Am I seasonally affected if I sit in here?

Unlike most of you I actually saw the sun last week. Not just saw the sun but felt its heat on my face.

For the Australians amongst us, this probably sounds a bit hollow, but for us Brits it is a major achievement at the moment.

I had to travel two hours to find it.

I had to board a plane.

I had to land in Poland.

But it was here when I arrived. 25 degrees C and blue skies.

So that’s what it feels like.

In the depths of the cloud and rain that seem to have settled on the UK, one can forget what the summer is.

Which makes me think about the disorder called SAD (Seasonal affective disorder).

The symptoms of SAD include;

• a persistent low mood  
• a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities
• irritability
• feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness
• feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day
• sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning
• craving carbohydrates and gaining weight

Well I don’t know about the feelings of guilt and worthlessness, but the rest of the symptoms describe our cats perfectly.

But a ray of sun or a lull in the rain and they transform into perfect, lithe felines, or that is what is supposed to happen. They are currently in mid-transformation.

Instead of the chilled out summer hunters they will soon become, they are currently confused.

They still fight a lot.

They are not interested in normal daytime activities.

And …..

They spend most of the day sleeping, and crave food.

What a life! 

But as I said, they are transforming;

• They wake up in the night and run around until they wake me up. They may not be interested in day-time activities, but they are hugely interested in the night-time.
• They come in at night and steal my space in the bed.
• They open their eyes just occasionally in the day, in between naps.
• They have found a new place to sleep – on a new leather settee we have put in the bar

But who can blame them, I am only jealous really. I have not even sat on our new settee for more than a couple of minutes, and they have already made it their home.

Forget-me-nots

Just when the rain seemed to have settled in for a spell, Saturday was actually fantastic.  The rain stopped and the sun broke through for a few hours. It didn’t last, but it allowed us to get into the garden.

Last weekend we worked on the greenhouse to clear it out and wash it down.

This weekend we managed to clear out and clean the shed. There is nothing better than a clean shed. Suddenly it is no longer a battle to find anything or get something out. It is surprising what you can collect in your shed. We managed to throw out half the storage boxes. I had kept RS232 computer cables just in case we ever reverted to 1986 and needed to start again.

I also had all the tv cables from times past when you used to be able to put a tv in any room in the house and expect it to work off a normal aerial. We only had 6 channels but they all worked unless you wanted S4C.

My museum of computer bits has now gone to the great place in the sky that all the old computers go to when they are no longer needed.

I once spent a good day with a colleague clearing out a storage cupboard at work, putting about 30 computers or bits of computers into a skip. Those were the days when you could put anything into a skip and it magically disappeared. In this case, we went for lunch having filled it up and returned to find some old chap unloading everything from the skip and putting it into his car. He wanted to save everything to be re-used.

These days, in our throw-away society, nothing is saved as the computers that are more than a few years old, no longer work with the latest version of whatever operating system runs on them.

With a newly cleaned greenhouse I have planted many seeds in readiness for the summer onslaught.  My better half commented this weekend that this was the first weekend of many to come. We have got used to the rain and lack of growing weather, and now time ticks by so fast that it is a race to get everything in and growing. Our relative gentle pace is replaced by a mad rush each weekend to stay on top of things.

And then there are the weeds.

Stinging nettles that have been dormant, rise as if called by some distant sirens. Sticky bind weed rushes from under the trees to try and cover every inch of grass. Every year there is one weed that seems to be stronger than the others. We have yet to see which one this is for 2018, but there are already many candidates.

Most people have a forsythia bush in the garden. It is the tall yellow shrub that is flowers first.  The strong yellow colours are a sign that spring is in full flow. It lasts about two weeks but it shouts loud. As I drove through Wroclaw in Poland this afternoon, the forsythia here are abundant and everyone has a sprinkling of yellow in their garden at this moment.

For us, this time of year heralds the primroses and primulas. A bit later than our neighbours, as our house is in a dip, but once they come they all come together. This year looks like a classic for them. Beautiful colours and large healthy plants.

The photos below were all taken this morning.

