Live life outdoors

After the high winds/gales of yesterday today seemed a perfect day for a backyard cookout. I had popped out yesterday to pick up a joint of beef from our local butchers (remember everyone shop local!) and brought it home and seasoned it with some Cajun spice. I then left it resting in the fridge for 24 hours. After a morning's gardening, sorting out sweetcorn, brassicas, and six different varieties of tomatoes it was time to send out the Bat Signal and request assistance from my partner-in-crime; my big brother. Whilst Bruv was sorting out the fire I set to prepping the beef in the Dutch oven - a few onions and some Hobgoblin Beer. It was at this point I realised that the joint I had bought was too big for the pot. So a quick bit of butchery and I had a nice sized joint in the Dutch oven and one in the freezer for next week. By now the senior partner had a good fire going so we got the tripod ready and also the charcoal starter so that we had some coals well unde...

How much fun can you fit into one Easter weekend? The answer is "a lot!" The weekend started with a roadtrip to Cricklade with my mum to go and see the fritillaries in the Nature Reserve there. This one meadow has 80% of the country's Snake Head Fritillary population and is an incredibly beautiful spectacle! When you look across the meadow there is a purple haze from the sheer number of flowers, then when your eyes adjust you can then begin to focus in on the individual flowers and see the intricate patterns on the petals, some like chequerboards. After our roadtrip it was back home and time to launch The Saucy Nancy III and Katie Kayak. Our first paddle was from Marchwood up to the Redbridge Causeway and back with my big brother (best brother ever). We went up on a rising tide and it was our plan to get under all three bridges ( a rail bridge, road bridge and the old stone foot bridge) to the landward side which we did. After a short break we were back...

To paddle, or not to paddle: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The waves and seaweed of outrageous fortune, Or to take up thy kayak against a sea of waves, And by opposing paddle them? (Sorry Bill!) Of course the correct answer is to always paddle, be it paddleboard, boogie board or in yesterday's case the kayak. It was one of those lovely ethereal mornings yesterday. Mist over the water, no wind and the only sound was the lapping of the waves on the beach. Once parked up I was soon set up, got my kit on and I was ready to go. The slight problem I have with kayaking (or any other activity as mentioned in a previous blog) is my notorious lack of balance. This means that if I'm going to capsize I will generally do getting in to or out of the kayak, and this day was going to be no different with me going over both on egress and exit! What was really great about going out yesterday was that I had absolutely no agenda or pre-determined rou...

OK, before we start today's Blog I'm going to let you into a little secret; I have absolutely no sense of balance. None! Zip! Zilch! Nada! There are new born foals that are steadier on their feet than me! I can fall over walking across a flat carpet! But here's the crux of the matter, lots (most) of the things I like to do include a large element of balance - kayaking, cycling, hiking..........and paddleboarding! I think this is why I like my boogieboard so much, I'm already lying down so I have nowhere to fall to! Honestly, if I invite you on an adventure just make sure to have your camera ready because at some point I will end up on my (bruised) butt! I will also appreciate a helping hand up. Because of my distinct lack of balance I am a great supporter of the SDP (not the the Social Democrat Party - youngsters ask your parents), Sit Down Paddleboarding. Today was only the third time I have tried to take my board out. The first time was just after I h...

I took off to Charmouth yesterday (Saturday) with Emma, a very good friend of mine, to go and walk in the footsteps of Mary Anning and look for some fossils. It was a beautiful day and we took a very leisurely drive down, arriving in plenty of time for the talk and guided walk that was booked. I've never been to Charmouth before, been past it so many times, but never stopped off there. So glad that I have now and will definitely be going back again; and soon! The talk at the Heritage Coastal Centre is very family orientated but no less interesting for that. After the talk it was down to the UNESCO World Heritage Site to see what we could find. Apparently most of the fossils on the beach at Charmouth are the result of a very large cliff fall in 1956. After a slow start we were soon finding lots of bits of belemnites, a type of squid, that lived over 100 million years ago! There is also and incredible amount of sea glass on the beach there as well. As the time...