Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Good afternoon!

Thanks to everybody who's expressed an interest in our hedgehogs. The hoglets are delightful, as is common to most baby animals, I suppose! @Ladybird4 , I don't know how many hoglets there are; I've only seen two together, so that may be the total number, but since they look very similar to each other (to me - though perhaps not to their mum!) I can't be sure.

Last night I put out a jam jar lid containing chopped chicken, close to the exit which the hoglets have been using, and set up the wildlife camera to cover it. We were rewarded with nearly 400 photos this morning! All taken between 10pm and midnight.



Mum and hoglet eating chicken. It's the first time I've seen them together... I'm pretty sure both the hoglets were out, though the camera's focal length is quite short so a lot of the pictures aren't very clear.

 

Once the chicken was finished, they wandered away. But a hoglet returned later and picked up the lid in its mouth, checking if there was any food underneath, perhaps...

 

Sometimes the subject of the photo gets a little too near the camera!

 

Oh those pictures are wonderful @Liriodendron! No wonder the hedgehog is one of our favourite mammals. Very photogenic - even when up too close. I've just finished for the afternoon in the garden. I am pleased to report that I am now beginning to see more and more butterflies.

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Fabulous pictures of the hedgehogs @Liriodendron, as is yours of the butterfly @Ladybird4 - you did well to capture it on film before it flew away.

 

Had a wonderful day so far.
One of the things I really wanted to do today was see the Carneddau ponies. Not guaranteed at all. But there they were in front of us. Mares and foals.



We ambled over the Sychnant pass and down quiet lanes, finishing up at the marina in Conwy, where some of the Mulberry harbour was constructed.
Got back to the hotel and hub's final birthday surprise. His sister and hub!
We haven't seen them since January.
It might be a bit of a boozy night, so I'll bid you adieu until tomorrow!

 

@Blue arbour, I was amused how my Red Admiral looked as if it is wearing teenie wellies. After all the rain I have had I'm not surprised.

 

Fabulous picture @Penny_Forthem. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful evening.

 

Our forecast rain hasn't arrived. Bother, I will have to water.

We went out to lunch, local restaurant by the river. 3 courses for 17€ each. I had smoked salmon salad, sirloin steak and chips then walnut tart. The helpings were smaller than you get in the UK but I thought it was great value.

Then we went to the SM.

 

Your meal sounds lush @Busy-Lizzie. Signing out for today and hope to catch up with you all tomorrow. Good night all.

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I like French portion control @Busy-Lizzie. So much more sensible than either stuffing yourself or leaving some to waste and infinitely better than doggy bagging leftovers.

Love the hoglet photos @Liriodendron and your red admiral @Ladybird4. The French ones never sit with their wings open like that. Makes it hard to see who's who and not at all photogenic.

Glad you got a good review @redstar. Hope the bill isn't too high @lizzie. Our 4.5 yr old Seat had a service last month - 600€ and nothing special needing doing apart from an oil change. He's going to the local chap in the next village next time. 300€ average plus any parts.

Not a good day today. That storm followed me and arrived at 9:30pm as I was heading for bed. Very noisy, flashy and wet and went on for over an hour before quieting down to grumble for another couple of hours. I did not sleep well.

Set off at 9am to go to a Leclerc for some bits and bobs and fuel but when I came to tell it where I was going for the day the GPS said it doesn't do Italy. It's a SEAT built not far from Barcelona so why it should think we might want to drive to Iceland, Ireland or the Isle of Many but not Italy, Switzerland, Austria or Greece, is beyond me. It should have all EU countries.

None too worried I assumed it would sort itself out when I got to Italy and headed off towards Turin. Still not having it so I tried my phone for Google Maps. No network. Apparently the signal is patchy in Italy which, given that Italians are connected by an umbilical cord to their telefoninos is amazing. Decided to buy a map. None of Northern Italy but there was a street map of Genoa. Fine.

Except that it's clearly aimed at confounding the next alien invasion and doesn't even have an index! I finally got Google Maps to connect after 2 hours of trying but then it kept losing the signal and din't know about one-ways and no-ways. Genoa is just a bit hilly and full of tall apartment blocks, teeny, winding streets and manic drivers and scooters. A 5 hour journey took me 8. And they charge 54€ to go one way thru a 15km tunnel between France and Italy! I know it saved me 4 hours of driving and I couldn't have done the slow and scenic 9 hour route without the GPS or a co-pilot/map reader but honestly? No warnings either.

Finally found our appartment which is very swish and will do us nicely for the next 3 nights. No idea what Possum wants to do tomorrow but I plan on several cappuccinos. I'd forgotten how good they are in Italy and cheap too. 2€50 for frothy perfection at the motorway services.

Hot, humid and potentially stormy here tonight. I still have to go and fetch Possum from the train station later. That'll be interesing!

I hope you all have a lovely evening and a good night's sleep.

 

Forgot to say I love those ponies @Penny_Forthem. I've always like that dun colour.

Yesterday's drive was fun - interesting new scenes with my driving music so I "dance" instead of just sitting there. Automatic gear shift so I only need to keep my right foot ready to brake if needs be and that means I can exercise all sorts of muscles as I go and not arrive feeling stiff and blobby.

Today was another matter entirely - but still great music.

 

Your meal sounds delicious @Busy-Lizzie.

That drive sounds like something from a computer game or film @Obelix-Vendée! Hats off to you - I couldn’t do an 8 hour drive as a passenger let alone driving. Enjoy your holiday.

 

Gosh, you lot are busy! Interesting journeys, and I’m loving the food descriptions. Nothing to report here. Much cooler here today, so I did some bramble removal today, managed not to get scratched. Just remembered that I picked some blackberries while I was at it, but forgot to bring them in. I’ll pop out when I’ve finished typing this!
Had a bit of rain last night, so we stayed at home this morning. As you’ve guessed, we do enjoy going out for breakfast! Lunch out is our second choice, but I can’t remember when we last ate out in the evening, unless we’ve been staying away from home.
Out tomorrow to meet my sister for lunch and a day shopping and catching up on the latest family news. Can’t wait, haven’t seen her for months. Touching wood that the trains will behave. No notification of any strikes so far, but on my train journey last week, the usual 6 carriages had been reduced to 3. Thanks to my senior railcard, I can splash out on first class without breaking the bank, but it looked uncomfortably busy in the regular carriages.
Lovely wildlife photos! I’ve really noticed the lack of butterflies so far this year. Hope you’ve all had a good day.

 

Our visitors didn't arrive - not well enough to travel.
Still, that meant I could do a little hedge trimming.
This afternoon we drove to Broadstairs, and walked along the cliff top to Ramsgate (ice cream) and back.
Played boule out the back, and got soundly beaten by OH.