Beautiful grape hyacinths

We also managed to cut some of the grass for the first time.  Our newly serviced mower tasted the scent of cut grass and the bumpy lawn started the journey towards salvation. It’s amazing how even the bumpiest lawn looks better when the grass has been cut. But you cut the grass early at your peril. It is as if someone has whistled into the ground and awoken the lawn fairies. They grass starts to shoot up and the need to keep on top of it never ceases.

The moss has really penetrated the lawn to the extent that two of the lawns are now mostly moss. This dies back later in the summer but for now it looks green even if you know it won’t last.

This morning as I sat down to drink my first cuppa, I was rudely interrupted by tapping on the door. I collected myself and opened the door expecting to see a delivery person there, waiting for a signature. But there was no one.

I went back and sat down.

Tap, tap, tap – there it was again.

I went back to the door and looked out. Again there was no one.

As I settled down once more, tap, tap, tap - it came again. I peered out and saw to my delight that the source of the tapping was actually a pair of long tailed tits tapping on the window. They were looking into the house and tapping. I am not sure what they wanted, but I went for my camera and they were gone before I got back.

Long tailed tits are one of the most beautiful birds. I am sure it is my imagination but they always visit on a Sunday. Maybe they are secret church goers!

Blagdon Lake

Recently we went for a walk at Blagdon lake. It was apparently the first day of insect launch. This event seems to happen on one particular day at the start of summer.

As we walked around the edge of the lake, the air was thick with flying insects. Not just a few clouds, but a complete fog of them. They made your hair itch, the back of your neck tickle and the hairs on your arms become sensitive. They thronged at every orifice waiting to move in.

I hope you are now feeling a little itchy, with this thought.

If so, you are feeling a fraction of how I felt.  I scratched and rubbed, but they didn’t go away. They swarmed about my head as if I was wearing a big cow pat. Maybe it was my natural odour, but it certainly attracted them. We walked faster to out travel them, but they followed. Eventually we found a quieter spot, but it didn’t last long and they hatched as we stood there.

On Saturday we started to see more flying things in our own garden, including butterflies – a brimstone and a peacock. I thought the butterflies came out in full summer but they start much earlier. The rise of the insects is just in time for the bird explosion. Young birds need feeding and the house martins, swifts and swallows begin to turn up.

The bird song is at its best early in the morning as every male makes sure they get a mate. If you pop out at 5 or 6am you will hear a cacophony of birds all calling at the same time.

Once they mate the noise dies down so catch it while you can.

Hidden Gem

By accident, we recently discovered somewhere to walk that we had never been. It is incredible that we have lived here for 7 years and we had never seen this place before even though it is within a short ride.

It is hidden away in some woods, but we saw more birds there than we have seen in many other walks recently. Funny how you can overlook something that is staring you in the face.

Tokio Myers

On Friday we went to a concert to see Tokio Myers.

For those people who have not heard of him, he is a young chap from London who has combined classical piano music with strong beats, electronic instruments and drums.  I think the official term is mash-up.

This young man saw the murder of his headmaster as an 11 year old, Phillip Lawrence, before being led to safety by his music teacher. Thankfully he has turned to music.

He is fit. Really fit. He jumps around the stage, hitting just about everything in his path with a pair of drums sticks or pressing keys on computer driven keyboards.

It was quite a spectacle.

When we went I was expecting to be surrounded by a young audience of fans. He came originally from Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), so he has appealed to the watching audience.

The venue was the first we have been to for some time where there was no seating whatsoever. My better half is a bit shorter than average and therefore this type of “gig” is her worst nightmare. So we stood halfway up some stairs which gave her a view of sorts.

I don’t know if it is my age, but it is so hard to stand still, unaided for any amount of time. The next day we suffered for our efforts.

But the thing that surprised me, was most people were of a similar age to us. The tickets weren’t an excessive price, and the venue was reasonably trendy, but the audience was let’s say “established”.

He was good, and didn’t go on too long – thankfully. I have showcased him on here before but here he is again if you are interested.

This is a good live rendition of his most famous tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HAYwY2ol5g

This is his first official video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LF7T8O7-go

It is also the start of BGT 2018 so here is his winning performance from last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgoe2kYFyiQ

Have a great week!

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