Tidying Up (and missing blogs).

  For those of you who might care, I have created another blog at https://tracey-meredith-archive.blogspot.co.uk/ to enable me to archive material and publish other stuff that is not necessarily relevant to my career as a struggling writer. Book related stuff will stay here, but my gardening and foodie stuff will probably wend its way over to  Tracey Meredith (Author) Archived Blogs. Just so you know. The link is also below the list of articles currently on this blog.
 And apologies for my continuing lack of regular blogs- I have much to do and don't always have the time  or energy- or, indeed, any news.
  With regard to writing, the sequel to Barry and the Dinosaur King- Barry and the Robot Emperor- is at 15,000 plus words, and I hope to get some work on that done during this Christmas holiday. I am also hoping to finish the final edits on The Angel in Towerhouse Wood and Finding Richard, so that they can join Growned, Never put Your Hand in a Crocodile's Jaws and Barry and the Dinosaur King in being available as paperbacks. And there is a growing collection of silly poems which should form a second anthology in due course. So I haven't been entirely idle/gardening/reorganising, redecorating and repairing. And to those who have shown an interest and encouraged my endeavours, may I wish you, regardless of your faith, a peaceful Christmas and an equally peaceful New Year.

Tracey XX

Spider preparing fly for later

"It Was I," said the Magpie

"It was I,"

Said the Magpie,

As it cast a beady eye,

"It was I who took your gold

And took your trinkets.

It wasn't who you thought it was,

The one you sacked with all that fuss,

As honest as the day is long— how could you think it?"

"It was I,"

Said the Magpie,

As it flew into the sky,

"It was I who took your ring

And took your necklace.

And you, with little thought it seems,

Assaulted her with shrieks and screams

And accusations wild and vile, and reckless."

"It was I,"

Said the Magpie,

As it gave a raucous cry,

"It was I who saw her leave

And saw her weeping.

And you will toss and turn at night,

Now not so sure that you were right.

Is, perhaps, it guilt, that stops you sleeping?"

"It was I,"

Said the Magpie,

"Who watched her shrink and die,

The victim of a deed not of her making.

And you are too proud to concede

That you have done an awful deed

That haunts you at your sleeping and your waking."

Copyright Tracey Meredith 2017

The Garden Makes Its Last Big Effort, and I Say the C Word

 As autumn beckons us from the other side of the hill, things are reaching a crescendo in the garden. The tomatoes are ripening faster than we can eat them, there's only one more lot of potatoes to dig up ( in my new vegetable patch- that should be interesting) and next years gardening has to be thought about now.
 The rest of the spud bunker has been emptied, the spud bunker repaired (an excellent bodge, if I say so myself) and the Christmas (yes, I said the C word) potatoes are in. The tomatoes are gearing up for their last great hurrah and all the oinions and shallots have been pulled and are gently drying out. The second lot of peas are up and running- fingers crossed we have a long summer. Purple sprouting broccoli and kale are putting on weight ready for next year, as are the leaks. Final carrots have gone in. This is why I need 6 weeks holiday in the summer. And I haven't even started painting the windows.

Penmon Priory and Lighthouse

So, after the boat trip to Puffin Island, was there cake? Was there even a cup of tea? No. Barely had my feet touched dry land, when off we went again, through narrow one track lanes towards Penmon- Penmon Priory to be exact. I'd had a taster of it prior to the boat trip, but we decided it would be better to do the boat trip first, seeing as we were pressed for time and the priory didn't shut as such (though, for your reference, should you decide on a visit, the church is locked at 6pm, earlier if there are no cars in the car park).
 If you like your historic buildings and you're in the area, make a point of visiting this. There were a few visitors there when we arrived (about 4pm), but it's not busy, and the car-park attendants (who I assume are volunteers) are very chatty and helpful. The car parking is £3, and that includes access to the priory and your toll to go to the light house later. If you need to leave and come back again, tell the attendant and they will note down your car reg. and not charge you again when you return.  

It's a compact site, so ideal for the weary and foot sore, though the less spritely may need some assistance here and there.
 Most of the buildings here date from the thirteen century, and were probably built on the site of the original Celtic monastery. Further buildings were added in the sixteenth century.
 The original settlement was founded by St Seiriol in the sixth century and St Seiriol's Holy Well can still be accessed through one end of the car park.
 The priory was occupied by Augustinian monks until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century, when it was handed over to the Bulkeley family, who were responsible for the wonderful dovecote.

