Stripe and Spot looked out of the window this morning and there was a heron looking into the carp pool. We awoke to a lot of barking and let them out so they could chase him away. He could easily clear a pool in a few days and the carp are so tame that they come right into the shallows when we feed them. They then set off around the Estate to check everything out and have a good look around all the pathways and meadows. Stripe is now sitting at the edge of the courtyard gazing down across the hills and surveying the valley below. He sometimes sits for hours in the sunshine just looking out across to the Brecon Beacons, watching the red kite soaring, the swallows flying low over the meadow pond and the ducks pottering up to the chicken shed a few times a day to share some rolled barley. In the big greenhouse, sweetcorn husks are ripening and we are eating them every day, liberally rolled in fresh butter with a sprinkling of ground black pepper. A second crop of strawberries is ripening outside the lean-to hardwood greenhouse and inside the bosky perfume of ripe tomatos meets you as you stroll through. Guests come over to the main house to ask directions to The Dolaucothi Gold mine; they are off to pan for gold and explore some of the old mine tunnels that are just a few miles away. They tell me they had some Welsh lamb cutlets for supper last night over at the Neuadd Fawr arms followed by some of Bunty's delicious Chocolate Junkyard. How she turns out such copious amount of amazingly delicious food from that tiny kitchen of hers is beyond me. Everything is home made, locally sourced and exceptionally good value.