Sunday Mullion Cliff Walking and Breathing - really breathing !

 

                After a few days of severe gales and heavy rain , all is calm again .

        Blue sky and warm sunshine on our faces we took our walk across the cliffs .

                                       Breathing in the beautiful fresh sea air .

We sat back against a Cornish hedge to listen to the waves down below and the joyful sound of Skylarks up above .

Jumping over the little stream that flows down to a beautiful waterfall over the cliff to the sea  .

The sun in the right place , some days a magical rainbow can be seen    .

     

                                               Then head home for lunch .

House Martins and Swallows

                                                Goodmorning all ! 
    So I got up nice and early to dash outside and check my Runner-beans where still there and watch the sun rise .

All is well , so far  . I pushed in some twiggy branches to help prevent the pigeons from landing on them .
  Then we set off  for a morning walk , early , nobody around , for the first time in months !   We,ve been good "stay at homers " during this lockdown .

Only a short walk , husband not long had hip replacement op , so this way is nice and level and such a beautiful view .

      Admiring the wild-flowers in the hedgerow , the butterflies , enjoying the sweet fresh air .

      As we were walking back along this narrow footpath we noticed something on the ground ahead of us  .

 As we got  closer ,we realised it was a little House Martin . It's not normal to see them on the ground , in fact it is hard to get a photograph  of one when they are flying .
   We thought that it might be injured and I walked very slowly and very carefully up to it , Taking photos as I approached  . Then I crouched down to make sure it was o.k ....

   ....... and a jogger ran straight past us , squeaking "sorry " as they went startling the poor thing and it flew off .......sigh ....
  I was squatting down and my knees would not let me get up fast enough to move to a safe distance  .
  If we hadn't been there , they might have trodden on the poor little thing !
  Anyway .... we think it was only resting , exhausted after it's long journey from Africa . They are looking for places to nest in under the eaves of the Poldhu Nursing Home .
  Remarkable birds and such an honour to see one so close up !

The Swallows have been here for a few weeks now . 

We haven't seen any Sand Martins yet which nest in the sandy banks of the cliffs down at Poldhu .

We continued our walk .

Such love !

                                           Then home for brekkers !

So where is the rain ? The sun is shining here today !

  It has been mild and misty with heavy rain showers the last couple of days  .
We were forecast more today ...it was supposed to be torrential rain with thunder and lightening  . . . .

 ...... but look ! The sun is shining in blue sky !  We went for a walk along the cliffs at The Lizard Point .
 

The cliffs , the sea , the birds , the wild flowers  .....all just magnificent !
It is possible to see seals , dolphins and basking sharks . Sea birds , Buzzards Kestrels and famously Choughs .
                  The scenery is just breath-taking !

The Lizard is the most southerly point of British mainland and is a place that everyone should come and visit .

  Before continuing on our walk , we stopped off at Polpeor Cafe Lizard Point , who made us feel very welcome .
   We sat at a table with magnificent views over the cliffs and sea .....just wow !
I really enjoyed my cup of tea  and husband had a cup of coffee .We shared a perfectly done toasted tea cake . I,m very fussy about how I like my toasted tea cakes...I do not like them burnt around the edges....this was .... perfect ! mmmm .
    Next time , we will have lunch there too , as it looked good on the menu !
 

We walked a very long way , you feel as if you could just keep walking here , wanting to see around the next headland and explore the beaches and caves further round at Kynance . I,ll take you all there another day !
 We walked further than we should have and forgot about the long walk back , but we enjoyed every minute of it .

We stood and watched the waves crashing over the rocks below , enjoying the warm sunshine and breathing in the fresh sea air  .

          The red tinged leaves of Carpobrotus edulis or "Hottentot Fig" .

Some are flowering even now , scrabbling over these warm South facing cliffs .
These I love to see ! They are , what I and many visitors look forward to seeing  !

 Also the Mesembryanthemums or "Sally-Me 'ansoms" as they are fondly known by in these parts of Cornwall .
 We didn't see any Basking Sharks , Dolphins , Seals or Choughs today ,  but did so enjoy our walk .

Mothers Union Mullion - Open Afternoon in St Mellanus Church

Well I got back from our trip to the dentist in Truro , just in time for my husband to drop me off to attend the Mothers Union Open Afternoon at St Mellanus Church in  Mullion .
 I met up with Wendy Williamson , who filled me in with all the history of the Mothers Union on the way in .
  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me , as I hadn't expected to be able to be back from Truro in time .
 It was very well attended by ladies of all ages and I noticed a couple of gentleman too .
 After a short prayer of thanks to God , we were invited to take some refreshment , cups of tea and cakes and to sit back in our pews and their was much friendly nattering , chattering and laughter .
 Then we all quietened down to enjoy the Mullion Hand-bell Ringers playing some lovely old favourite tunes . They must have played about 6 or seven pieces and  it was truly delightful ! I especially loved the old Welsh song The Ashgrove  .....that gave me the tingles , it was really lovely !
 This was followed by a Poetry recital by Doris R.Townsend . I loved the way that she introduced each of the three poems that she has written , as well as hearing her read them to us . That made it so special .
 I think that many of us who love  Cornwall , our gardens and the wildlife that come to visit , can relate so well to her poems .
 Doris has given me copies of her poems and has given me permission to share them with you here . I will give you the first one today . See below :)

 Then we were invited to take home some cake for a donation . Which was really nice to take some cake home for my husband , even though his mouth was a little numb still from the dentist, he still really enjoyed his piece of cake !
 What a wonderful table spread full of delicious cakes and biscuits ..we have  some great cake makers here in Mullion !