 Don't forget to visit the church in the complex, as well, which is also very interesting, boasting medieval architecture and some nice stained glass windows. If you want to have a look at what you might be missing, hop over to my Pinterest page, and see all the pictures relating to this.
 So, having had our fill of this site, we headed over to Penmon Lighthouse. This was another interesting place, but for other reasons.
Besides the lighthouse (which you can get to at low tide), there is a wonderful array of rock pools both deep and shallow, with varying amounts of sea-life trapped in them by the retreating tide. If your little ones have been unimpressed with the priory, they will love this.

  If memory serves me correctly, there is a little refreshment hut nearby and this may just be the thing you need to placate and weary any junior members of the family before the long drive home. So don't forget the shrimping nets. Also look out for fossils- there are some very apparent ones under your feet.
 As for the Trwyn Du Lighthouse, it is still in use, and if you click on the highlighted link, you should find some more information on it

So, all in all, an interesting and relatively cheap day out. I believe our next outing will be to the deepest, darkest interior of North Wales in search of obscure chapels, lost Roman outposts and places not even the postman has heard of.

Puffin Island from Beaumaris

 We set forth from Beaumaris harbour with Seacoast Safaris, on a catamaran. Just under £10 each for two adults (the P&J was probably still in bed). We had a running comentary on the coastline we were passing- the place where seaplanes used in WW2 were housed, Penmon priory and the lighthouse.

There was an abundance of wildlife at sea, and not just your bog-standard gulls- shearwaters, gannets, cormorants and shags- but, unfortunately, no puffins- the last one left last week, their breeding season now over.
 Once upon a time, we were told, puffins were numerous on the island, making their nests in old rabbit holes (the rabbits having been introduced by a religious community that once occupied the island). Things changed one fateful night, with the paddle steamer, The Rothsay Castle in 1831. It got into serious difficulty, sinking with most of the passengers.
 Among the survivors were rats that made their way to Puffin Island, and prospered at the expense of the local wild life.

The rats have now been eradicated and the puffins are making a come back, arriving in the summer to breed. Currently they nest in crevices, but there are plans to re-introduce rabbits to the island, which beside providing burrows for the puffins, should keep the vegetation in check.
 Other wild life on and around the island- and the ones we all hoped to see- are gray seals. Puffin Island now has its own colony, and they kindly deigned to make an appearance for us.

   Then a quick chug back to Beaumaris for the next part of the day's outing- a visit to Penmon Priory and its local lighthouse.

For the rest of the pictures relating to

 this blog, click here

RSPB nature reserve- The Conwy Estuary

We came across the Conwy reserve last year, having picked up the signposts for it while coming through Llandudno Junction. Unfortunately, at that time we arrived just before closing time and so didn't get to see more than a peek of the Conwy Estuary, from the car park.
 You enter the reserve through a wooden cabin which, besides housing the tills, contains a more upmarket selection of souvenirs, as well as a selection of binoculars and such like, wild-life books and leaflets and a good selection of wild bird food. There's also a cafe and toilets here, as well as an area for the kids to have a run around. This first bit is free and consequently quite busy. To get out into the reserve, you have to pay (consider it a donation).
 This is a reserve designed to attract a variety of wild-life, not just birds, as obviously birds are dependent on flowers and insects etc for their existence, and the presence of so many birds, in turn, attracts other wild-life.
 There were a lot of butterflies, including the red burnet, which some people were confusing with the cinnabar moth, which is a similar colour.
 There is a lot to please botanists, as to attract butterflies, a lot of wild plants are being encouraged to grow, including ragwort so beloved of the cinnabar moth, and so disliked by land owners because it's poisonous to horses.
  The reserve is accessed by following a number of sign posted, firm pathways, most of which are suitable for wheel chairs and prams.
 There are hides at the end of most of these pathways, with viewing holes set at different heights, and a stepped stool is available for the vertically challenged to stand on (the site encourages children).
 There is, obviously, walking to be done, though mostly on firm, level ground, and at the end of the day, you can walk as much as you want. Or not, as the case may be.
Typical estuary birds are egret, heron, moorhen, coot, duck and swan, as well as gull, lapwing, godwit and water rail.
 Watch out for the robins. A fair few of them are very tame- though it could have  been the same robin following us around.

 If you look across the estuary, you will see Conwy Castle in all its glory. If you finish early enough at the reserve, go and visit Conwy itself and, if you can afford it, the castle. It's worth the effort.
And let us not forget the mountains on the other side of the river, which make this place so,so special.

