No Wax In My Ears.

The pictures are from yesterday, a selection of the many forms and colours to be found at the beach. I could while away the whole day just looking at the natural beauty there and watching the waves.

Slabs of slate in a gully.
Paint splashes of lichen.

The power of water meeting immovable rock.

Streaks of algae glistening on rock.

We had a lot of rain last night and the day started damp and dreary. I had an appointment in the morning for the nurse to syringe my ears . I had tried listening to my MP4 player and thought that one of the ear pieces wasn't working. I even replaced them before realising that it was my ears that were the problem. However when the nurse looked into my ears the drops I had been putting in to soften up the wax had worked so well that my 'deaf' ear was almost totally clear and so she only did the other one. She did recommend that I used olive oil rather than the drops because they have been known to cause eczema in the ears so I poured away the drops and refilled & relabelled the bottle with its handy dropper.

It was dry in the afternoon so I was back outside kneeling in the mud getting grass roots out of a flower bed. I was so tempted to leave it and go and start another job as it takes a long time to clear a small patch but then I won't be able to tick off that job on my list. One more bucket full of roots should suffice for the time being and then I can move onto the next job.

Solo Beach Walk.

Happy Valentine's Day. I did go for a walk on the beach but it wasn't our usual weekend stroll. Peter had to spend most of the day getting a tyre changed. Every time he had been to get it done previously either they didn't have the tyre or there was 4 hour wait but now the tread had gone to the limit and he could be faced with a big fine and points on his licence if it wasn't sorted. By the time he got home he needed to do some OU work. It's our fortnightly dustbin collection to morrow and I had to drive the rubbish up to the road so I decided carry on to the beach. It's nicer to walk in company but I also like being on my own and not causing anyone to have to wait for me as I stop to take pictures.
When I got to Woolacombe the place was heaving. The bright sunshine and perhaps the date had brought everyone and his dog out. (And of course it is the start of the half-term holiday.) I expect that we can expect similar numbers as it gets warmer bringing people out for a post Sunday dinner walk. I have to admit to preferring fewer crowds around. We'll have to head for the high cliffs and the more remote beaches as people start coming to the area for their holidays. Today was reasonably warm and I saw a fair number of younger people in t-shirts including one couple 'in lurve' paddling in the sea with their trousers rolled up. Love must make you immune to the cold.

There was very little wind and the sea was calm. Even though we keep visiting the same beaches the character changes depending on the weather and the tide and there is always something new to see. Note the number of foot prints on the sand from so many beach visitors.


Today there was a large flock of seagulls out on the rocks. They were only common black headed gulls but their colour and smooth lines made them stand out against the grey rocks.

The sun had started to go down as I left for home. I stopped on the road out to capture the sunset over the sea.

And then again from a high point near Berrydown. Hartland Point (the headland in the background), must be a good 10 miles away across the sea. I like the way this little patch of sky looked as if it were on fire.

The Red Barn.

We finally got round to having the first of our meals out that were our Christmas presents to each other. We are simply not a family that goes out for meals. Initially due to the cost and now that there are only 2 of us not 5 we still prefer to cook a special meal at home or have a take away. (My favourite is a sandwich in the open air.) When we actually thought about it we could count the number of times we have eaten out together (not counting holidays or works outings) on the fingers of one hand. My colleagues do go out to eat but I don't think it is something we Brits do a lot. At least apart from young people. Perhaps it is the cost, locally a meal with a starter or a desert as well as drinks will probably cost £15+ per person or a fast food such as pizza or fried chicken would be £5+. Maybe I'm just old but when you multiply that by 5 for our family it seems to add up to a lot. What happens in your part of the world? How often do you eat out? What is your favourite cuisine? I'd love to hear your choices.

So it made it special for us to go for a walk and then have a meal at the Red Barn in Woolacombe. Not haute cuisine but a good selection and fair sized portions. Peter had roast beef with all the trimmings while I had a very good vegetable lasagna followed by a triple chocolate dessert with local ice cream. The meal came to £25 and we definitely do not need to eat again today. The only down point was when a couple of small children who were racing around the place like dervishes, managed to trip Peter up and he fell on his wrist, not good. Luckily he doesn't seem to have done any damage.

The Red Barn is a laid back surf themed place with great views over the beach. I can imagine that it gets very crowded in the holiday season.

This was our view as we ate our meal. Look, we even have palm trees.

Before our meal we went for a stroll along the beach. The tide was just turning and we were able to walk on the sand after jumping over the many fast flowing streams of rain water that were flowing down off the hills. We also picked up a few shells and I have started drilling holes and experimenting with different ways of combining the shells with beads to make some beach jewellery.

