Boys will be Boys!

It’s the last day of the school holiday today and the weather is gorgeous. Ynyslas doesn’t get much nicer than this.

Anna has started her new job today so I’m at home with Morgan and we’ve just got back from a wander across to the beach for some Dune Jumping.

Lazing on the beach with views like this – What better way to spend the day?

It was a gorgeous Bank Holiday Monday here. Clear blue skies saw the temperature drop to 4ºC over night but the sun was up early and it soon warmed up. With no wind at all it was a perfect day for the beach.

My parents were still here along with my sister and her children Kia and Shaun so we had breakfast and headed across with surf boards and such like. It’s rare for us to sit on the beach in holiday-maker style as we tend to just walk across, do what we were going to do and come home again, but as there were lots of us we set up camp on the edge of the dunes and Morgan and I went for a surf.

Morgan had fun and managed to stand up well, but the sea was a little cold so he didn’t stay out long. I then went out, and had a good surf with some decent 2-3 foot sets coming in. I don’t surf that much these days as I tend to windsurf so its good to get back to my roots now and then and make sure I can still do it.

Time to hit the waves

Surf's Up

After the excitement of yesterday morning with the windsurf session and a trip to casualty, we decided to have a more leisurely afternoon with a family walk around the dunes.

We headed off across the fields, past the boat yard and along the estuary. Had a browse in the visitor centre then went for ice-creams at the caravan park before heading across the boardwalk to the beach and back home along the beach. I think it made everyone suitably tired and ready for dinner. The weather was gorgeous, the wind invigorating and we all had fun along the way.

Blackberries

We’ve got visitors here this weekend so didn’t do much yesterday. We waited in during the morning for them to arrive. They arrived early afternoon, my Mum, Dad, sister Trudi and her children Kia and Shaun.

Morgan attached himself to Shaun straight away and we barely saw the two of them as they played in the garden or in Morgan’s room all the time. I did persuade everyone to come out blackberry picking in the afternoon though. Anna stayed at home and cooked dinner whilst we all had a little walk along the banks of the Leri picking Blackberries.

There were plenty of nice ripe blackberries on the brambles, and plenty more to come. We weren’t out long but managed to get almost 1.5 kgs of them – So look out for some nice recipes from Anna with ideas on how to use up the blackberries soon.

There were also lots of people out picking the sloes from the very productive stand of sloe trees there. Trouble is they are nowhere near ripe yet most of them are still fairly green and rock solid. I know they are going to go into Gin but it’s no wonder no-one else seems to be able to make nice tasting sloe gin – It’s so much of a rush to get the sloes before someone else does that everyone is picking them far too early. They won’t have any taste, and what a waste of gin!

Our forgaing for food is going well. Anna and Morgan got some more blueberries yesterday and the blackberries are almost ready. We even had a little expedition on the beach earlier in the week looking out for Razor Clams.

We went armed with a bucket and a pot of salt. Apparently once you’ve found a hole that a Razor Clam lives in you can coax it out by pouring sand into the hole and then grab it and ease it out of its hole ready for cooking and eating! We haven’t eaten them before so we’re not sure if they are nice or not, but if we can catch some for free then we may as well try them.

Fortunately for the razor clams we didn’t see any holes and therefore didn’t manage to catch or eat any. Not particularly successful as foraging expeditions go but it was a nice evening walk along the beach all the same.

Have you run out of things to do with the children during the school holidays yet? The weather might not be great, but that shouldn’t stop you getting out into the great outdoors and doing things with them.

Blueberry Picking

How about heading to the hills for some blueberry picking – You can then spend some time in the kitchen cooking blueberry muffins with them. It’s getting a little late for blueberries now, but there were plenty there last weekend.

Blackberry Picking

Blackberry season is just about upon us as well. There are pockets of ripe blackberries all over the place and there should be more on their way over the next few weeks, so whatever the weather put on some suitable clothing (long sleeves and legs to protect you from the thorns and nettles and things you don’t mind getting stained), grab some pots and get foraging.

Wildlife Exploring

Fancy something a little more organised? RSPB Ynyshir have a ‘Wildlife Explorers Go Wild‘ day next Wednesday (Aug 25th) with activities for children of all ages – pond dipping and bug hunting with the wardens to see what you can find and learn about the smaller wildlife on the reserve. We’ve been to a few such events and they are always well organised and the kids love them.

You can of course do this one your own in the garden or a nearby park.

You can even do you own big garden birdwatch or butterfly count. Just because you can’t submit the results to the RSPB or Butterfly Conservation any more doesn’t stop you downloading an identification and recording sheet and doing your own version.

Den Building

The Forestry Commission at Nant yr Arian have a Den Building course for children 5 yrs+ on Wednesday 25th. Their woodland is the perfect place to try out your den building skills. Join one of the rangers who will show you how to make one.

Photo Walks

Kids love taking photos and with modern digital cameras it is cheap and easy. Give them your compact camera set it onto auto and head off on a photo assignment. You may be surprised at the results and more often than not their perspective on the world around them will give you some photo inspiration too.

There’s no need to spend loads of money on expensive attractions, kids love the great outdoors and with a bit of imagination and a reason for being out there you can too. There’s loads to do out there and not only is it fun but it’s healthy and educational too.

Sunday was a gorgeous day here so we headed off to the hills for a picnic.

We went to Pendam where Morgan and I had a little cycle ride around Llyn Blaenmelindwr whilst Anna started picking blueberries. We then had a picnic on the shore of Llyn Pendam. It was lovely and peaceful sat there lokking out over the lake, but I got attacked first by ants (my leg is still on fire whilst writing this, 8 hours later!) and then by midges.

Needless to say we didn’t hang around too long so I went off for a MTB ride around the Syfyddrin Trail and then home whilst Anna and Morgan did some Blueberry picking.

A pint of Blueberries

Not content with all of our garden produce we thought it was time for some foraging. I went out for a MTB ride from Pendam whilst Anna and Morgan spent an hour picking blueberries. Apparently there were loads of them and although it takes a while to pick them they got a whole pint of them and it sounds as though they enjoyed being out on the side of a hill in glorious Welsh surroundings in the sunshine.

We’ll be back for some more soon and the Blackberries are almost ready too.

Best of all we can now have Blueberry Muffins for breakfast – packed full of antioxidants!.