Triple Tractor Trap

Phew! We made it through another chaotic road adventure. We visited the magnificent waterfall known as Pistyll Rhaeadr (thanks for the tip, BG), known as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. Problem is, everybody and their dog also decided to visit the spot in the great weather at the same time as us. It's only a problem because ... it's 4 miles of single track width 'road' to a dead end, so there's strictly only one way in and out. Picture a slow speed rally drive in hilly, twisty roads, but with traffic in both directions, blind corners and all. At one point, even before we'd embarked on the waterfall turnoff, we were trapped by a trio of tractors!

Photo: D Schultz

Each of these 2 trailers trying to squeeze past each other was pulled by a tractor, so we had one in front, one beside us, and a tractor pulling a trailer directly behind us. It was a tight squeeze, and we heard metal grating on metal as they scraped past each other.

That was nowhere near as bad as the convoy of cars traveling in both directions to and from the spectacular waterfall, trying to pull over and not nudge other vehicles, bust the sump, or scratch the car along the briar patch. At some very slow congested spots on the way out where gridlock was apparent, some people at the back of the queue would get out and direct individual drivers past rocks, ditches, bridges and hedges to help make the passing possible. It was pandemonium, and this was a week day.

The waterfall itself is truly a must-see though, so the 'bumps in the road' were well worth it. More on that tomorrow.

There are 4 vehicles in this from-the-windshield shot, and it looks as if the trailer in front of us is inadvertently doing some hedge trimming along the way!

Headline from the Bank Holiday weekend about visiting Pistyll Rhaeadr in the local County Times: Try Another Day
'Visitors to a Powys beauty spot were told to maybe “try another day” after overcrowding during the Bank Holiday.'

On our way home, not far from Llanfyllin, we came upon the scene of an accident. It seemed like it would be a long wait to get through, and another driver came over to explain how far back we'd have to go to be able to reach our village from another route, when the police began waving people through. A driver had attempted to pass a farm tractor crossing a narrow bridge, and it didn't end well for the car, which was perched precariously on the edge of the bridge, all smashed up. There did not appear to be any serious injuries.

National Garden Scheme

We joined a lot of other grey-haired people to visit a spectacular garden at Bachie Uchaf in Llanfyllin, open to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme to raise money for charities. 

This arid bank's ground cover was pretty amazing

There always seems to be a monkey puzzle tree (from Chile and Argentina) as a feature in older gardens. they are now critically endangered in their native habitat.

Ooh, I think I spy someone without grey hair from the terrace

One of the water features came down a very steep bank, so the water flow was very active and dramatic. But where are the aquatic plants?

There are 60 gardens open to the public in the county of Powys for the summer

Brambling

No, I'm not taking bovine artificial insemination classes, I've had to invest in 'farmer's defence sleeves' for my rose- and bramble- pruning expeditions through the overgrowth. Man, are they hot to work in! It was Dale's idea to refer to it as brambling

All for the sake of these fragrant beauties

In other news, 

• we now have our National Health Numbers so are enrolled in the healthcare system.
• our container of goods is expected around June 10
• peas are definitively the English "go-to" vegetable
• I've tried grocery shopping at 4 different stores, some of which have 2 or 3 hour limited parking (camera monitored). I like Sainsbury's, they have a lovely wholemeal farmer's loaf, and I think a better selection and in larger amounts (that's my American experience coming out).
• The last time we were at Tesco, Mr checkout-guy decided he had to make a pun about EVERY item he scanned. By the time he'd done the first 5 items, it became very tiresome (there were 49 items in all) and he was over-the-top corny. We felt we had to react or respond to each one. Ugh. It really prolonged the process of checking out, too. 
• We're learning that going out anywhere, for any amount of time, without a raincoat is always a mistake.

Lake Vrynwy

We visited Lake Vrynwy (VUHR-noo-ee) with our guests, this time taking in the Rhiwargor Waterfall (Pistyll Rhiwargor) as well.