 

The First Big Adventure. And it's scary

So the P&J has just left on his first big solo adventure- cycling from here (Bristol) to Colwyn Bay (North Wales coast). He has a hotel room booked in Shrewsbury for tonight and is carrying a rucksack that weighs a ton(full of food and water, so it will get lighter). He's had a big breakfast, and we will be following to Hereford later today in case he finds he's bitten off more than he can chew.
 He's aiming to cover 103miles today and similar tomorrow. We're the emergency crew this side of Shrewsbury, my brother will take over after Shrewsbury. I've put £60 on his phone, so there's no excuse not to keep in touch. I have explained to him that we will worry, so can he text us when he stops to tell us where he's got to, and particularly when he gets to Hereford. After Hereford, he's got forty-odd miles to do to get to Shrewsbury and his bed for the night. I think if he gets to Shrewsbury, he'll finish the journey, and we'll see him again Thursday night.
So we're trying not to think of what might go wrong and hoping he'll make it to the end. He's been planning this journey for a long time and he'll be greatly disappointed if he doesn't. He's thinking about cycling back, so we might have it all to do again, next week!

UPDATE-Unfortunately, he only got as far as just outside Hereford due to a problem with his back tyre. We tried to fix it outside Halfords in Hereford, but to no avail. We traipsed back home to see if we could sort it out and then drop him at the TravelLodge to resume his journey from Shrewsbury, but we can't fix it (the rim tape is basically rubbish and causing punctures). He's too cheesed off to decide whether he'll have another go, but he will be visiting the bike shop tomorrow to get some decent rim tape. I got some nice photos of Hereford, though (there's always an upside).

 He has learned from the episode and accepts he didn't prepare well enough, didn't start out early enough and he was carrying too much weight in his rucksack. What is probably most galling, though, is that mum and dad were right all along, but he didn't listen. 

101 Things To Do With an Old Wooden Pallet: Number 2- A modular raised bed

Number 1 was the planter, remember? And as dear Mr Davie has kindly brought  me 4 more pallets of varying sizes, I thought it was time to be creative. Again, I'm trying to do as little DIY as possible, so I'm using what's already there, where I can. Those of you with bigger muscles and hammers will no  doubt be more able and willing to discombobulate a pallet, and create a super design, but mine, well, it works.
This was made from two pallets of different sizes, using a mallet, an old chisel and a saw (to dismantle), a hammer and some nails. It was  then given a coat of wood preservative.
 The bits I used were the "feet" of the pallets, which I sawed free as I couldn't get the nails out of the wood easily. Taking the "feet" and their attached planks of wood means you've already got your module almost made, only requiring one more plank on one side to make an open box. The planks not nailed to the "feet" are a lot easier to get off the pallet and reuse.  
 I left one side open, my thoughts being that I could put companion plants in there (marigolds and herbs, for example) to help control pests. At the moment, I'm thinking that I will place the four sides where I want the raised bed to be, and raise the soil level inside it  with compost. I'm hoping the weight of the compost and plants in the "wall" of the raised bed will keep  things in place, but if that turns out to be impractical, I can't see it being difficult to make the thing more rigid. We'll see next year, won't we?
 I have two pallets left and the bits left over from these pallets. What can we conjure up next? And here's a picture of my young thrush, who was watching what I was doing in to the expectation there'd be food afterwards.

Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Bag

 Well, more like £20.00 actually. You know you're feeding them well when the Mafia and the hoodlums (starlings and magpies) move in.  The above is one of my new best mates in the garden. It nearly did itself an injury trying to find its way out of the greenhouse this afternoon, but did a sterling job clearing up the mess I made when a poorly sited bag of meal-worms fell on the floor this morning, so I tried not to laugh. Frankly, I'm surprised it could still get airborne.
 We've had a lot of new families moving into the neighbourhood this spring, partly thanks to the overgrownedness (it's a word I've just made up) of my neighbour's garden, which has provided a lot of secure nesting sites, and my lack of a cat to threaten them all. I'm trying to build up a bird community to help me with the pests when (I hope) my organic garden gets into full swing next year. I'm not quite sure what use the magpies and their kin are going to be, though, other than providing the entertainment. I just witnessed a magpie trying to jump up onto the apple tree trunk, completely misjudging it and almost knocking itself unconscious. It tried to look like it meant to do it and wandered dazedly under the garden table. I'm assuming it's a youngster and hasn't quite mastered its wings yet. It's either that or some of the apples lying around the garden are fermenting. That being the case, I look forward to the spectacle of some raucous parties among my corvine acquaintances as the summer draws to a close.

