Most of August was spent at Fauxquets Valley campsite - see Travels With Pickle - but we bookended our stay at home. The first few days were final tweaks to the house - every corner cleaned and polished to Mr Pollard's highly exacting standards - and getting the garden looking as immaculate as possible. AKA trimming hedges and bushes, of which there are Far Too Many.
The end of the month saw us, thankfully, return home. Good to be back. The guests had left it spick and span, so it was just a question of unpacking the motorhome and then unpacking our store room, having cleared out kitchen and bedrooms for them.
But the main surprise was the weather. August had turned unwelcome the last few days: cloud, rain, wind, storm even - and then then wind swung round to the north, bringing chills. Yet the last couple of days of the month were wonderful for our south-facing property. Sheltered, we were too hot outside on both patios, front and back. Walks - and blackberry picking - on the cliff path were a complete pleasure as there was no wind to speak of, the sun glanced dazzling off the open sea and, as a bonus, we had the cliffs to ourselves, save for a few pipits and a couple of gannets diving for fish offshore.
The daily swim - I have barely missed a day in the last couple of months - was so wonderful down at Rocquaine, though the sea was quite choppy. I bump into a particular parent down there quite frequently - always a pleasure to see her. We cycled home up through the lanes, a quiet route past a wonderful view over the bay. So wonderful, that we decided to come back down - with a bottle of Bailey's Salted Caramel liquer - for a (literal) sundowner at sunset.
It was absolutely lovely. The sundowner was a little bit of a let down, though: the glass we had decided to share, so romantically, had cracked on the way down, so we were reduced to taking swigs from the bottle. Not quite so romantic as sipping decorously from glasses...
Still, it was worth it. Saw the 'green flash', though it was more of a green glow around the sun, and iridescent cloud above it - apparently, a very rare phenomenon.
So August ended, in the end, with wonderful weather. So much to be thankful for.
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| Exploring a douit |
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| Church in a Torteval field |
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| Back entrance to the campsite |
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| Hedge veg jewellery! |
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| Cow jam |
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| Sheep racing at the Vintage Agricultural Show |
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| Exploring St Saviour's church and churchyard |
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