This is the site of the old village, Llanwddyn that had to be relocated for the reservoir installation.

We topped off our visit with afternoon tea at the hotel overlooking the lake. It's a most spectacular view from the terrace. The Gothic Revival style straining tower, built at the same time as the dam wall (1880) can be seen protruding from the water.

We were baking in the sun since their beautiful patio area was very exposed and there were no trees or umbrellas to help keep us cool. We loved the teas and scones with clotted cream, but had the most awful service imaginable.

Fields of Color

 Bluebells on the upland slopes

Buttercups for miles

Eryri National Park

We took our first U.S. visitors to Wales' rugged Eryri Park (Eh-ruh-ri, or Snowdonia) since we enjoyed it so much on our first encounter. This time it was a bank holiday weekend with outstanding sunshine, no chance of cooling rain and lots more traffic. We took a different route around Lake Tegid on this trip, where the narrow gauge train carries tourists back and forth (we missed a photo opportunity, not checking first what time the trains ran).

The route back up the mountain pass was a little unnerving this time, seeing as some were out to enjoy the curves and speed, and others had no regard for staying on their half of the narrow roads, but we managed. Some motorcyclists didn't do much for bikers' reputation by riding up and down fragile, restored peatlands at the summit carpark, and we saw they were not young roustabouts when they took their helmets off.

Peatlands are being restored after having been drained and cleared in the past. The heather is coming back.

Of course, I was fascinated by all the tiny plants low down in the boggy stuff, so got my knees soaked trying to photograph them. I was thrilled to find what I think is Polygala serpyllifolia (Heath milkwort), so much like our Maine Polygala paucifolia (Gaywings) in amongst the heather.

I also came across this berry, which Google lens refers to as an unripe bilberry or European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), only ever foraged, not commercially used.

We did notice a lot of escaped, prolific-blooming rhododendrons across the countryside on our trip. Wikipedia (Snowdonia) has this entry about it: 

'One of the major problems facing the park in recent years has been the growth of Rhododendron ponticum.[46] This fast-growing invasive species has a tendency to take over and stifle native species. It can form massive towering growths and has a companion fungus that grows on its roots producing toxins that are poisonous to any local flora and fauna for a seven-year period after the Rhododendron infestations have been eradicated. As a result, there are a number of desolate landscapes.'

Discoveries on a Walk

On another walk up to the well, we came across the body of a curious looking creature that was equal parts snake, lizard, and worm. It's called a slow worm (Anguis fragilis) but is actually a legless lizard that spends much of its time underneath things. It is described as semifossorial for this reason.

This overlooked creature has been given Protected status in the U.K. Its population is declining due to habitat loss.

Then we came across 2 different feather types, both of which appear to have come from a Ringneck pheasant, an introduced species

What a beautiful pattern up close

And then we found this little beauty, what I think is greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) peeping out from under a hedgerow. This is another native that I'm happy to see.

Earlier that same day I had found a moth known as a snout moth (I can see why). It's also referred to as a bee moth (Aphomia sociella) since they lay eggs in bee and wasp nests so the developing larvae can feed on the handy comb as their food source. Britain and Europe are part of its native range.

Unexpected Things

Oh, what a day! We had to put any plans we had in mind aside after discovering a leak from the conservatory roof onto the floor tiles. ACK! It took most of the day to get a handle on it, and we still had to tackle the more of it the next day. Dale's specialized array of tools is somewhere across the ocean, so we were really blunder bussing our way towards a solution.

At the time of the leak, it wasn't raining and hadn't yet that day, so it seemed rather curious. During previous downpours we'd had up until now there hadn't been a drip from that spot. It wasn't rain. Could it be something the contractors were doing up on our roof? No, they weren't working with any water at all. We had to investigate! Ah, the gutters above - they were probably clogged with leaves since the house hadn't been occupied for 2 years ... could that be it?

