Feasts for the Eyes and for the Soul: October 27

Monday dawned cloudy and cool, with fitful bursts of sun. Lucas’s cat sat in the greenhouse outside our kitchen window, trying to catch what warmth it could.

We had nothing on our agenda today except dinner at Teresa’s tonight. So we headed off toward the Offa’s Dyke path, driving through Presteigne first to pick up groceries. After a few misses, we found the pathway and parked our car up a steep gradient. Our dear, faithful Peugeot who always recognized us and flashed its lights and unlocked its doors in welcome. How we have enjoyed you!

So we began our walk:

The start of our portion of Offa’s Dyke.

Such trails are well sign-posted. That is a huge help.

The arrow indicates the direction you are to follow.

If you click on this photo and enlarge it, it will show you the sweep

of the vista we enjoyed for much of our walk.

The portion that is in sunshine remained that way the entire time,

whilst we were in shade almost the entire way.

Dying trees are often covered with a velvety green cloak of moss.

We stopped for lunch in near a farmer’s field.

A video of that peaceful view of Welsh countryside:

The steepest part of our walk: a stairway. Otherwise the walk was very doable.

Part of the walk led through farmers’ fields, which were bordered

by ancient oaks, some likely centuries old.

We chose an alternate route to drive back home and passed through the village of Evenjobb, whose ancient church caught our eye, and we stopped to enjoy the sight.

This video captures the peace of the area. Listen for the birdsong:

The road took us through miles of Welsh countryside with breathtaking views—which we discovered were just a short drive from our cottage! We determined to return tomorrow for some walking and photos.

Back at the cottage, we had to bathe using a pitcher of warm water and a bar of soap, because the water heater had gone out and Luke had no idea how to fix it. Fortunately we are hardy Minnesotans who know how to live in primitive conditions! Luke was grateful when we said, “No problem, we don’t mind.” And we didn’t. But we cleaned ourselves up as best we could to meet Teresa’s neighbors for dinner.

And what a lovely evening it was!

From left, around the circle:

John (American musician and composer), married to

Hilary, accomplished cellist

Julia, funny and strong-minded and virulently anti-Trump

Susan, who baked a lovely apple crisp for dessert

David, entrepreneur married to Grace

Nick, retired teacher of literature and theater

Me

Grace, a spiritual director and grief counselor

Teresa, our dear hostess and friend.

And this picture includes Ruth.

We succeeded in avoiding political conflicts quite well, I think. Dinner was minced beef in a lovely sauce with rice, accompanied by carrots and broccoli and a spinach quiche. Dessert was a large helping of apple crisp, covered in wonderful oceans of custard. The joie de viv was also a feast for the soul—people who know and love each other (or at least like each other) opening their circle to include us. All in Teresa’s cozy cottage, filled with warmth and beauty. Thank you, dear Teresa.