The winter so far has been kind to us yesterday however it was a tad windy, we were left without power for over four hours and no internet connection overnight. Losing power yesterday reminded us that cats and candles don't mix, especially if the cat happens to have a tail that would make a fox proud, Freddy, always interested in new things suddenly had a flaming brush, fortunately I was there and quickly put the flames out, he is none the worse for it, except for his tail being slightly less bushy. Note to ourselves, go in search of calor gas lamps, the type sold for camping although we aren't quite sure where to start looking.
Today the winds seemed stronger so it was a good excuse to head for the coast, we saw some very spectacular waves, not quite as good as the ones back in Febuary, the wind is in a different direction this time which means the surfers can't take advantage of the big waves.
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| A wall of sea. |
We weren't the only people who had headed for the coast, at one beach there was quite a line of cars and people with their cameras, all paying homage to the natural elements.
A big surf, running very fast.
The wind certainly blew a few cobwebs away and gave us a very pleasant trip out,
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| Traffic jam, Irish style. |
even if we did get caught up in an Irish traffic jam, the cattle had different ideas of where to go than the farmer so we were stuck for quite a while.
The hat that I had commissioned from a friend is now on it's way to Canada, I hope the sister-in- law will be pleased with it, it should keep her warm on her twitching trips, she is an avid bird watcher. I was very pleased with it, it looked and felt lovely, knitted from Organic wool.
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| Hand made card. |
I decided to keep the whole gift thing on the local and hand made theme this year so set about making what Xmas cards have to be done, normally I would buy charity cards but needed to get the Canadian gift packaged up and in the post, I have not bought any cards this year, I just have not got round to it, anyway I think hand made cards are more personal. I hope people like them.
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| 1st Copper Maran egg. |
Today we got a first egg from our Copper Maran pullets, we were expecting the first eggs around Xmas so a couple of weeks earlier than we had thought. For a first egg we were very pleased with the size, 47grams, which is very good for a first egg. There are six Copper Maran pullets so we will soon have a glut of eggs again, just in time for the lemon season, lots of lemon curd will be made, fortunately it freezes very well.
On our way back from the coast we spotted a couple of willow sculptures, one of a donkey and one of a sheep, unfortunately the photo of the sheep was not very clear. I love the way the donkey was tethered by his back legs, no doubt to stop him running away.
Now that is something you dont see everyday, a bloody big donkey sculpture made of willow! How very clever and generous to provide art for those passing by. I love the ocean and could sit and watch it for hours but not go in. I dont like the salt.
ReplyDeleteImagine if your hubby had those wind turbines. You'd be sitting pretty for power.
Poor Pussy!
There are quite a lot of willow sculptures around and lots of metal ones, a lot of them are very beautiful, we often see them as we are driving past but with traffic behind so I don't get a chance to get a photo.
DeleteI love watching the sea and was brought up very close to it, but like you I don't like to go in.
Freddy the kitten seemed to pay no heed to his tail being on fire, I was far more shocked.
I like your white horses/wall of sea, Irish traffic jam and the donkey sculpture. Our broadband also went absent without leave for half a day on Wednesday. Still gales here in West Cork,
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit calmer here now Dave, have you got big seas down in Cork?
DeleteYes Anne there are still big seas and plenty of wind here. Supposed to be nice tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIve just been reading about the UK's "weather bombs". Very exciting. I love a good storm.
ReplyDeleteSo do I Lynda, especially if I'm in a nice snug room with the log fire blazing, or laying in a nice warm bed with the rain lashing at the windows. The only problem with a well insulated house is not hearing the wind or rain, the insulation and double glazing cuts out all noise.
DeleteIm lucky in that our huge pergola area has a tin roof. Because it enclosed and we have a lounge out there i can sit out and listen to it. Our bedroom ensuite has a door to this area and so i can open it and hear the rain in bed. Makes for a good sleep. The house has a tiles roof so otherwise i wouldnt hear it much.
DeleteThe wind hasn't been too bad down here in Tipp, although it is picking up now. (perhaps i shouldn't have said that). We have some battery lights to use in a power cut, which are handy. I think Argos might sell the camping lamps or Woodies.
ReplyDeleteIt seems quite calm tonight but cold, I think there might be a frost.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info about the lamps, I will see if I can make sense of the Argos catalogue, not much point in looking in our nearest Woodies in Carrick on Shannon, it's a rubbish shop.
Poor cat! Our big fluffy boy, Blue, once stepped delicately between the two candles in our candlestick which are about 5 inches apart. Unfortunately even as a tiny kitten he had a whisker spread of about 6 inches... up till then, anyway! Your best bet for gas lights might be Flynn's in town. We got all manner of stuff there when we were building, including the glass chimneys for our oil lamps. There is though, we know, one common UK camping light set up for which you cannot get the cans of gas over here.
ReplyDeleteHad no problem in finding a gas light or the gas Matt, so we are now set if we get another outage.
ReplyDeleteThat is the third cat i've heard of that's caught it's tail on fire on a candle. Those waves are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteWe always enjoy seeing the big seas, it's a shame we live so far from the coast. We now have the gas lamp and tomorrow we will pick up the LED light, the cats should then be flame proofed.
DeleteAh, poor Freddy! Lucky you were there to deal with it. Those cards are very pretty, I love handmade cards
ReplyDeleteI was more shocked than he was, he has such a big tail you can't even see the bit that got burnt. I enjoyed doing the cards, far more personal than just going out and buying them.
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