April Showers

This month has certainly lived up to its reputation and we have had our fair share of rain. In fact as I write this it is absolutely chucking it down. The toilet cassette needs emptying but I'm not going out to walk the 100 or so yards to the disposal point in this! I'll get soaked within the first couple of yards.

At least the rain will be good for our plants on the allotment. It is nearly all planted out now and is looking good.

It is also very cold and windy so I lit the fire first thing this morning and it has been going all day. Because the weather has been warm recently and we were fooled into thinking that summer is on its way, we have let our fuel supplies run right down and are now nearly out of wood. I think the trailer we bought last week is going to come in useful this weekend for a foraging trip! Its a good job that Phil has done it up so well and it is ready for use:

The weather is frustrating because I will be working solidly for a month in a couple of weeks time and I would like to have some 'R and R' time before that stint starts. Of course for us that means outdoor pursuits - no chance in this.

We had planned to take the boat up to the basin by the estuary when I came back from Portugal, but I have been told that I will be flying straight to Ireland from Portugal without the chance to come home, so we have decided to leave the boat here in the marina. It is beautiful down by the sea, but there are few other boaters up there and it can get quite lonely. I love the peace and quiet but Phil is a very sociable person, so it is best for him to be around our friends in the marina while I am away so that he has some company. I can't wait to get up there when I come back in June though. It is a great place and I will be posting plenty of pictures then, so watch this space in June!

We did have a nice weekend though. I was working in the Midlands and we have always wanted to walk at Dovedale as it is a famous beauty spot. I was working on Saturday but had Sunday off so we stayed over in a hotel and spent Sunday morning walking by the side of the River Dove:

 having crossed over the famous stepping stones:

It was also great to have a bath. Phil had been shopping and bought me a present of some quirky soap which looked like a bit of cheesecake. I always have a cup of tea (or something stronger) when I wallow in the bath and this soap looked very appropriate next to my tea:

We have booked a guided bird watching walk for Saturday with our local bird watching club, but they are threatening to cancel because the weather is so bad and there are storms and flooding forecast for the weekend. It's a shame because the walk would have taken us through some lovely bluebell woods in the Trough of Bowland. We will see, it may still happen and if it does I will post some bluebell pics on here.

Al