Hedge halved

There is a beech hedge between my garden and that of the neighbour. It can’t be older than some 40 years, as that is how long these gardens have been associated with these houses. But that hedge is sizeable! Keeping it tidy, which I aim to do every year but clearly don't, it's quite some work. I have to deploy ladders or platforms, and then I still can't reach the top. So that grows out, in a rather disorganised way.

Before: seen from the house

Before: seen from the garden

One day I spoke with the neighbour and he suggested we find someone who is willing to cut it down to approximately half its size. That would still provide privacy, but make maintenance a lot easier. I loved it! So he organised it, and we split the bill.

It happened while I was at work, and when I came back the result was spectacular. I am quite glad we did this! I think I can know trim the whole hedge standing on the ground. That means I really don't have an excuse anymore to not do it every year…

After, seen from the house

After, seen from the garden

Annual Lleiniog field day

Field days in early spring are a bit of a gamble! It can be atrocious weather. But you can also be lucky. We have had both during our annual trip on the beach where the students log glacier and proglacial sediments. I've been doing that since 2018…

This year it looked like we would be lucky (unlike the previous time I had done it, in 2024; in 2025 I had missed it for reasons of timetabling). The forecast was ok and even the tide was on our side. And as usual, I was the first one on the beach. I make sure there are specific sections of the cliff demarcated; these are what the students describe. I can just pick whatever I find interesting! As long as the cliff above it looks stable.

In order to get onto the beach you need to squeeze past the stream

Atmospheric light in the morning

Look at those sediments 

When Lynda and the students arrived at quickly became clear that this was quite a switched-on group. Great! They went about it with little guidance. And before we knew it, we were rounding off, and put the students back on the coach they had come in. They would go to Bangor to do surveying, and the goal to bring the students back to us who had done that in the morning. The coach leaving was our cue to rush to Beaumaris and get some lunch. We managed that in good time!

Lynda explains things under a dramatic sky

Little groups of students by the cliff

Lynda is impressed by the sediments

Fossil corals on the beach

The second group is generally struggling a bit as they have already been battered by whatever the weather throws at them in the morning. It seemed that the surveying has taken place with much less shelter from the wind than we had had! But they were still quite on the ball.

By 4pm we were done and could leave the beach. A successful day, I would say! And we will see the same students again the Monday after, for a session in the lab. This was the first time I will be involved in that! Mike, with whom I have started to collaborate, had been re-organising this part of the module (but he had left the sediment logging on the beach the same). I think he's doing interesting stuff with it. I look forward to see how is next step will pan out! 

Bike path reopened

Work on the bicycle path started yonks ago! And as long as the work was going on, the part of the path leading out of the village was closed. And that meant biking on the main road. Not my favourite! 

First they removed all the gates and replaced them with a cattle tunnel. Then the path was open for a month, but then they started replacing a pedestrian bridge. That work took a long time! 

Now the work on the bridge is still not quite finished. The new bridge is still closed. They are connecting it to the road on the other side of the river. But on this side of the river, the path is now finished! And open! 

No fence anymore! You can just bike on! 

New bridge still closed, but now you can bike past

Will this last? I struggle a bit to imagine they won’t have to close it again when they in the end remove the old bridge. But let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. 

For now it’s lovely to not have to be on the road. For most of that stretch, the speed limit is 40mph, and especially when you are going uphill, that means a big speed difference. And the path is also a lot prettier. 

I will enjoy this for now! And I trust removing an old bridge is a quicker process than building a new one…

Date

The dates Neil and I have been on were generally hikes or explorations of industrial landscapes. Outdoor clothing, packed lunch, that kind of stuff. Sometimes we have been biking or running or doing chores. We’ve not done much in the line of classic dates, with flowers and restaurants and fancy clothes. And I thought it was about time! Given that we had been meeting up since July, and had been officially together since September. And Neil was up for it.

After a day of tackling a tree with a saw I had a shower, put on a dress, and not much later opened the door to a gentleman in a shirt who was carrying a bunch of flowers. And not much later we headed to Bangor to eat in the Italian restaurant by the pier. 

Looking smart!

It was a proper date with all the accoutrements! We both enjoyed it. We should make sure we don’t leave it another eight months before we do it again! 

Garden cleared of tree

I mentioned the neighbour wanted to get the work on removing a tree done before March. And he got his skates on! I had to leave things as they were for a while; busy with work and running activities, but the next Saturday I was on it again. The neighbour had cut down everything he wanted to cut down, so at least I knew that all the wood in the garden was all I would have to deal with. No additions expected!

