Storing the Sunshine

And the final step in the 'solar' project - a battery to store the sunshine in (yes, I know that isn't technically correct!).

That should take care of the electric bills - over the summer at least.

Next up - an electric vehicle . . .

Summer Returns

After the cold snap earlier this month, it's been good to see the sun and enjoy some warm weather.

Took a trip out to the RSPB Ynys-hir reserve this weekend for a wander round in the sunshine - didn't see many birds, but it's worth it just for the views!

Then a lazy Sunday afternoon sitting in the sun with my book . . .  only to spot a wasp apparently setting up home inside our roof as it busily went back and forth through a hole in the eaves.

Martin duly spent the next hour or so checking round the eaves, and repairing all the holes.  

I almost felt sorry for the wasp then as it desperately searched for a hole it couldn't find - but it did eventually move on and hopefully found somewhere else to live, a little further from where we do!

Jab No. 1

While most of the family (including Martin) have now been fully vaccinated (due to their age group, or because of their work), I headed off today for my first jab.

Our local Covid vaccination centre is housed in the old Thomas Parry Library on Llanbadarn campus, which made it a bit of a trip down memory lane too - although strange to see it so empty.

Anyway, job done - one dose of Moderna vaccine down, and one to go.

My arm hurts . . .

Back to Winter

After a spell of warm and sunny Spring weather (welcoming the start of British Summer Time), it seems like winter has returned with a vengeance - with snow and overnight frosts. 

Time to dig out some old decorating sheets - trying to provide the budding azaleas with some form of protection - and switch the rayburn back on.

Hopefully the sun will be back with us before too much longer!

Garden Projects: Front Lawns

We've been pondering plans for the garden this year - a lot of the work we did to build things like the fruit cage, raised beds, and the small veg plot took place over ten year's ago, and the wooden elements of those structures are now rotting away.  

We've also got a lot of lawn, much of which we don't 'use' for anything, such that it just sits there waiting to be mowed . . .   and an old oil tank that's been sitting round the back of the garage waiting to be disposed of since 2019.

So, project no. 1 - repurpose the oil tank - out with the saw, et voila, the base for a pond (with a bit of scrubbing and a liner) to go in the main section of the front lawn, and hopefully provide a home for frogs etc. next Spring.

And, project no. 2 - scarify the small section of front lawn, plant the cherry tree that has been languishing neglected in a pot for longer than we care to remember, and seed it with wildflowers, and transplanted primroses, cowslips etc.  

It all looks a bit bare at the moment, but hopefully we'll get something of a 'meadow' in due course - one less patch of lawn to mow, and good for the butterflies and bees!

Well, it's a start - there's still a lot of oil tank left - and lots more to do in the rest of the garden.  Pond updates to follow :) 

Home Working - One Year On

And so here we are, one year later, still at home, and not going anywhere just yet . . .

It's been the strangest of years - hopefully the vaccination roll-out will see life return to something like normality (or a 'new normal' at least).  

For now though working at home remains the status quo.

Sourdough Cookies

Someone on my Sourdough Facebook group had posted something about the lusciousness of sourdough chocolate chip cookies - so of course, it had to be tried!  

 

Found a recipe, and duly baked up a batch - although we concluded that we preferred the cinnamon and sultana adaptation I came up with.

Handily you can freeze balls of the 'dough' for baking up as and when you fancy a fresh cookie.

Very nice!