 

To Jemara the Cat. We Will Miss Her Sorely

It is with great sadness and with broken heart that I have to tell you Jemara, vanquisher of the neighbourhood rats, is no more. After a short illness that has progressed rapidly in these last few days, it was decided by ourselves with the help of our vets at Watkins and Tasker, that her suffering had greatly increased, was irreversible and the kindest thing was for us to help her on her way.
 She died in my arms at 10 o'clock this morning, still purring 'til her last breath. Neither I or my husband have stopped crying yet and the pain of losing such a wonderful animal will be with us for some time. We have laid her to rest under the yew tree, her favourite spot, where she can watch the birds gathering on the lawn forever.
 If there is an afterlife, no doubt her previous owners, Shelagh and Jeff, and her dog-brother Nubi (who we also looked after) will be waiting to greet her at the gates of the Happy Hunting Grounds.
  Goodbye Jemara. You go before us, in peace and without pain. We will so miss you.

On Loud Music, Gardening, Retirement and Giving the Cat her Pills

 My word, doesn't time fly?! We're nearly at the end of June! We've already had our heat-wave in the UK, so we can get on with enjoying the wind and the rain as usual, but in our t-shirts and flip-flops.
 It's just coming up to 6pm here, and I appear to have a reject from Glastonbury playing a birthday bash at a house behind me. And it's very annoying- not because the music is too loud (actually, it is quite loud), but because I recognise most of the songs, but can't for the life of me remember who had the original hits. Fortunately, this lot are quite polished and able musicians, so other than distracting me from what I ought to be doing (because I'm googling to find out who had the hit with the song), it's not bothering me.
 Life, as ever, has been busy, despite my husband retiring last February (it has yet to occur to the OH to run the hoover around once a week, though he has found out where the hoover lives, so maybe it's just a matter of time and a few hints). I live in hope of coming home to dinner already started, the attic being sorted (and mostly disposed of), but then, I live in hope of winning the lottery, and that's probably not going to happen, either.
 The P&J turned 18 just before the election, and was somewhat peeved that he just missed his chance to vote for the first time. Mrs May will never be forgiven for it. There, there, I tell him. Don't worry, you'll get your chance soon. That nice Mr Corbyn will make sure you do.

 The mammals have been in the wars- particularly the cat, who now has high blood pressure, which may or may not have an underlying cause, and is on tablets. Oh, the joy. Half a pill a day- thank you, whoever invented the pill-popper! And D L Keur, who told me about them. She's due back next Wednesday to see if there's been any improvement (the cat, not Ms Keur). Yes, there has been, thanks for asking; today she had eaten nearly 2 sachets of cat-food by lunch time. Sheba cat-food mind. We've been going more and more up-market in order to get her to eat, and we seem to have hit the mark with Sheba. A bit of me can't help wondering if it isn't just a ruse on the cat's part.
  The kitchen garden is coming on. We've had all the strawberries, and the birds seem to have had most of the blueberries. The blackberries are turning and the spinach and rocket need replacing as they have now bolted. I regret to tell you that that the Chinese cabbage didn't make it, having been almost devoured by slugs one night while my back was turned. I let it flower before I pulled it up, so it had some happiness before it went to that great compost heap in the sky.

 There looks to be some decent onions forming now the summer solstice is past, and I know for a fact there are some potatoes, providing we can get them up before the slugs discover them. They've just finished flowering (the potatoes, not the slugs), so we should be able to start digging them up soon. There's quite a good chance of getting another crop in, if we're quick enough. What am I saying? We? Me, I mean.
 The carrots and parsnips I planted in one one of the planters are looking healthy, and the peas are already podding and some could be ready for picking next week. I picked my first tomatoes this morning and the first pepper has appeared on my -um- peppers. I have a lot of peppers this year. And aubergines- though the latter are only just flowering.

 The courgettes (two plants) are being grown in the greenhouse this year, and already have three lovely flowers. The cucumber has rallied and is climbing, and when I've got some space, purple sprouting broccoli will be going out- for next year.

