Welcome to Melanie’s July Monthly News! We hope this months ramblings find you well and having enjoyed July as much as we have! It’s been a busy month as per usual and we have been out and about quite a bit, now that summer is officially here.
Our first day trip was to St Davids in Pembrokeshire. The photo of myself and Lily below was taken overlooking St Davids Cathedral. It was a lovely drive down, we haven’t visited since pre covid lockdowns. It has always been one of our favoruite places to visit and we are lucky enough to be able to get there and back in a day. It’s about an hour and a half drive from where we live.
St Davids!
I never tire of taking photos of the Cathedral. From an artists point of view, it would be amazing to sit there and draw it, as I’m pretty sure you could look at it time and time again and notice something new each time you viewed it. From the tiny windows on the tower to the detailing around the widows. Notice the areas of old stone that are warmer and richer in colour under the bottom windows, compared to come of the newer grey / purple stone. The history of the cathedral is incredible too and if you are heading to Pembrokeshire, it is absolutely worth visiting to finding out more.
A funeral was taking place at the cathedral on the day we visited, so although we were able go into the first area of the cathedral, we were unable to go further back, which is actually my favoruite part. There is a nave in the centre where you can sit to contemplate. The decoration and architecture is just out of this world. It’s so serene and peaceful and it really can make you quite emotional, sitting there amidst your own thoughts. We must go again before the year is out. It’s on the to do list!
Boone – Cat Portrait in Oils
As you have seen from our featured image this month, Nicholas has painted a gorgeous cat called Boone. The portrait has headed off to our client Arlene and we hope it has been well received. Arlene emailed when she saw the final photo of the painting, and you can read this below.
Good Morning!
It is BEAUTIFUL! ! !
I cannot wait to see it here in person!
I will certainly send photographs once it is framed!
Thank you so much!
Arlene
Melanie’s July Monthly News – Early Misty Walk
Lily and I headed up to the top fields near us recently, early one morning. There is a public footpath all across three or four fields along from where we live. Normally all the gates are all closed and tied tight, plus sheep hurdles across one section too. So it’s never easy to walk there, even more tricky when you have to climb a gate with a dog – pretty much impossible.
You might say that the farmers don’t want you walking over there but the Carmarthenshire footpath association say that it is the farmers responsibility to keep it accessible and its not a priority for them!
It’s a real shame as if it were opened up, it would be an amazing place to walk regularly. However on this particular day they had been making silage so the gates in the first two fields were open. The views are amazing there, it was slightly misty, the sun was coming up and it was promising to be a beautiful warm day.
A lovely view and an enticing footpath. Without it’s normal tied gate!!
Lily’s Birthday
It was Lily’s Birthday this month and she was 9 years old. It only seems like yesterday that we collected her as a tiny puppy. She was due to go to the groomers on her birthday so we took her to Pets At Home as a special treat on the way home. Lily knows as soon as we get into the car park where we are going. Can you spot her?
I’m not certain why the shelves were so empty, however, it gave Lily the advantage! Lily made sure every treat was found. I do believe Pets At Home should employ her as an evening cleaner!!
So to her toy….! How did I manage to find the noisiest toy in the shop?! But isn’t it fabulous! It crinkles and crackles and when she shakes it…everyone knows about it!!
I think she is happy don’t you?!
Melanie’s July Monthly News – The Cottage Garden
It’s been quite a while since I have added photos of our garden. I think time has flown this year and I haven’t taken as many photos of it as usual. The day I took these photos, I had spent the afternoon strimming and mowing, cleaning the chickens and moving some big logs, ready for Nicholas to split. Not bad for a full afternoon’s work.
Everything is looking quite tidy in the garden, we are lucky (or un-lucky perhaps!) that it keeps raining here. So in comparison to a lot of the UK, our lawns are a very lush green and plants are flourishing. The chickens are doing well and the chicks are growing fast. You can see Honey coming towards us above and Snowy on a mission walking just out of the picture. Chickens are so inquisitive.
Early Morning Swim in New Quay
The photos of New Quay could almost be mistaken for the French Riviera. The blue sky and the crystal clear waters were gleaming. The boats beautifully lined up waiting to be whisked out to sea. It was such an idyllic scene and absolutely perfect for a gentle swim in the sea.
There is a dedicated swimming area, which is not only popular with tourists, but locals quite often come down morning and evening to delight in the cool water. I feel the cold so I have a wet suit which enables me to stay in the water a lot longer and it’s also good protection from jelly fish. Wearing paddle boarding shoes also helps to protect your feet from Weaver fish. I am a cautious gal and so far so good! You can just about spot three of us swimming in the photo below.
New Quay is a very popular spot for locals and tourists alike. The perfect location to spend the day, plenty of parking and lots of places to eat and have ice-cream.
Icecream for Breakfast?
After a lovely swim, what is it that you might have for breakfast? Of course, ice cream! What else! The photo below shows Nicholas, who didn’t swim, but looked after Lily and took the photos. Myself, Harvey and Sarah.
The ice cream shop is exceptional there. They sell doggy ice cream so Lily wasn’t left out at all – thanks to Harvey who treated her!! Nicholas had Apple and Blackberry crumble flavour and us three had Jaffa cake flavour.
I believe Lily’s ice cream was pretty nutty, it looked as though it had seeds in. Thankfully it was very gentle, it didn’t upset her tummy, so it’s something Lily would happily recommend to all her doggy pals!
And the final view from New Quay looking across in the other direction, away from the harbour – simply stunning. We hope that you have all enjoyed our Melanies July Monthly News and if you missed our previous months news, head on over to Melanie’s June Monthly News to catch up! We hope to have our August news coming soon and wherever you are – enjoy yourselves!
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