Month: April 2026

A cold bright day – 6 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

In the morning, the sun was shining. Such a difference from yesterday!

We weren’t going anywhere and Scamp wanted to plant some more flower seeds. She did mention that it would be good to have a tool to press the seeds into the soil, and I took this as a request.

I dug out my old panel saw, a Sandvik that I’d bought when I was at college, more years ago than I care to remember. I measured up a piece of plywood and also measured the size of the tray I was going to need for the job. I was originally going to work outside, because the sun was warming the place up, but rather than keep going into the house for a plane and sandpaper then a pencil, it made more sense to just set up my old trusty Workmate in the back bedroom and work there. About an hour later I had the tool Scamp was asking for. Originally I was intending to screw a handle on to it, but realistically, some Araldite adhesive did a better and quicker job. Of course I had to tidy up the room afterwards, but the hoover made that easy. I hope it suits the purpose and I think it will.

After lunch I was going to check for updates on Flickr but I kept getting the same message that Firefox can’t connect to the server at flickr.com.
I remembered having the same message on my old iMac and fixing it by loading up an old Flickr photo from way back and that seemed to clear it. That same trick seemed to work again.

The foregoing is just a reminder to self if I need to fix this in the future

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk and saw a young deer on the path round St Mo’s. I hadn’t seen any deer in the woods for a couple of years and thought they must have moved on to somewhere less open, but there it was, walking along the path quite blithely. I got a few photos of it, but it was too well camouflaged and too far away by the time I caught a clear glimpse of it to get a decent photo. I’ll keep my eyes open for it returning in the next few days.

PoD is a bunch of bright yellow Goat Willow catkins that caught my eye.

Dinner tonight was Pasta with some Chicken and Mushroom. Usually Scamp makes it, but mine was a decent copy.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to meet up with Alex in Glasgow to see what he’s been up to in the past weeks.

Snow, Sleet and Hail – 5 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Oh, what a day.

It was one of those days when you just knew you were going to stay in all day. Yesterday’s wild wind from named storm Dave had swung away to the north east, thank goodness and good riddance to it. We had a a couple of rolls of thunder, but it was the snow that was the strangest thing. I’ve heard my mum talking about snow in May. This was snow in April which was almost as bad.

I had set myself the task of Reissuing my Positive SSL, but Hazel, my trusty Webmonkey, had already reminded me that I’d sorted it out myself the last time this had happened, about a year ago and with that thought in mind I girded my loins (or is that Lions?) and asked for help from the Namecheap gurus. Just incase you’re wondering what a Positive SSL is and why it needs Reissuing I can tell you that it would take too long to explain. In other words, I haven’t a clue what it means.

However, thankfully I found Bohdan V who was a guru who seemed to know what was going wrong on my computer. After answering quite a few questions they said they could see part of the problem and an hour or so later the SSL was Reissued, it had been checked and everything in the garden was, once again, rosy. Just like the last time, a year or so ago, I didn’t have to do anything, just answer the questions when they came up and hope that the answers I was giving were the right ones. Bohdan seemed satisfied that they were and when I ran the check text they sent me, I got confirmation that “All is well”. That was good enough for me. I signed off with a lighter heart than when I started. My SSL was good for another six months or thereabouts before I’ll need to do it all over again. I hope Bohdan V doesn’t have a sore head tonight.

It was still snowing and hailing and raining when I returned for the mysteries of Positive SSLs and even better, it was dinner time.

My dinner was my Cannon of Hogget and it was just short of delicious. I think I over cooked it, but I’d have it again. Scamp was having roasted and spiced cauliflower with Hasselback potatoes which she also shared with me. They were very, very nice. I may even try to cook them some day soon.

We spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about the wildlife that are attacking his veg patch and the problems of running out of calor gas just when you need it.

Tomorrow I may rest my clogged up brain and live a normal life for a change.

The Far East – 4 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Today we travelled to the Far East, Edinburgh to see how the other half live.

The weather was kind to us to begin with, but the weather fairies had said we should bring a brolly. We ignored them, but perhaps we shouldn’t have. We walked our usual path from Haymarket, up Morrison Street then through the canyon of Ladyfield before crossing to the Nero on Lothian Road. Best coffee I’ve had in weeks in there, then the walk over to Castle Terrace and the farmer’s market there. I was looking for a couple of pieces of Hogget. Hogget is the word used to describe a lamb in its second spring or summer. The meat is richer than lamb, but not as strong as mutton. I find it hard to get in butcher’s, but am usually able to get some in the Edinburgh farmer’s market. So it was today. In the fridge I’ve now got a couple of chunks of Hogget chump chops and a Cannon of Hogget in the fridge. Apparently you can cook a hogget cannon like you would cook steak. One lot will hopefully provide dinner for me tomorrow and the other will go in the freezer for me to find later in the year.

