currently out at Idris’s and he heads home tomorrow, but it has been nice to have him home for a few days.

Its been a cold week and we had some snow on Wednesday.  Not a great deal, and it didn’t really settle down here, but the Tor turned briefly white:

but it was all gone by the end of the day as the snow just turned to rain.  Has stayed cold for most of the week – I got v cold at games yesterday: low temperature, wind, some stinging rain – although this morning was pleasant with some sunshine and it didn’t feel cold. Although by late afternoon, everything had gone grey and it started to rain. Tomorrow promises to be wet and very windy – I would still struggle to say we are anywhere close to spring, beautiful blue skies have been a rarity.

Perhaps it was the weather, perhaps it was because tickets came on sale, most probably a combination of both, but we bought tickets to Malaga for December.

The plan is to fly to Malaga in the morning, then get the train to Cordoba, spend a couple of nights there before returning to Malaga for a night or two, then home.  The initial cost of the flights was circa £50 each return, but carry on luggage etc added an extra £80. Still return flights for less than £150 aint bad (although it does say something when your bags are worth more than you!)

My foot: continues to improve, but is “still there” Did have a wonderful dream in the week where I dreamt I was running barefoot on grass – wonderful. Went swimming today, did 46 lengths, 1.5km. I am enjoying doing some exercise on a Sunday morning again.