Ar y Campws

This month we have mostly been  . . . Dysgu Cymraeg!

Earlier this year we both signed up for the intensive Welsh summer course at Aberystwyth University - Martin at the Canolradd (Intermediate) level and me at Sylfaen (Foundation) - and for the last three weeks we've been on campus every day, Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

It's been a bit strange being back at the university (after all these years), and surprisingly tiring spending all day in a classroom (although we do get lots of breaks).

On the whole though we've both enjoyed the experience - we've met new people, improved our Welsh, and enthused ourselves to carry on when the courses finish (still a week to go!).

We've also had some encounters with the local wildlife - notably this bold fellow, who nearly gave me a heart attack when he jumped out of the bin I was putting my biscuit wrapper in!

At least the University is trying to discourage the seagulls - spotted this hawk being 'flown' around campus one day, and it certainly got them excited, although there was no evidence that they'd actually de-camped the next day.

Anyway, that hopefully explains the lack of activity on the blogging front this month - back to normality from the end of next week.

Worm City

For a few weeks now we've been pondering setting up a Wormery as a composting system - something we can feed our scraps too, get some free compost from, and which will supply a few worms for Martin when he goes fishing.

After much debate over DIY options, we opted for an off the shelf Wormcity model, as seen here. 

It has four composting trays (which we'll build up to over time), and a sump tray with tap (allowing us to drain off any excess liquid - sometimes referred to as 'worm tea' - itself good as plant food). 

The wormery also came with a coir block to provide some initial bedding, and of course the worms themselves!

We've covered them with added layers of shredded damp newspaper and some cardboard to make it nice and cosy and dark - just have to hope now that they all stay put, as apparently they can try to make a run for it, until they settle in properly.

Will just have to keep an eye out for escapees for the next couple of weeks!

Goodbye Summer?

So, after all that lovely sunshine, the beginning of July has arrived with a will - with some high winds, cooler temperatures, and a fair bit of (admittedly) much-needed rain.

I don't think anyone will be sitting on this deckchair today!

Shrewsbury Trip

End of June, and we decided on another day out - this time to Shrewsbury.  Hadn't realised how long it had been since we were last there for a proper look around - working out that it was probably 2011!

Parked in a side street and made our way into town along the river bank and had a good wander round the antique stores, and town centre.

Lots of lovely old buildings, although the 'Mardol Dragon' pictured here, isn't actually that old - having been added as part of a 1980s renovation to disguise the end of replacement steel 'Dragons Beam'.

Had our lunch sitting in the Quarry park overlooking the river, followed by a wander round the central sunken garden, 'the Dingle' - a part of Shrewsbury I'd missed on previous visits.

Finished with a wander along a section of the old town walls, past the National Trust's Town Walls Tower - again something we've missed in the past.

Headed for home having concluded that there is much more to see here - we'll be back!

Seagulls and Sunset

 

The lovely weather has continued, and we've been enjoying the sunshine at home and on the prom.  The 'well' feature in the kitchen 'courtyard' is still going strong, and looking lovely in the sunshine, with the water playing and a poppy in bloom.

On the prom one of the seagulls seemed to be posing for me - generally they are a complete nuisance, but this at least made for a good photo!

A couple of days later and more of the gang were hanging out at the end of the Pier in the evening sunshine - probably watching out for opportunities to steal people's food this time.

I'll finish this with another sunset picture, this one taken at Ynyslas on a metal detecting trip (and no we didn't find anything, but the walk and scenery were lovely!).

Bench Two

After our work on the old bench earlier this year, we started to look at the metal bench which is sited in the kitchen courtyard, and which is also looking a little the worse for wear as the powder coating is now peeling off.  

On balance we decided that we'd let that process continue, and repaint it in due course - especially as we'd also had some thoughts about getting a longer bench for outside the back of the house.

So here we go - one new hardwood teak bench 'Indonesian Legal Wood', ready to be assembled.

And here it is in situ.

This one is long enough (just) for Martin to lie down on it.  It's not quite as hefty as the old bench, but still solid enough, and will hopefully give us many years of good service!

Baking Good

I haven't blogged much about my 'adventures' in sourdough recently, but have continued to bake regularly, mostly pitta bread, but other bits and pieces too - and with the acquisition of some 'pullman' bread pans, this is my latest effort:

In the first photo I baked one with the lid on (you can see the ridges from the lid at the front - this is also what produced the squarer of the two loaves) and one with the lid off.  

Anyway, two nice soft sandwich loaves - pleased with that!