Iced Desserts

Just taken delivery of an ice-cream maker - it's only a small unit (makes about a litre) but more than enough for two.

The Iced Raspberry Yoghurt turned out scrummy anyway - looking forward to trying some ice cream recipes in due course . . .

There They Are!

Back to Llanerchaeron today, in search of those elusive piglets.  This time there was an actual sign, although initially we couldn't see the piglets.








The sow in the sty next door made a nice picture though - it really looked like she was basking in the sunshine, with a great big smile on her face!

Then there were the hens, who were scratching some nice hollows in the shade of a bush, and generally enjoying life.





Eventually did get to see the piglets - somewhat less in number than the advertised 13 (don't like to think what happened to the missing 5) - but the remaining 8 were plenty cute enough:

Fore!

Well sixteen actually! Every year we undertake the great garden clear up and we find more long-lost golf balls . . .

. . . and fill more bags with green waste.

This brings the total number of bags taken to the tip in our two weeks holiday to eight!

No Piglets Today

Off to Llanerchaeron today - all on the basis of this 'tweet':

Was poised to indulge my piglet-fetish - but unfortunately they weren't to be seen (a bit young yet I suppose).

Did enjoy the gardens though - and the fruit cage was just dripping with redcurrants.

Then - almost as if to make up for the lack of piglets - this (admittedly rather scratty-looking) robin flew right up to us and positioned itself for the perfect photograph:

Bath Time

Finally managed a few days away this holiday - decided we'd head South in the hope of better weather . . .

First stop - Tyntesfield - Victorian property, bit of a 'house in progress' with lots of ongoing work to catalogue the contents etc. It was wrapped in scaffolding for a couple of years while they redid the roof - interesting video of  the 'unwrapping' here.

From there it was on to our base for the next three days - Bath itself - got to wander the Georgian streets in the sunshine - watch barges on the river - and marvel at the chandeliers in the Assembly Rooms:







Plus some eating, drinking and making merry of course!

Also visited Dyrham Park - a 17th-century mansion, garden and deer park - lovely house, nice gardens (great hedges - or should I say great topiary!) - dangerous ponds (for baby coots - sad story) - and, of course, the deer:






On our way home - final stop - Lacock Abbey:

- a quirky property (part abbey / part country house), situated in a picturesque village - all with the added fun of playing 'spot the tv / film location' . . .

De-clutter Time!

Why are we so reluctant to get rid of stuff?

The rain has provided the opportunity to sort through cupboards that we barely open. Two broken laptops as well as 7 Ceredigion recycling bags full of paper, boxes, plastic etc were taken to the Glanyrafon recycling centre.


 

Boxes of books and clothing were taken to charity and as the only people in town to take electrical goods Craft Recycling received a working vacuum cleaner and desktop computer as well as a plethora of electrical cables that Martin had been storing “just in case!”

Hedge Hacking Haste

In Mid Wales we are used to having plenty of rain during the summer, however, in 2012 the British Summer (as we have seen) surpassed all our expectations with the wettest June on record! The grass, the hedgerows and most of the fruit and veg have benefited from the relentless downpours, but general garden maintenance has been difficult. Fortunately the ground dries quickly and during a break in the weather on Thursday we were able to tackle the hedges.

Normally done over two or more days at a leisurely pace, Thursday saw 8 hours of constant hedge cutting interspersed with 3 trips to Ceredigion recycling to dispose of 6 builder merchant bags of cuttings.

We kept some cuttings for local composting, but most went for recycling. It was a tight squeeze getting two bags into the boot of the car, hopefully when it is time for the second cut in October the electrics will be fixed on the car towbar and we can use the trailer!

Following another break in the weather on Saturday, the lawn also got a cut. Martin hates it when the grass gets too long and is always complaining how messy it looks - although it's probably time now to get that third compost bay up and running!

Spot the Odd One Out!

The wet weather hasn't done much for the strawberries - but the gooseberry harvest has been excellent!