Saundersfoot at Low Tide ...

Saundersfoot is always a lovely place to visit, but at this particularly low tide it took on a much more interesting aspect.
I wondered what 'An Dobhar-cu' meant and this is what I found out via the internet :

The Dobhar-chú is a creature of Irish folklore and a cryptid. Dobhar-chú is roughly translated into "water hound." It resembles both a dog and an otter though sometimes is described as a half dog, half fish. It lives in water and has fur with protective properties. Many sightings have been documented down through the years. Most recently in 2003 Irish Artist Sean Corcoran and his wife claim to have witnessed a Dobhar-Chú on Omey Island in Connemara, County Galway. In his description the large dark creature made a haunting screech, could swim fast and had orange flipper like feet. The Kinlough Stone is claimed to be the headstone of a grave of a woman killed by the Dobhar-chú in the 1600's and shows an old drawing of the creature. Her name was supposedly Gráinne. Her husband heard her scream as she was washing clothes down at the Glenade lough and came to her aid. When he got there she was already dead, with the Dobhar-chú upon her bloody and mutilated body. The man killed the Dobhar-chú, stabbing it in the heart. As it died, it made a whistling noise, and its mate arose from the lough. Its mate chased the man but he killed it as well. Also The Glenade Stone, found in Conwall cemetery in Glenade, Co. Leitrim also depicts the Dobhar-chú and is related to the same incident. Note that dobharchú is a modern Irish word for 'otter'. The modern Irish word for water is 'uisce' although 'dobhar' is also (rarely) used. 'Dobhar' is a much older form and cognates are found in other Celtic languages (e.g. Welsh, 'dwr', water). 'Cú' is 'hound' in Irish (see, for example, 'Cúchulainn', the hound of Culainn).The Dobhar-chú is also known as the "dobarcu", and anglicised as "doyarchu" and "dhuragoo".

So presumably the boat is named Water Hound! The chap on the right holding his bag of fish (?) was actually complaining that someone had moored in his place!! It was great to find the tranquility down there, because there were a lot of folk about on the beach and in the sea. One of our favourite places to visit. ~ Ann x

A Special Visitor ...

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We had this very special visitor to our garden this evening.

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Again, we were able to be dining out in the barmy evening sunshine - more like summer

than spring - and this gorgeous woodpecker kept on dropping in for 

his evening meal as well.  He also had a long drink at the bird bath.

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We had BBQ pork on the George Foreman and red Spanish Ariola Espiritu!

Hope you are enjoying all this fabulous weather.

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Ann x

Calm after the storm .....

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It was so wonderful to sit peacefully in the tranquility of our garden this evening

having a leisurely supper with a glass of wine after the traumas of the

last 24 hours!

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Last night, in the middle of our bowls practice my lovely Other Half had a

medical emergency which involved calling for an ambulance.

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I used to be in St John Ambulance, but when the 'patient' is your own loved one

it is not so easy to be calm and collected and deal with it.

Luckily another of our members often has to deal with visitors' emergencies

on the beach, although he is not a lifeguard, and his calm presence settled myself and

OH until the welcome sound of the ambulance announced two lovely medics

to sort him out.

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After lots of questions about what happened, previous medical history etc, OH

was trollied to the ambulance, I was sent off to gather myself together and get a list

of his medications (just a ruse to keep me occupied and calm me down - which worked)

while they took him off to A & E in Haverfordwest.

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By the time I arrived with overnight things (just in case) OH was looking much

better, hooked up to all monitors known to man! and had 2, 3 or even 4 young nurses

rushing around and tending to his every need.  Bloods, blood pressure, ECG traces,

reams of paper notes being written out, label on his wrist - in case he got lost, or

forgot who he was!!

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How they make any sense out of all those wiggly lines and flashing lights on those

screens, I will never know.  The cardiac sheets they printed out, were just a mass of

lines.  He even had the probes stuck to his ankles as well!

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In the end, after much waiting about for blood to be tested and a further ECG reading

they let us out and we got home about 2.15 am. - Phew!

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The enormity of it did not really hit home until this evening when we could sit

and chat about it.  OH said the ambulance medics were wonderful - calm and

patient and explaining everything to him.

