An Early Evening Beach Stroll

After a rainy, windy day spent in home, I decided on the spur of the moment to drive to the coast; I fancied a bracing walk on the beach to blow the cobwebs away. And look!  They had put the bunting out to welcome us to Downderry . . . . actually, I think it is their Carnival or Gala Day on Saturday!

Downderry is built on top of the cliffs and those houses on the right of the main road have long gardens which are gradually being shortened by stormy seas pulling the cliffs down. 

 This is the view to some of the houses high on the hill - and out of danger from the sea.

But Zac and I are turning away from the houses and heading for the beach - can you see the sea yet?

 There it is!  "C'mon! Stop stopping to take photos!"

High tide just about on the turn, so it isn't possible to walk along to Seaton beach; we'll head the other way and just take deep breaths of fresh air, hear the gulls calling and the waves stirring the pebbles.

A quick dip and a shake to show that I've been in the sea.

A garden with a fantastic view - but for how long?

Waiting for the right moment to take the plunge; her companion is already paddling.

The sun came out from behind the clouds and turned the sea blue! It highlighted this group of lobster pots just offshore.

After a lovely, refreshing hour or so, we climbed the steep path back to the car, where Zac had a long drink of water - without sea-salt in it.

A lovely rainbow was waiting to guide us home; I'm sure the crock of gold must be right in my garden!

A Circular walk with surprises and a wink.

Such a beautiful sky this morning -

 Zac and I turned left for a change and walked up the road to where a Green Lane starts; it eventually brings us out at the top end of the village, just a few yards from the Moor.

And here's a large but friendly horse; she usually comes to the fence when I call her. She's looking really good with her very shiny black coat.

But today she had a surprise for me -

And not to be outdone, another mare in the same field also had a foal, a very unusual colouring, I thought.

We came out of the Green Lane and turned away from the Moor (out of bounds at present to prevent the spread of a highly contagious infection that has broken out among the ponies up there.) Instead we took the road down through the village centre and back to home.

 Roses in the hedgerows, probably escapees from someone's garden.

 And finally, a smile and a wink from my happy boy!

The Good, the Bad and the Handsome!

Firstly an apology for the long gap since the last post - for some reason I have been unable to upload many of my photos, particularly the most recent ones which refer to where I've been and what I've done in recent weeks.  

So today's post may seem even more random than usual!

I had a visit from my friends and former neighbours who brought me this beautiful posy picked from their garden; they deserved my silver rose bowl, I thought.

 They also brought me some poppy seed heads to dry out and sow in my garden ready to flower next year; I have now put them safely in brown bags in the greenhouse as I don't want those seeds exploding all over the place.

Another gift from a green-fingered friend was a little cutting from a Streptocarpus which has now developed into a pretty plant bearing many lilac-blue flowers (at the last count there were 45 flowers altogether!) 

And I also received my latest order from Higgledy Garden - biennials to sow now in order to have them flower next year.  As always, there was an accompanying beautifully hand-written note from Benjamin and a complimentary packet of seeds 'to try'.  I love the personal touch and all his seeds are organic.

I took advantage of an offer in the Gardening section of the Saturday Telegraph a few weeks ago and eventually 4 little Hydrangea plants arrived in the post, carefully packed and all in good condition. 

I was so chuffed when they eventually developed blooms in this lovely colour, so I have been able to give one to each of my friends in return for the posy, seeds and plant cutting - and keep two myself!

Now this is where I am struggling for photos; Zac and I have been out and about with our friends and their two dogs, Rua the Red Setter and Goldie the Golden Retriever, but at least this shows the happy bunch! It looks as though Goldie is telling the boys to get a move on!

At present we can't go walking on Bodmin Moor in this area as there have been reports of ponies suffering from Strangles, a horrible and highly infectious disease which causes terrible suffering and often death.  It is being dealt with but in the meantime, we are warned not to let dogs drink any water on the Moor and to disinfect boots after walking there in order to prevent spreading the disease. 

So last Thursday we visited Cardinham Woods where there are walking trails and cycling routes, plus the river where the dogs can cool off.  

We chose the shortest walking trail - 4km - but as it climbed steadily, we got slower and slower and more out of puff! Eventually, L and I decided we'd had enough and left B to carry on with all three dogs for a bit further, saying we would meet him in the cafe later! At this point, Zac weighed up his options and decided he'd also had enough, so accompanied us back down to the cafe and a welcome drink. 

 I think I might be bringing my grandchildren here during the school holidays; they would definitely enjoy the play area and a good walk along by the river would use up some of their boundless energy . . maybe!  Oh yes - as we were about to leave the car park, we discovered another walking trail alongside the river . . . FLAT!!!  So a bit late for this visit but ideal for next time.
This is the little tearooms where you can enjoy an ice cream, drinks, snacks and Mmmmmmmm home-made cakes.

Heading home . . 

OH!!  Where did HE come from?