Sad :-(

First job after breakfast, sew buttons on Mum's cardigan. I had time to kill as Gill's does'nt open until 9am. I collected 2 bunches of alstromeria from the greengrocers in Chudleigh before going down to walk Indie. She disappeared chasing deer returning 5 mins later puffing & panting, took a quick dip in the puddle then headed back home, when I sadly came across this tawny owl dead on the grass verge. Such a beautiful bird, I'm guessing it got hit by a vehicle, something has had a nibble. The beautiful talons and pads beneath gave me my subject for today's Blip hosted by MaryElizaR. I picked the bird up, carried it to a gateway and put it on the grass beyond so that any animal/bird interested in the carcass hopefully would'nt come to any harm by passing traffic.
A glorious morning, Mum & I had coffee, she arranged her bunch of alstromeria then we headed off to Paignton. Hubby is obsessed with finding really spicy, hot chilli to add to his soup, which I'm getting slightly annoyed about. We were on a mission, we were going to the Torbay Asian Food Store in search of Thai chilli powder. Google maps took us directly to our destination. I bought chilli powder, fresh galangal, Thai chilli paste, palm sugar cakes, frozen wonton wrappers, plus a tin of young coconut meat in syrup. I was tempted to buy the fresh pea aubergines, & slightly larger round green aubergine often eaten raw, or added to Thai green curries, the price put me off. There were also fresh pieces of durian, very tempted as I do enjoy it. Not priced, & did'nt enquire. The shop & restaurant just along the road are owned and run by a youngish English guy & his Thai wife, so we had a bit of a chat. I've eaten in the small restaurant a couple of times, the food very authentic & delicious. We left the shop made our way to the seafront, & walked along the promenade. A few beach hut owners giving the huts a lick of paint & spring clean. A few families on the beach, plenty of dogs with their owners, one guy kayaking. A fresh breeze coming in off the sea so we headed back to the car, then drove the coast road along Torquay seafront, then on to Shaldon, & back to Mum's. Back home for lunch then I mowed the grass, ripped out a lot of ivy creeping it's way into the flower border, weeded, & hard pruned the viburnum tinus that suffers with dieback every year. I've got a fresh fungicide ready to act when the first signs appear. I nipped up the allotment deposited the grass cuttings to the compost bin, collected 3 large plastic planters that I plan to use in Mum's garden then back home. I dropped a bunch of alstromeria in to Shirley. Richard came to the door, Shirley was sleeping but her hospital visit went well this morning, so that's good news. She was stood on the pavement talking to our next door neighbour 2 weeks back, hubby caught his toe on the curb, went flying, grabbing hold of his wife, Shirley, she broke her leg. :-( They have an allotment on the same site as mine. A lovely couple.
Toad in the hole for dinner.