At home things were very different. We had more hail in the night and the ice was thicker on the pond. A couple more hail showers in the afternoon kept me indoors where I did some mending (sewing) in the kitchen. No severe weather predicted for us in the week but I'll keep an eye on the predicted temp each night so that we don't get trapped by black ice when we should be going to work.

Back To The Beach.

It was grey at home today but once we had driven down to Woolacombe the sun was shining. From the hills overlooking the beach what seemed like a flock of exotic birds were on closer inspection people enjoying the sport of parascending. If there had been a microlight amongst that lot the chances were that it would have been a local man who flies with one of his golden eagles free-flying alongside him. No sign of him today. Peter and I have been taking every opportunity to get out for walk as once the Open University term starts Peter will be studying and having deadlines for assignments and that will take priority.

We parked above Barricane Beach. We can't wait until that tiny concrete hut opens again as the beach cafe and serves tea in china mugs, (I do dislike paper or plastic cups). In the distance is Morte Point where we walked yesterday.


We went down onto Barricane Beach and picked up a few more shells. The tide was about half-way in so we didn't get a chance to explore the rock pools.

Then we walked over to Combesgate. Right next door to Barricane but very different with pebbles instead of shells and a lot of ground water flowing down off the hills.

Back home I was out in the garden once more. As there is so much to do it is a matter of prioritising. I'd like to get the heather banks sorted as soon as possible. Most of the heathers are winter flowering ones which means that soon the banks will be a mass of colour and it would be a shame to have weeds poking through. But first I have to get the pond tidied up. I like my garden to be fairly natural but although a pond full of rotten last year's foliage might be an ideal habitat for the toads which have already started croaking I do like there to be some element of design and space for my garden plants to show off their flowers. So I had the nasty job of fishing out and cutting the slimy last year's flag iris leaves. And got 1/3 of the path weeded. Hopefully the pond will be done by the end of the week and I can leave it for the wild-life.

Finally, if you're interested in self-sufficiency check out http://www.justofftheonelaneroad.blogspot.com/ . Elora lives on a small farm in West Virginia and grows all her own food as well as making dairy products and has just started blogging.

A Busy Day.

I've had quite a busy day today. I had to take Linas into town this morning and while he was at the Job Centre I had a wander around the shops. I finally found a large, but not enormous, stainless steel saucepan in the sales that I liked. When we sold those old chairs and other bits to the antiques shop last year I decided to use the money to buy some new s/steel saucepans. Apart from 2 small ones that I got in a car boot sale this is the first purchase from that money. On the way home we swung by the college and picked up 4 bags of wood shavings for the hens. It's great, they have the shavings all bagged up sitting outside and you just help yourself. I used to bed my friend's horse on wood shavings and many a happy hour was spent bagging up shavings in a joiner's workshop. Back home, despite the cloudy weather, Peter and I decided to have a walk down at Barricane Beach. The clouds were down really low over the hills but occasionally the sun did break through.
The tide was very low and it was possible to walk round from Barricane to Combesgate Beach.

If you would like a home overlooking the beach, the bungalow in the centre of the picture is for sale at £485,000. Hardly any garden but great views.

With the tide being so far out we were able to explore some of the lower parts of the beach.

The rocks themselves were full of life, these eggs belong to the dog whelk in the middle of the crevasse. Apart seaweeds and the the purple topshells there are barnacles and sponges here. Back home I got out into the garden and made a new compost bin in the hens' run as the one I had made 15 years ago has completely rotted away. This new one is also a bit of a Heath Robinson affair, just some pallets wired together but should do the job. Now Linas can clean out the hen house straight into the compost bin and the hens can have a lovely bed of clean wood shavings. And where did I get the pallets from? Let's just say that we no longer have a skateboard ramp, shame about that.

Sun And Waves.

Peter's knee has been playing him up so I went down to Woolacombe on my own today. The road was still flooded just past Mullacot but I drove through slowly. Some drivers still rushed through making great waves and spraying the windows of other cars! It rained heavily as I drove down into the combe but I wasn't able to park quickly enough to get a photo of the rainbow which dipped down into the sea. I was almost hoping for another rain shower so that I'd get another chance at a rainbow but instead the sun came out.

It was quite sheltered when I went down onto Barricane Beach. The tide was further out than last week but all the shells had been washed back out to sea. Also missing were the snakes locks sea anemones, I checked all around the pool they had been in but not a sign. Had they crawled away or been washed away?

