Monday 2nd June 2025

Its Monday.

So after coffee and getting dressed, we're off to the gym for a session.

After my walking up hill and down dale all over the weekend, my legs were achey, so I bailed after 24 of the 30 minutes on the bike, deciding that was enough.

Anyway, I had plans for more walking later.

So back home for breakfast, and all washed and cleared away by half nine.

I then started a day of cooking. Well, an hour's preparation, then four hours in the oven.

First up: Boston Beans.

We now prefer these to baked beans, what with a little spice from chorizo and sweetness and colour from the black treacle.

I chopped and diced for an hour, seared the pork and chorizo, then added the vegetables, spice and stock. Brought to the boil and then popped into the oven.

I'm off to Sandwich Bay I declared. Jools stayed home in the garden, so with three hours to kill, I set off to Sandwich.

And the observatory was packed with folks, I grabbed just about the last parking space. I enquired about whether there was ringing going on. As there wasn't, I go go to the dune slacks.

The meadow looked fine, just about ready for the harvesting of the hay crop, and the three Southern Marsh were just coming into flower.

Among the slacks, more Southern Marsh, but everything brown and stunted. Which made the spotting of the Yellow Bartsia plants much easier. I counted three of them, but there's probably more mixed in with the Yellow Rattle.

Across the golf course, on the way I saw no Grass vetchling or wild asparagus. I had met with the warden who told me the Lizards were poor this year, but nothing could prepare me for the sight as I cross the last fairway and out onto the Strand.

Were there would be dozens, if not hundreds of majestic spikes, a handful of stunted plants, struggling in the extreme drought conditions.

In the dunes, there were more Bedstraw broomrapes than Lizards! Also, no Sand catchfly were seen either.

All down the beach I looked and saw no tall spikes of Lizards.

I turned to the gate leading back over the links, back to the meadow and to the observatory.

I bought a can of Coke, then looked at my watch, nearly three hours had passed, so I made tracks to return home to finish the beans off.

Traffic was amazingly light, but it was before three and the school run, so I was home by three. I took the lid off the beans and let them cook another hour, while I made dinner.

Jambalaya.

The beans would be portioned up and froze, as would the left over Jambalaya, as the freezers are a little empty.

Chop more vegetables, then chicken and more chorizo, all put into a large pot, mix in the treacle, stock and seasoning with spices.

It was all done by four, as we had skipped lunch, so sat down with a nice bowl of cajun goodness.

Went well with some President's XV.

And that was the day.

Music in the evening, then after putting the moth trap out, to bed. Perchance to dream.