Still some tree left

Lots of wood in the garden

It was lovely weather and I enjoyed tackling the pile. I started with a hawthorn or blackthorn he had also taken down. And then I did the main tree.

Most of that was quite straightforward. Get rid of the spindly bits, and put the thicker stuff aside to be moved to the garage. But when I got to the bottom of the pile, I reached the really thick trunks, and that was slightly less comfortable. I figured they were too heavy to carry them to the garage one piece, so I had to cut them in two. That does mean you have to saw through a trunk that is lying on the ground. Your saw gets stuck in the ground, and you have to saw while crouching; not things I like very much. But the wood isn't very hard, and it wasn't really a big deal.

I had other engagements in the late afternoon, but I managed to get all the wood out of the garden by that time. It did mean there was quite some of it in the garage, not yet processed. But that would be a chore for another day! I was quite chuffed that the garden was free again. I wasn't sure I would manage it all in one day…

New fridge, out of nowhere

I bought my fridge when I arrived in the country. It was second-hand. It has served me well! A few years ago, I had to change the door from right-hinged to left-hinged,  as the hinges on the right collapsed from sheer old age. I had started to wonder if I should replace it. It probably wasn’t very energy efficient. The little freezer compartment didn’t freeze very well but frosted over all the time. But some googling suggested the most efficient thing to do was just keep it going until it would break. 

Then I talked with the neighbour. He asked if I happened to want a fridge. I sort of did! I verified it was newer than mine. And it was a bit bigger! And had no freezer compartment. That would save energy. And time. 

Together with Neil we brought it in. It fit like a glove. Better than the old one! I had to clean it, but that wasn’t a big job. And then I could bring it into use. 

The cat took the opportunity to explore some new terrain

I am actually quite chuffed with this arrangement. I have a lot more space, and I don't have to worry about unnecessary freezing going on. And because it fits better inside the slot, even looks tidier. The light doesn't work, but I don't mind that very much. Altogether I I am happy how this all came about!

Sorting out running awards

Every year, the Eryri Harriers award prizes for achievements across te whole year. We have the outstanding athlete award, and most improved male, and most spiffing female fell runner, et cetera. You can tell I'm paraphrasing a bit. And when I became the honorary secretary of the club, this became my business. As communication is my job, I have to communicate to last year's winners that they should give their award back, so they can be engraved again with the name of this year's winner.

One of the awards was very easy, as it had been won by Anna, who is still in the committee. She returned it as soon as we had a committee meeting. And I started chasing up the rest. Some of them were easier to get back than others. And by the next committee meeting I expected most of them. One was still in the pipeline. 

I got so many during that meeting that Nia, our chair, thought I shouldn't try to get them home on bicycle. She dropped them off by car at my place. She was quite impressed by my little cat’s good looks.

The next day I started putting post-its on them, with this year winners’ names, for the engraver. And I was confused. There was a shield among them that I didn't expect. It was for the road running champion. I wasn't aware that they had shields! So I put a message on WhatsApp. It was only one shield, so far only with female names on, but maybe only the overall winner was put on? And they had been female in the last two years?

Then an answer came back. No! This was only the shield for the female winner. There was a shield for the male winner as well. Why didn't I know that? What was worse is that I then got an email, from a reliable source, saying that not only the road champions, but also the fell and mountain champions, had shields. Shit! I started frantically contacting last year's winners.

Then another WhatsApp message came in. From another reliable source. Only the road champions had shields; the other shields didn't exist. Again, Shit! Now I had to contact all the winners again, saying "never mind, you never got a shield". Luckily, the one missing shield of the male road championship winner was quickly traced, and its keeper would bring it to the engraver.

On Friday afternoon I had all the shields and other awards that I expected, but then the engraver was closing. I decided to go on Saturday morning. And I found that this engraver is actually closed on Saturday. What? What shop does that? Luckily, I didn't have anything time-tabled on Monday morning, so I could have another go then. But this award malarkey was more faff than I had hoped for.

Awards ready for transport, With (redacted) names of 2025 winners

This is by far the coolest award and it weighs a tonne. This is the outstanding athlete award.

On Monday morning I finally dropped them all off, and as I was driving anyway, I also brought my old fridge to the tip. It was most likely that I wouldn't even have to pick the awards up after engraving, as some committee members are in Caernarfon, where the engraver is located, all the time. So I think for me, the work is now basically done. And I can just concentrate on work (and some running) until the actual presentation night! Bring it on!