By the time we were clear of the farmer’s market, the rain was getting heavy, so after a wander round the outdoor markets of the Grassmarket, Scamp decided we should have lunch in Petit Paris. A real French restaurant. We both went for the same menu: Soup of the day, (loaded with veg) and Fish of the Day which was Coley with Mash. I didn’t think I was hungry until I’d finished both plates and would have licked the plate if I thought I’d get away with it. A half a glass of red to wash it down because I was driving when we got home.

By the time we left the rain was heavy. We walked up West Bow and shook our heads at the Harry Potter nutters standing in the rain before they spent a fortune on magic wands and top hats and other things that only foreigners buy. Ourselves excluded, of course.

Next we made our way back down the steep Mound to listen to a gospel choir and then on to Princes Street gardens to watch the annual Passion Play. We only stayed a while, but by then we were soaked through, so we headed for the station and with minutes to spare, caught the train home.

Tonight we watched an excellent adults cartoon and then, The Greatest Story Ever Told. An Easter story that started life in the mid 1960s. I’ll admit I had never seen it before.

Wish we’d stayed longer at the Passion Play, maybe next time.

PoD went to cranes reflected in a new glass-fronted building in the city.

Wind is getting a bit stronger tonight. Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow. No plans for Sunday.

Out to lunch – 3 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Today Scamp and Shona met Isobel for a chat and a coffee. I stayed out of the way!

I met Scamp and Shona for lunch just after midday, at a new restaurant in Cumbersheugh, Bellissimo.
Scamp had Mussels for a starter and Seabass with Lemon sauce and mixed veg.
Shona had Italian Meatballs as a starter, with a main of Pollo Milanese.
My starter was Seasoned chicken strips in batter and my main was Penne Arrabiata.
All in all, a good meal although the food was slow in coming. We’d give it another shot, especially as our old faithful, Brodens is now gone.
We dropped Shona off at the Lidl store in the north of the town and then we drove home.

I took my Sony 24-105mm lens and the A7c out for a walk later in the afternoon. Gusty winds made photographing difficult, but not impossible. One of my favourite shots, a Horse Chestnut leaf just about to burst open, got PoD. It was another cold day and that gusty wind didn’t help.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go to Edinburgh, but there have been a lot of high wind warnings in place, so we’ll check the weather before we make any rash decisions tomorrow morning.

Dancin’ and School Ties – 2 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Strange mixture.

Today started with a bit of shopping. Quite a large bit of shopping too, but it was all basic foodstuffs … boring. We had a cup of coffee when we got home and realised we had about 15min to get ready for our afternoon out in Glenburn for today’s Tea Dance.

After a frantic scrabble, we headed off to this Paisley offshoot and arrived just in time. It was the usual format of mainly ballroom dances in the first half and sequence dances in the second half. We usually leave about half an hour early to avoid the schools coming out and clogging up the roads with little darlings who are picked up by doting aunts, uncles, grans etc, because the poor things can’t walk long distances. It was different in my day. We had to walk to school and back again. It toughened you up etc, etc …
Anyway, the weans would be out and enjoying themselves when we left at the end of the dances.

The drive home was much swifter than it usually is. I’ve a plan for the fastest way to get to Glenburn and a different route for returning. It might seem daft, but it does work, for me at least.

I took a camera and lens out for a walk in St Mo’s when we got home and got a photo of a school tie hanging from a lamp post. I don’t know what the scribbles on the tie were, but just to be safe, I removed some of the writing.

We’re hoping to go to have coffee with Isobel and Shona tomorrow and maybe a quick lunch afterwards. If everything works out, of course. Storm ‘Dave’ looks as if it’s going to show up at the weekend. Let’s hope it’s not as violent as the weather fairies are predicting.

Walking in Sunshine – 1 April 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not fooling!

Just a quick shot taken yesterday walking back from St Mo’s.It was a mixed up day for me, with a lot going on. Still not sorted it out properly, but at least you have a photo to look at.

There is usually a problem on the 1st of the month when I have to save off the previous month’s photos and create a space for the new month’s shots. This year I’ve had problems because the catalog is getting too big. I need to reduce its size and complexity. If I get it right, all will be fine and the computer should run a lot faster. If I do it wrong the whole thing goes BANG! and takes all the hard work I’ve put in to Lightroom with it. Aren’t computers wonderful things … when they are working!

For just now I’ve posted the photo and I should be able to do the same for today’s PoD too.

Fingers crossed!