 The beetroot is only just getting going, mainly, I think, through being over-shadowed by the potatoes. Now they are dying back, the beetroot is rallying. So, overall, the kitchen garden seems to be doing well and should be expanded in the autumn. And, yes, it has been a lot less stress and bother than having the allotment. And, I have to say, more fruitful, by the look of it.
  I won't make any promises of speaking to you soon, so I'll see you when I see you. Now I'm off to give the cat her pill. So, where did I leave my gauntlets...?
   Meanwhile, here's a picture of Meg, who is currently barking at nothing, and... a picture of a plant holder I made from an old pallet and some old planks. Thank you Charlie Dimmock for that.

 

 

#Gardening Tales- Prickles, vinegar and missing cucumbers

It was a gardening day today. Well, it was after we'd been out for lunch (all three of us, shock, horror!). All right, not so much gardening as clearing up and moving things around so I can get the next part of the garden under way. That meant being on hands and knees, and gloves on. Yes, gloves on, because cutting back my neighbour's jungle means there are a lot of prickles lying in the piles of debris.
 I shifted most of it, and then moved some of the bigger logs/limbs of the apple tree along the edge of what I laughingly call a lawn, before chucking the rest of the wood onto one big pile- the "to be dealt with" pile, if you like. I dug up all the encroaching vines that I could see, that were trying to tunnel in from next-door's garden, planted a rosemary shrub and replanted a lavender that wasn't doing too well in its current location.
 I've have sprayed the encroaching bind weed with spirit of white vinegar, would you believe, which I read somewhere was an effective and less toxic weed killer. I have to say, the bindweed was looking a little sadder today, so I gave it another spray, just for luck, and I'll tell you how it goes.
  The  kitchen garden is beginning to look the part, with the early planting looking like it's paying off. The potatoes, in particular, are looking impressive. I shall be bitterly disappointed if I don't get some decent spuds from it. My two crows are keeping an eye on them, as you can see.

Beetroot, carrot and parsnip are all up (albeit in the company of an errant potato), the spinach is looking lush, and my last surviving Chinese cabbage is still hanging in there. The onions have sprouted and will be growing until mid-June, when they'll start to fatten up- I hope.

 The pepper, aubergines and tomatoes are happily growing in the greenhouse, as are the squashes and the peas and beans- which are currently germinating in the greenhouse because something kept nicking the seed. That was a problem on the allotment as well- it always took several attempts to get the beans and peas going. There is, I have to tell you, still no sign of the cucumbers. After the glut of last year, it would appear- well nothing. That's the problem; nothing is appearing. It's not my favourite food, so I'm not too bothered about it.

 What we could do with now is a good day of rain- we haven't had any for a while. My dear husband (no, I still haven't found him a little job, or friends that like to go out and do things) advises me Winter is revisiting us for the next few days. I can't see anything to indicate that on the weather forecast (it's a balmy 9 deg C tonight), so I assume he managed to watch the Scottish weather by mistake. Or possibly Norway (snow was mentioned). We'll see, won't we.

Birthdays, mortality and a spanking new camera

  I'm expecting another birthday to stop by soon. No, I won't tell you how old I am- let's just say I've stopped taking any notice of who's got what Olympics or World Cup now, because I may not actually be around for those- and that's before we factor in the numerous idiots  currently in charge of some very large arsenals of rather worrying weapons.
 But I digress (it's an age thing.). The OH, bless him, flush with his retirement payout, bought me an early birthday present, in the form of a Nikon L340, as I'd been moaning about the lack of a decent camera. Consequently, I've been out and about testing it and getting myself familiar with the functions, etc- particularly the zoom (28X) and the macro.
 I was hoping to get some really good wildlife shots with such a good zoom capacity, forgetting my previous experiences with zoom lenses and that you need a tripod to use it to it's full extent.

 I'd like to tell you I dusted the old tripod down, but I didn't. Yep, I have no shame- I went out with a mucky tripod. But, you'll be pleased to hear, I only went into the back-yard, so it's only you and me who know about it, and I'm not going to tell anyone else. I've spent the afternoon trying to capture video of the bird-life in the garden, which is quite rich, but only the blackbirds and robins wanted to play.
 I made it into a video, using Openshot Video Editor, which tried my patience by crashing several times and losing my work. I learned quickly to save each stage. If you like robins  and blackbirds particularly, you'll find it on YouTube, or possibly here, if I can remember how to post a video. Oops- there you go. Blackbird and Robin. Oh, and by the way- I've cleaned the tripod now.