to the source of the river wye

 

 

 

It was the perfect weather to explore the wild lands of Plynlimon to see the source of the River Wye (thank goodness as to be up here in less than perfect conditions would not be nice).

The route we took was from the south side of Plynlimon following the track up into the hills until it ended where the terrain became too impassible. The source is above the 'V' in the picture above. How beautiful the infant Wye is. It was quite something to see it as a babbling stream beginning a very long journey.

My favourite upland flower 'Devil's-bit Scabious

show day!

 

One of our favourite summertime activities is to go to a village show, and even better is to take part in in it! 

It's such fun to just have a go and it's something I try and encourage to boys to do too.

This year we tried our luck with flower art, photography, art, jam, marmalade and a homemade drink.

 

The exciting part is loading the car with our entries (the boys clutching their flower arrangements on their laps to keep them from falling apart!), driving onto the show field and setting them up in the marquee. It's great to see how many others have entered and the different interpretations of the themes. 

Once we were set up, we have a little look around the other classes and marvel at the giant cabbages and long parsnips! On leaving the marquee we had a wander around the show field. We paused by the sheep section as we were captivated by the serious business of judging. The boys were very intrigued as to how you could possibly judge between the sheep.

 

 

The 'longest nettle' class - one of my favourites which I should enter one day with the amount of nettles I have at the allotment. 

The poultry section is always interesting too to look around... the wonderfully coloured eggs and the different chickens and ducks.

 

 

We went home during the judging and returned later in the afternoon. The boys were very excited to get back into the marquee to see how they had got on. This was Victor's first time in entering and even though he didn't get any coloured cards he really enjoyed filling his jam jar with flowers from the garden (and I thought it was the best!).

My art, photography and marmalade entries did surprising well, as I was up against some stiff competition! I was prompted by the show to do this pencil sketch of the garden, which I really enjoyed doing and needed the deadline to sit and do it, so I'm grateful for that.

And Fred did particularly well in the children's photography by gaining two First prizes and therefore winning a trophy (in fact he reclaimed this trophy as he had won it in 2013!). He was very pleased!

 

But really the best bit is just to be there, soaking up the 'country living' atmosphere, of seeing friends, having fun with the activities such as 'tug of war' (not me I hasten to add!), being part of the community and supporting the hard work and effort of the organisers of the village show.

 

Guilsfield Show is held every second Thursday in August. 

Our previous visit to Guilsfield Show is here

the copper beech in august

The copper beech is basking in the golden summer light.

Colour differences throughout the tree seems more pronounced, with greener leaves in the more shaded areas, such as inside the tree.

 

 

Squeezing this post in at the last minute!

Joining in with Loose and Leafy's 'Tree Following'

holiday adventures

Holidaying in our own county! We have spent a wonderful few days exploring the Brecon Beacons - an area that I have driven through many times, as well as having worked and lived near by. I couldn't help think throughout our time there why on earth hadn't I walked these hills before.

 

 

 

We climbed Pen y Fan in the rain, cycled up 'The Gap' to Fan y Big to stand on the 'Diving Board' and discovered walks with dramatic waterfalls.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked along ancient paths from Roman Roads, drover's roads and old bridleways

The boys amused themselves with creating wild bracelets with rushes and wildflowers collected along the way.

We explored ruined priories and churches.

On the days it really rained we went to see some show caves and to Big Pit, the coal mining museum. Big Pit is a wonderful eye opener to the shear hard work and determination of the miners and their families. Experiencing a little of what it felt like to go down a mine was quite moving.

We all felt like we'd got to know our county a little better after this holiday. I shall miss pouring over this map planning our routes for the next day...