From the inside

20C. Bright early, then bright spells and heavy showers. Cooler in the showers.

Hoping to get the front lawn cut in the afternoon Maeve the Deerhound and I went for our walk before lunch. Walked down the road towards the shore. Noticed a combine harvester sitting in one of the fields. Not moving. I don't know whether the crop was too wet or perhaps it had broken down. There was no one with it. A bit too far away to get a decent shot.

Crossed over the level crossing and onto the beach. Dogs everywhere. Two with a man walking along the field towards the crossing. One with a family heading towards Easthaven. Three little ones with a man heading the way we would be going. Four or five whippets all off the lead and strung out along the sand with a man I see now and again. A Fierce looking thin collie which I sometimes see at the huts. Even the man with the whippets looked like he didn't want to go along to where the collie was looking territorial. I could see him gathering the whippets and putting their leads on. Maeve barked once or twice at the nearest Whippet. When she barks she is nervous.

Bearing in mind that this is not a wide beach and that there are high dunes on one side and rocks on the seaward side I decided that I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle, so Maeve and I went back over the level crossing. We walked along the cycle path then along the road before heading back over the railway line at the road bridge and down to the car park at Westhaven. We met two women with the collie on the bridge. I was glad that it was on its lead. By the time we got there and looked back along the beach all the other dogs had dispersed. Peace to wander down onto the beach and have a look around the boats lying on the hard sand. Very low tide. Lots of the recently deposited seaweed to be seen. The tide will need to be high for a few days to wash any of it back out to sea. The rest will most likely rot where it lies.

At the depression in the dunes at the back of the beach near the car park, the boats that haven't been in the water this year are now sitting amongst long grass. Nearby at the edge of the dunes a small boat has been pulled up beyond the high tide mark. It has been in the wars. Perhaps it broke its mooring and was crashing about over the rocks. The stern is smashed and the barely recognisable tiny outboard motor has been put inside the boat. It will never work again. This is boat remains for the skip. A shot or two on the blog. The blip is from the inside of the boat where I managed to find some colour :-)

Later there were heavy showers. Grass soaked. No mowing today. I may need a scythe !