We cut the roses away from the ladder in the yard, and Dale went up to investigate, trailing the hose behind him. There was a layer of slick muck in which moss was growing in the wide gutters around the conservatory roof. It was acting as a sponge, holding water and giving it time it to seep through joints and seams. Our hose water pressure is pretty low, so it took a long time to dislodge the slime. I assisted with a brush and a long piece of bamboo (used as stakes throughout the yard to hold up saplings).

Next thing we knew, the downpipe was completely clogged and water could no longer run through. In fact, water was pouring out over the top of it. We took the drain cover off, and tried jiggling a piece of wire (yes, from staking up saplings and roses) up from below but there was barely any space between the bottom of the pipe and the drain. We removed the cover off the nearest gulley pot (new word for me) but it didn't seem to be connected to our drain.

A quick investigation inside showed the drip was still constant

Dale then cut the pipe fitting (borrowing our contractor's hacksaw) in the retaining wall below, and voila! we were in the same drainage system.

Using our rudimentary 'tools' on hand (a long piece of timber from the shoddy pergola extension to act as a drain snake, and the running hose), Dale loosened debris over and over again. We alternated putting the hose in from above and below, and used different sticks to dislodge the debris. Gosh, there were multiple clogs and flushing noises as blockages loosened and came gushing out. I was having a blast! 

We finished up by filling an enormous watering can at least 6 times and pouring the contents down the pipe at high volume until the outflow was all clear and free of silt and muck. It took most of the day to solve the problem, and the next day, we had to execute the same moves on the downpipe on the other side of the conservatory. The yard is wet and soggy now from all the water throughput.

A number of concrete roof tiles broke as Dale worked on the roof, so we have to replace a few now. But best of all, no more drip!

Welsh Poppies

These cheery little beauties are colloquially known as Welsh poppies (Meconopsis cambrica), and are native to south west England and Wales. I'm delighted to have these growing in my garden, though they probably volunteered themselves.

Wales' left leaning political party, Plaid Cymru, uses a stylized representation of this flower as their logo.

Conveniences

On a visit to the convenience store this week, I was browsing next to 2 women who had just found out  that they were both from the U.S., one from Tennessee and the other from Ohio! Of course, I wasn't able to let this go without butting in to the conversation, telling them I was from Maine. None of us had American accents though, for very different reasons. What a coincidence to find 3 Americans in this tucked away, tiny town in Wales!

Our local SPAR convenience store

Many towns have stores like these with a tiny, cramped post office counter as well, which do extra transactions such as accepting Amazon returns, doing banking transactions, and buying stamps. We've had to use these facilities a few times already, one being to buy a money order and return postage for applying for our U.K Drivers Licences (we're submitting our South African ones for conversion, instead of having to take the entire theory and road test from scratch). I hope they accept them!

People we encounter keep reminding us that Wales is very 'green' (into recycling in a big way). Food waste and 3 categories of recycling (paper, plastics, glass, each associated with a particular coloured skip) are collected from our lane every week. Yard clippings and cuttings can be collected every 2 weeks if you pay extra, and everything has to fit in with the lid closed. Invasives such as Japanese knotweed and ragwort may not be disposed of in this way. General trash is collected once every 3 weeks (strictly one bin only), the argument seemingly being that after all the other frequent collections, there shouldn't be anything smelly or large to fill up a bin more often than that.

This sketch outlines the different kinds of pick-up (it doesn't include yard cuttings since that is an optional extra)

I'm very disappointed though, to learn that the filmy plastic over most food products can only be 'recycled' through a big store. It turns out that trackers in these drop off sites show that the products are not recycled, but are actually burned instead. What a farce.

An example of the kinds of packaging that can't be recycled at the kerb

The contractor working on our solar panel installation has very kindly lent Dale his 'seconds' tool bag to use until our tools arrive in the container, probably around mid-June. What a thoughtful and generous gesture. Amazing.

Aggressive Beauties

Aggressive lupines

Outcompete native species

Yet so beautiful