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Our experience of the NHS last night could not be faulted.  Although there was,

of necessity, a lot of waiting about, we were kept informed of what was

going on at all times, and also felt that we could have asked about anything if

we were uncertain, without being a trouble.  Thank you Withybyush Hospital,

Haverfordwest for looking after my beloved OH.

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Ann x

Tenby Harbour ...

Tenby Harbour looking fabulous at high tide this morning.

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Ann x

Yesterday's Irritation!

Does this sort of thing annoy you?  It does me!

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The dog's what?

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O.K. Don't answer that!

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I know there have been lots of items in the press etc, about punctuation in the past,

but it still gets my goat!

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What gets your goat?

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Ann x

Today's gardening ...

I picked these spring onions a couple of days ago.  They had been left to continue growing since autumn last year - September or October I think.  I read that when they 'stop growing' they could be left until the next spring - so that is what I did.  They are absolutely superb and tasted wonderful. There are still some left growing and today I have planted the 'follow-on' row for when they are finished.

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 The overflowing container of tomato seedlings needed some atention.

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Had to put some 'cat proof' netting over my freshly planted seeds of spring onions, beetroot and carrot.  We like the various cats that go to and fro in our garden, but do not like them digging up our veggie patch for their own private loo space!

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Our lovely flowering tree peony has this one open bloom and another bud forming by its side.

Last year it only had the one bloom,so we are hoping for lots more in the future.

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We believe this bluebell is actually the dreaded Spanish bluebell, but it is the only clump we have and does not show any signs of taking over the garden.  The bells are such a lovely shape and quite different from our British bluebell.

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Our apple blossom is looking beautiful - a sure sign of lots of lovely apples to come!

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These lovely bright, cheerful pansies have made it through the winter, hence their rather battered look, but they are suddenly flowering like mad and make a super splash of colour in the garden.

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I potted up some of the host of tomato seedlings. From left to right they are Moneymaker, Gardener's Delight and Tigerella.  Touch wood, I usually manage to do quite well with tomatoes and am particularly looking forward to the Tigerellas this year.  I grew some a couple of years ago and they were fabulous - colourful, stripey and sweet.

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Hope your gardens are beginning to burgeon!!

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Ann x

The other day ...

Tuesday, to be exact.  We went on a lovely walk from Amroth sea front, through the tunnels to Saundersfoot.

All along the way were folk enjoying themselves, walking, on the beach, playing and fishing on what seemed to be the last day of sunshine before the next 2 inches of rain!

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Ann x

Next we visited St Ives ...

St Ives, Cornwall, with its quaint narrow, cobbled streets, curiosity shops, cafes, lovely pubs, friendly locals and busy, busy holidaymakers.

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 The Digey, with its restaurants and tiny higgledy piggledy cottages.

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 Mr Seagull showed the way, if we looked like getting lost in the lanes!

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More great weather (although extremely windy) - Porthmeor Beach, below the Tate Gallery.

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Porthminster Beach - just below the station - where we caught the 'Park and Ride' train back to Lelant Saltings.  We went to St Ives twice, it is a lovely interesting town, full of character and lots of arts and craft shops and small galleries.

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Ann x

We've been away ...

We've been away to Cornwall.  Staying in the lovely village of Phillack, near Hayle in West Cornwall.

We had some fantastic weather and some awful weather.

Just a few shots of a very pleasant time.

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 Above is St Piala's Well, or St Phillack's well.

This is a traditional holy well which was abandoned until 1993, when it was restored by the Hayle Old Cornwall Society and reconsecrated.

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St Phillack's Church in the village.

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 The George V Memorial Walk alongside the Hayle Estuary is listed as sub-tropical.

The amazing blooms on this cactus proves it!!

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 Amazing 'mediterranean-type' views from The Bluff Inn, Hayle, across to St Ives.

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 The local pub 'The Bucket of Blood'!

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Grandchildren loved the 'goryness' of the name and sign and have done some gory drawings for their parents!

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We also had some very rough weather, but more of that later

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Ann x

(p.s.  I don't like what Blogger has done to revamp the New Post settings, so hope this gets posted safely!)