 Wendy gave me a copy of the Mothers Union magazine to read and the next proper meeting will be 20th June in Saint Mellanus Church .
 The meetings are always on a Thursday , which coincides with my dance class , but I might be able to go if no one minds me slipping away early to get ready for dance class ....not sure ....we'll have a think about that ....

                                 ........ and maybe I'll meet you there !

 Mothers Union is a growing international organisation with 4 million members around the world . United in prayer . Money raised going to help young families and projects both locally and far away .

So I sat in my kitchen with my cup of tea , reading the "Families Worldwide Mothers Union Magazine"
It shows a lot of what they do far and wide around the globe .
 I'd like to know more about what they do for our more local young mothers and families .
 I very much enjoyed the Mothers Union Open Afternoon ...thankyou to everyone who organised and also took part performing in it .

                                               ( Birdie in my kitchen )

 And now I will share with you Doris R.Townsend's - May Promises - poem .
 I think that many of us who love  Cornwall , our gardens and the wildlife that come to visit , can relate so well to her poems .
 Doris has given me some copies of her poems and has given me permission to share them with you here . I will give you the first one today .                 

                                                  May Promises

                                  The colours are truly amazing
                                     as blossom is promising fruit .
                                First rain- then sunshine is blazing-
                                  as seedlings send up a new shoot.

                               The blackbirds, now busily worming ,
                                      almost get under my feet .
                         Their nestlings are squeaking and squirming ,
                                  each wanting much more to eat .

                                The hedgerows are gently vibrating
                                      with bees as they set to work .
                                 Two jackdaws are loudly debating
                                      as they leap about with a jerk .

                               All nature is stretching and waking ,
                               the clouds overhead shed a shower .
                          The scent of fresh raindrops , thirst slaking ,
                            delights all who pass this moist bower .

                               As courgettes , tomatoes and runners
                               reach up with new shoots to the sky ,
                          the thunder-heads sound distant gunners ,
                                     and a rainbow arches nearby .

                                  I stand , with my prayers uplifted ,
                                   and wait for the Western blush .
                                 When daylight has faded and shifted
                                     it leaves a calm evening hush .

                                        by Doris R. Townsend

                                Birdie with her babies in my garden .
 So now I must go and do some more plant out my Physalis seedlings up in my vegetable garden .  I hope you are enjoying all this lovely sunshine  !

Hot and dry , then comes the rain !

The hot weather is making me feel so tired and I have hurt my back from carrying watering cans ( my husband's discovery of the old hoses in the shed came too late ! )..I am up early 5.30 am to walk the dog while it is still cool and then again late evening along the cliffs .
We walk along this footpath ..... and always stop to rest and admire the view over the gate at the top .

                      This is my favourite Mullion view over the old farm gate .
   You can see how dry everywhere is here .
Then we had a "weather warning "....we used to call this quite simply  "a weather forecast " ..for strong wind and rain !

 So I put out all my house plants to catch some rain ...sorry , that's a bit of an over crowded picture isn't it ? lol !  Click to enlarge my pics by the way .
                     Schlumbergeras , Haworthias and lots of Gasterias .

                                                I love Gasterias ! :)

 I am very mean to the Gasterias  , I rarely water them , but this coming rain will refresh them greatly .

It rained during the night and the wind was strong ..we were worried about the fence blowing down again..but the trees and bushes that I planted on our side of the fence did a good job of buffeting the wind coming in from the South...together with the expensive concrete post that I put in .
   The hot weather is forecast to return , so I rushed to plant out our leeks and all the brassicas that I have grown from seed , sprouts , purple sprouting broccoli and cabbages .These have been waiting in the wings until we used up all the lettuces that have done so well here this year !  This way of doing things seems to have worked out really well ...... apart from the no rain thing .

 I have carrots and lettuces just beginning to come up from a second late sowing..I also have sown today quite a long row of spring onions .
 I haven't been so successful this year with Leeks . I use a lot in my cooking I love their mild flavour , so I,m trying to grow more onions and will use Spring onions too in my cooking instead when the Leeks run out .
 There are a few Celery plants in here for my son in law , who loves his celery and peanut butter .

My beautiful black kale is growing taller , I gave everything a good watering in too .
 My back is aching terribly !
 I have finished my work in the veg garden today by putting another environmesh cloche over everything ,to keep the pigeons and Cabbage White butterflies off them .The whole bed is surrounded with chicken wire and canes .

 Although we got some quite heavy rain last night ( we didn't get any thunder and lightening ), it is still quite dry just below the surface of the earth  in my garden. The puddle where I stamp about to wash my wellies , is evaporating  fast .  We need more rain !
  I put out fresh water for the birds and other poor thirsty creatures .

                          Over all the garden looks refreshed anyway .

      This evening's walkies..looking the other direction towards Gunwalloe .
    A cooler less windy night will ensure we all have a better night's sleep .