Wednesday/Thursday

Not much to say about yesterday, except the weather was horrendous. It chucked down for most of it, but did stop for a while mid afternoon, and I was able to get Emma round the park without getting wet. It was quite warm too. I was thrilled by two things yesterday (I'm easily pleased....) firstly a Song Thrush sat on my back fence for quite some time, so he/she is around (I found the eggshell a while back) I took a couple of photos only through the window though, and of course, the bird wouldn't face the right way, but never mind. The second thing was at the park, I couldn't count how many Swifts, Swallows and Martins were zipping around both over the river and the grassy bit of the park, but with no exaggeration, it was more than 80! How fantastic. I also counted 19 Swifts hunting over my garden last night too, it's brilliant hearing them on their screaming flights. Anyway, because of the bad weather, I actually managed to catch up with some paperwork and filing that I'd been putting off for weeks, so at least I did something useful.

Today was overcast to start with, but very humid - it was 70f at 10 am with no sunshine. I went to Irene's for lunch and then we popped into Carmarthen to pick up her new Nokia phone, took Emma round the reservoirs. By this time the sun had broken through, blue skies, and it was BOILING! Came home about 4.30 and cut some of the grass, all the front and about half the back, but it was a real struggle, it was still a bit damp with all the rain, and in some places, it was about 6 inches high already. At least the guinea pigs had a couple of hours out today, first time in over a week. I ate my tea in the front porch too, and at 8 oclock, it was 90f in there! I'm deliberating now whether to risk turning the heaters off tonight, but the forecast isnt good now for the next few days again, I know my luck, if I turn the damn things off, I will sit in here and freeze. As it is, I'm just comfortable tonight with them on, decisions, decisions....

I had to call the council this morning too. Yesterday a heating engineer was working in the empty place next door. Last night I could hear this awful humming noise, and finally worked out it was from next door. This morning, it was doing my brain in, I could hear it in every room in my place. So they sent the guy back as I assumed he'd left the central heating on and had done something to it to make a noise. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, the heating was off, he got me to go in there with him and it was all silent. I felt awful and said maybe it was coming from the next house along then. Anyway I went back in to my place and of course, there was silence. Then suddenly, it started. Boy was I relieved, because the guy saw instantly what it was - nothing he had done, it was the bloody extractor fan coming on in the bathroom! What a nightmare. Anyhow, we "fixed" it - he took the fuse out, lol! Those things are ridiculous, it was echoing all through the building there and mine, and for what? If your bathroom steams up, open the bloody window! It comes on every time the light is switched on too, I turned mine off when I first moved in here, they are so noisy, and so unnecessary, plus the vent is right above the toilet, and it blows in there bitterly cold in winter. I covered mine up with polythene. Peace and quiet again. Thank god he found it, and didn't just go. I made him a coffee for his troubles. :)

And finally.... I was pleased to see my old friend Danglewing, the Jackdaw on the roof of a neighbours bungalow today. He has been missing from my garden for about 2 weeks now, and I feared the worst, as the last time I saw him, some of the other Jackdaws were beating him up. He was with another one, sunbathing on the roof, bless. Guess he's just giving the main flock a wide birth, very wisely. I can't believe how well he can fly with his wing, it hangs down very badly, it must have been broken or dislocated very early on and healed funny. He was here last summer, he is quite tame, I can talk to him if he's on my roof. :)