Travels with my camera

As anticipated, I am a right raspberry today, after all that lifting and digging yesterday. (Erm rhyming slang - raspberry ripple - cripple) I ache all over, can't hardly move, and have felt completely and utterly useless today. I get so frustrated now that I can't do anything without suffering after, it never seems to hurt much at the time. My sciatica is having a field day today. I am also in one of my funny moods, where I don't want to talk to anyone, and go out of my way to avoid doing so. I took Emma to a place that I have posted about and photographed intensely on here before, my favourite quiet place by the river, specifically though because by going later (couldn't even summon up the energy until after 3 oclock) I doubted that there would be anyone else there and I was right. I really needed to go to Focus and get some slabs and sand, but couldn't face it in Carmarthen on a Bank Holiday. So I shall have to look at the black weed block flapping around for a couple more days. I did lay some more weed block this morning, I have decided another 8 slabs and two bags of sand will do it, as I found two more slabs here that I could use. I don't think I could have lifted anything today without collapsing in a heap. Oh and Boo, in answer to your comment from yesterday, I do have a wheelbarrow, in fact I have two, and a sack-barrow. But trying to get through two gates and up a 1 in 3 slope is harder than actually carrying them individually I have found from past experience. In fact, I will take a photo of my slope and post it here, not sure if it will show just how bad it is in a photo, but anyhow. Oh yeah, where was I, I didn't want to speak to anyone today, I have funny days like that, and I was horrified when I pulled into the cul-de-sac to see one of my neighbours outside, so can you believe what I did? I pulled out again and drove round the block for 10 minutes, and prayed he'd be gone when I came back, and he was! I really am mental, because I get on well with him and always have a chat, but I just didn't want to spoil my vow of silence today. The other next door neighbour's son spoilt it the other day too, else I would have managed it on Saturday. He was over cutting her grass, and I waited and waited hoping he'd be gone from the front garden, but in the end I gave up, and had to speak to him on my way to the car!

It's bloody freezing here today, I've gone from walking around in a t-shirt the other day to two sweatshirts and a jacket! Stupid weather in this country. The wind is bitter, and the sun only came out about lunchtime, else it was just grey and horrible again.

Bird-wise, on my walk I was stopped in my tracks by an unusual call from overhead, and looked up into the fir-tree branches to see a nest and along the branch a little further was a newly fledged Thrush, all spotty and cute with a fluffy head still. So there were still some in the nest calling. The little one looked at me suspiciously with his head cocked on one side, and then I saw Mummy (or Daddy) and it was a Mistle Thrush. Don't see many of them around, lovely birds. Otherwise it was just the normal tits, woodpigeons and blackbirds. Oh that reminds me, I awoke this morning at around 7am to the sound of woodpigeon cooing, he must have been on my overhead power lines, made me smile, it reminds me so much of when I was a kid in Folkestone, we were surrounded by the North Downs and corn fields, trees,and reservoirs, a truly wonderful place and could always hear the woodies calling. I was so very lucky as a youngster, but you don't appreciate it at the time. I'd love to live somewhere like that now, but of course, it doesn't exist any more, progress means the M20 motorway runs right through where I spent my childhood, and the approach road for the channel tunnel, and railway sidings. :(

I was also brought wide awake with a jump around 3 am too with a loud clap of thunder. I forgot about that last night when I was speaking to my mum on the phone about 6 oclock we had a lightening flash, but nothing else happened apart from the rain of course.

I've been having some very vivid dreams lately since I've been on these pills, last night I was dreaming about Alan Titchmarsh, (I used to have quite a thing about him and was trying to think up all sorts of ways to meet him, lol - I'm over him now btw) I don't know what brought him back into my mind though, can't think of any triggers for that. I also had another one early morning about my Bouncer (the little tame Robin who has disappeared) I was holding him in my hands as he died, and I was crying my eyes out. That's obviously triggered by the sick greenfinch yesterday. When I woke up, I had been crying for real, my eyes were all bloodshot and gungy. :o(

I've just seen a bluetit looking in the nest box which is above the living room window, hope he decides it's a desres. Oh and I looked at Snuffles in his box this morning, as he was making a lot of noise, scuffling around, he's made his nest a lot fuller, I wonder if he's been feeling chilly, it has been cold here at night still.

Oh well, best get on with something I suppose, the front grass needs cutting again, it's only been about 4 days since I did it I think, and the guinea pigs need cleaning out, and my hamster will too later, and I still haven't done the bird shed...

I've taken some pictures but will have to try and publish them later, it's having none of it at the moment, page is freezing for about 5 minutes and then getting the error message. I suppose there are too many people on at this time of night.

The slope looking up the garden toward the kitchen, taken from the dividing gate between my front and side garden (note the nosey chickens coming to see what I was doing! )

The slope looking down the garden from the kitchen end.

My new patio area - Boo are you sure you envy my diy skills now! lol. It looked level when I was up there, but in fairness, I wanted it to slope downward and away from my aviary. It used to lay there in a big puddle how it was before.

The bench that I cuprinoled the other day, it's in a lovely sunny area now, a place that gets sun nearly all daylong (that's when it's not raining of course... )