I touched it and squealed! Never before had I ever seen anything like it....and I cannot even tell you what they are! Even my dear and unassuming husband as clever as he is, couldn’t put a name to them.

     We discovered these amazing creatures this morning, after deciding to go for a walk on the beach. It’s always fascinating to see what the stormy weather has taken...and left behind. Well it had dragged plenty of sand back into the sea, leaving remains of shipwrecks exposed on this large stretch of sandy beach, known as Rhossili Bay on the Gower Coast.

     I took lots of photo’s which I will put on my ‘Explore Gower’ page but this one, I just had to write about. It’s the oddest thing! You can see for yourself, these tiny shell creatures are attached to a tree, washed up on the beach. I touched one (the worm part) and indeed it felt just like a worm....ugh! I’m sure our dear hens, back at our home for waifs and strays, as much as they love worms, would not be tempted by these strange but wonderful creatures.

     So if anyone reading this can put a name to them, then please free to leave a message.

     As for the shipwrecks, they were equally amazing, and left me thinking about how they came to be there. How strange, I thought, that  almost 200 years later, they still cling to the ground where they fell ...almost as if they are determined never to leave without the men who sailed upon them....tis very sad!

Thank you to Karen for this reply...

Karen

To-days blog will be dedicated to Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. Happy St.David's day for the 1st March! 

One stormy night in 542 or thereabout, a baby was born called David. What’s so special about that? I hear you say. Well apart from every baby being special, that wee baby grew up to become a Saint, Dewi Sant, the patron saint of Wales.

     David was the son of Welsh aristocrats, his mother was Saint Non. As he grew, David was said to have preformed many miracles whilst preaching around the country. During one such time, it is reported that the ground rose up to form a hill which enabled David to be seen and heard by everyone. He soon became Saint David, and later, the patron saint of Wales.

     Legend says that during the battle with the Saxons, Saint David ordered his men to wear leeks in their hats, so that they could be distinguished from their enemies.

      He was buried in St David’s cathedral in Pembrokeshire and will always be remembered for this little saying,

 “Do ye the little things in life” (“Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd”)

‘No eggs?’ I said, as I lifted the lid on the coop and peered inside. This was very strange, very strange indeed.

     My dear and unassuming husband was very calm when I told him and he said it was the weather, but I did not believe that at all. Hens lay eggs, even in the rain, I replied, but he still didn’t look concerned.

     Well that was yesterday and today was exactly the same. I was sure someone was stealing our eggs, but who?

     All day, I have spent trying to find out what happened to the eggs. I became suspicious of everyone, including the postman....but he seems a very nice person and not someone who would steal eggs. Then I realised that postmen don’t deliver on Sunday’s, so he was in the clear. But everyone else was guilty, unless proven innocent...as far as I was concerned.

     I searched the grounds around our home for waifs and strays but I couldn’t find any proof that there had been an intruder. But there had been one, I was sure of it. They were crafty, whoever they were, and I would trust no one until I found the culprit.

     Well find them I did and what a surprise when I discovered who the cunning little thieves were........they were no more than my own dear hens! Well at least one hen, a new hen, who had a liking for eggs. Well that was that, we will deal with the problem one way or another but will probably try to collect the eggs as soon as they are laid... bit tricky but can be done.

     What about my distrust of everyone? I would make a terrible lawyer, if I had the mind to be one....which I don’t, not at all! Well next time anything goes missing from our home for waifs and strays, I will search for the obvious first, before becoming suspicious of anything and everything that moves.

Just like Winnie the Pooh, I never like to be away from home for too long. This is a strange thing for a person who is very much a free spirit and was brought up to be as free as a bird or a rabbit.

Take today for example. It was busy from the time I got up and only now I have stopped. And just look at the time!

I spent most of the day shopping for things I desperately needed, like food for my dear and unassuming husband, and also food for the rest of the animals. I had to collect straw, corn, pellets and all sorts of things. My car was full to the brim. Then I had people I had to visit who just ‘needed to talk’ and I just had to sit and listen. You wouldn’t believe how hard this is for a person like me! Well I can tell you, I was worn out by the time I pulled up outside our home for waifs and strays.

As I opened the arched gate into the garden, I sighed with relief. This I always do, every time I arrive home. Music filled the air as I was instantly greeted by a chorus of birds, hundreds of them, all living in our hedges. I am convinced that my dear and unassuming husband and I feed the whole neighbourhood of sparrows, as well as many other types of birds, some quite rare.

       And then there were the girls, all pleased to see me (or rather, to see if I had anything interesting to eat!) and I was equally delighted to see them too! We walked past the pond together and I noticed that it was bubbling again...with even more frogs. I smiled and thought how I lucky was I?

      By the time I had reached the kitchen door, the stresses of the day had vanished....I was home!

I believe that every baby born is special. So imagine my horror when I heard of the ‘fish and chip’ babies in Africa.

      Born into a life of extreme poverty and many already infected with the HIV virus, these innocent newly borns are wrapped in newspaper and sent home...they are known, as the fish and chip shop babies.

      We recently flew over to Ireland to visit some friends and were humbled to see the work they were doing to help the children in Africa. They had put together a team of people who knitted tiny, colourful jumpers for the fish and chip shop babies. These jumpers were no bigger than the ones we use for the rescued hens, back at our home for waifs and strays.

      As I took a picture of the colourful jumpers, which were being exhibited before being sent to Africa, I couldn’t help but think of these tiny babies. No baby should have to be wrapped in yesterday’s newspapers....

If anyone out there would like to knit a jumper, and find an organisation to take them, the pattern is as follows:-

Baby Jumper knitting pattern (Knitted all in one)
Approx. 50g DK wool

Use double knitting wool and 4mm needles, cast on 44 stitches.

Work 18 Rows in K2, P2 rib

Work 30 Rows stocking stitch (1 row plain, 1 row purl)

Cast on 12 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows and at the same time change to K2,P2 (for sleeve)

Rib 22 more rows.

Next row: Rib 21, cast off 26 stitches, rib 21 (Please cast these stitches off loosely in rib, to Allow the neck to stretch over a baby’s head)

Next row: Rib 21, cast on 26 stitches, rib 21 (Please cast these stitches on loosely, using one size bigger needles if necessary).

Work 22 rows in K2, P2 rib

Cast off 12 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows

Work 30 rows stocking stitch

Work 18 rows, K2, P2 rib

Cast off. Sew side and sleeve seams.