As it remained dry I had a walk along the cliffs to Barricane Beach and then back towards Woolacombe.

The waves always fascinate me and I took lots of pictures most of which were in focus.

Back home I got to grips with starting on Romas' room as he'll be back from uni in a couple of weeks. I chucked out as much as possible and then put everything else in boxes and will give him a deadline to retrieve anything he wants before they go to the charity shop or the dump. I did this once before and it worked really well as he let most of the junk go. Redecorating his room will have to wait until he goes back to uni as I haven't had a moment to spare this term. We finished off the day with a kebab feast in honour of Linas' birthday tomorrow. Very unhealthy but it was his choice.

Coming up soon- the recipe for cabbage, cheese and potato casserole.

Braving The Floods.

The weather was really bad today but I was desperate to try out the new camera so we togged up and went down to Barricane Beach. The roads were quite deeply flooded in several places and cars had to take turns driving through the shallower sides of the floods. I did get a bit concerned when the engine developed a little judder after going through all that water especially as I had left my RAC card and mobile phone at home. Luckily there were no further problems with the car. At the beach rain and hail were lashing down so the camera remained safely zipped up inside my coat. Eventually there was a lull in the rain and I snatched a few shots before the rain resumed.

The new zoom is definitely impressive even though at this point I hadn't put the camera onto high res which is what I normally use.

This family were braving the elements much to the delight of their 2 youngsters who were very amused when Granddad's boots were filled with water by the advancing waves.

The rough weather of the last few days had brought many shells onto the beach.

I couldn't resist collecting these lovely purple shells.

I might even get round to making them into some jewellery ............ one day.

The rest of the day has flown by. I've brought down decorations from the loft to take into school and now there is just time to do some tidying up before we have a supper of a warming cheese, onion, potato and cabbage casserole (with added spicy sausage), that Peter has made. It's a dish that my mother's vegetarian friends used to make in the days when they were all poor artists though we do add some bacon or smoked sausage for extra flavour.

Wandering Anemones.

We were lucky enough to catch a dry spell for our walk by the sea though we missed the brief spell of morning sunshine. It was really windy and at times we were almost blown off the cliff as we walked along. The surf was completely blown out with some massive waves out at sea. We headed out to the same seat as last week passing the dead snake which is still occupying its bench.

The wind had whipped the sea spay into foam which was blowing inland like extra light snowballs.

Down on Barricane Beach it was more sheltered though out on the rocks were 2 big floats which normally mark the line of the waste water outfall. They had obviously broken their chains in the stormy weather. There were a couple of chaps there with metal detectors and several families all well wrapped up against the wind and rain.

I went over and checked out the same rocks where I had seen the beadlet anemones 2 weeks ago. I was quite surprised to see a group of snakelocks anemones, I was sure I would have seen them last time. Looking up some information about them I discovered that although they cannot retract their tentacles they are fairly mobile and hide in crevasses or under seaweed. The green colour is due to algae that live inside the anemone. Also they have a noticeable sting.

It was a good blowy walk , we were about 10ft away from the car when the heavy rain started and by the time we got in it was pelting down. They are still having serious rain up in Cumbria, the worst since records began, and 7 bridges have been washed away. Outside the window I can see the tree branches waving madly in the wind but it has stopped raining for the moment.

"This Bench Is Occupied."

Back down to cliff above Barricane beach to blow away the cobwebs with some sea air. We decided to head for this bench, handily placed for wave watching. I didn't notice the occupant of the bench until I had walked round it and yes, I did let out a girlie scream, (only a little one).

Closed inspection showed that this adder, (Britain's only poisonous snake) , was rather flattened and somewhat motionless. I guess it had been run over on the road and someone had put it on the bench for a joke. Well it fooled me.

Fortunately there was another bench just below the cliff edge. I was happily snapping away and exactly as happened the week before, my batteries ran out and I had to trek back up to the car to put my spare ones in, must remember to put the batteries in the charger tonight.






The wind wasn't as strong this week and the waves were coming in cleaner but as the tide was going out they didn't look that good for surfing.

Still there were some pretty waves.

Being by the sea is always so refreshing. After our walk we had a nice beef curry waiting for us at home. I'd bought a reduced joint of beef which Peter and Linas had prepared the night before and left cooking in the slow cooker. My job was to cook the rice and heat up the dal and naan. Then we headed into town to see 2012. We thoroughly enjoyed the film as the CGI was excellent and it was a good, well acted disaster movie.