Month: August 2026

The Butterflies Return – 31 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was a blustery and breezy day today, but it didn’t dissuade the butterflies or the bees.

Our Buddleia bush has lost all its flowers this month. Not surprising really, given the number of bees and butterflies that have visited it. I thought they were gone for good, but then this morning, not one, but two butterflies were visiting our smaller white buddleia. One was a Small Tortoiseshell and the other was a Peacock. They stayed for most of the day and the gusty breeze didn’t seem to upset them.

I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be good if our esteemed leaders could behave like the butterflies and just simply get on with things instead of all the posturing and back biting they usually exhibit.

Other than photographing the butterflies, I didn’t do much. I did take a camera for a walk over to the shops, but couldn’t find what I was looking for and came home empty handed.

Scamp used the day to thin out some of the compost we’ve gathered this summer. It will stand us in good stead for winter planting once it dries out, all being well.

I worked in the morning to clear out some of the unmarked photos from August and hopefully tomorrow I’ll dispose of the ones that failed to get a Red or Yellow marker. That should clear out some of the ‘dead wood’.

August is a month I’ll be glad to see the back of. So many mistakes and problems with fitting the subjects and details into the catalogs. I think I need to use a much clearer way of organising the photos.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp may be looking for an appointment at the dentist to have a look at a tooth that’s become painful, just recently.

Spiders and Lightning – 30 August 2026

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I’d intended to go for a walk in the afternoon today, just to stretch my legs. However the weather had other ideas.

I saw a tiny little spider at the back of a cupboard where it was catching the light very nicely. I knew I had plenty of time before I went out. I managed to get a few photos and then realised that that ‘plenty of time’ had shrunk greatly and also the clouds that had been light and fluffy weren’t fluffy any more. The rain had become heavier too, and as I stood at the back door watching the rain I saw the first flash of lightning and automatically started counting. Three seconds later the thunder crashed above me. That afternoon walk disappeared and Scamp and I watched and listened to the thunder above us.

Thankfully I had a few shots of the spider to use, although the torrential rain that was coming down would have been an equally good photo, but I’d lost one good lens to the rain about six months ago and didn’t want to risk another.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and he put me right on how to get more comfort from an expensive pair of trainers I’m trying out. It’s all to do with the instep and I’d forgotten that he too has flat feet. Something else of mine he’s fallen air to!

The thunder hadn’t lasted long, but the spider seemed to make tracks after the first crash. Probably something to do with air pressure.

I had a problem with one of my photos not responding properly to work I was doing. I thought it was going to be a wipe out, but it was only a change I’d made to the name of a title. Who would have thought a different name would completely destroy years of work. Thankfully, changing it back again solved that problem. Don’t you just love technology?

No plans for tomorrow.

Glasgow and England – 29 August 2026

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Today was a day to wander through Glasgow, looking for a bargain.

In fact it was just a day to go for a wander. Although Scamp did find a bargain in John Lewis. But it being under-garments, we are not allowed to discuss them in this blog!

I was sort-of looking for a new coffee maker. The one I have is over six years old now and does need a bit of care and attention, and as I have a few bob to spare, I’m thinking of upgrading it to a newer model. So far, it is merely a pipe dream, but if the price is right, I may make the change. It’s still not a firm commitment, but it’s bouncing around the ether somewhere.

I think we both enjoyed our short holiday down in the south of Engerland. It was good to wander round Kingston upon Thames and to sample the expensive alcoholic beverages for sale. Some were very nice and others were pulled straight from the River Thames, I think. Neil took us for a walk in Pinshill Park where we had a walk round this interesting landscape. We even had a scone, complete with frozen cream in an old castle. It was meant to be a clotted cream tea, but someone put the cream in the freezer, not the fridge! Anyway, we survived and on another day we walked around the city of London, got lost and then re-found ourselves.

All in all, we had a good time. Good food, good company and lots of folk to meet again. We enjoyed it all. At least until …

It was time to go home. Neil dropped us at a good staging point to get back on the overground train, again without many problems. Then we found our way from Vauxhall to the underground and onward to Kings Cross only to discover that our train was, like many others that day, potentially cancelled.

However, an hour late, we got the all clear and were off on our travels again on foot and managed to find the exact seats we were meant to be sitting on in 1st Class! From there it was plain sailing and although we were an hour late arriving in Edinburgh, we had enough points to claim a couple of hundred pounds of penalties from LNER. That softened the blow. Train from Edinburgh to Croy and a taxi from there took us back to the house. An interesting day.

The last two or three days have been deemed to be recovery days and not a lot of photos have been taken, but many more were taken on our trip Dahn Sarf as my old friend Ray would have described it.

We managed to ‘miss’ today’s dance class in Brookfield because Jane wasn’t fully fit. Next week’s class seems to be cancelled too, because Stewart and Jane are both booked for Tenerife for rest and recuperation. I’m sure they deserve it.

We have no real plans for tomorrow, but I expect Scamp will want to improve on my attempts to cut the back grass! She will also be waiting impatiently to discover what happens next in our visit to Dundee.

A rather muggy day – 18 August 2026

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Occasional rain, but always warm – too warm for me.

I went for a walk this afternoon, but despite searching all my usual places, I couldn’t find anything worth photographing. I eventually gave up and walked home in the rain which was at least refreshing!

Earlier in the day we had found a host of caterpillars munching their way through Scamp’s Nasturtiums and I put them all on some leaves across the path. Tonight I realised they would make and excellent subject for a macro photo. That’s how the Very Hungry Caterpillar came to find its way to becoming today’s PoD. It was indeed ‘very hungry’. Just look at the damage it did to a single leaf. One caterpillar did that! Now I know why gardeners dislike them so much. According to Google, this is the caterpillar of a Large White butterfly.

Nothing much else to report on today, although we did drive in to the outskirts of Glasgow for a coffee and a cake just to get us out for a while. Also, I did manage to find a bag of Marshalls Macaroni for you Hazy. You’ll get it the next time we meet.

These epistles seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I must encourage Scamp to drag me somewhere more interesting!

No plans for tomorrow, although we may take the train somewhere just for a change.

MOT day for the Blue Car – 17 August 2026

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Dropped the car off at about 9am at the garage then phoned a taxi that took me home.

Scamp was just on her way out to meet Shona for coffee and a blether. I made a cup of coffee and attempted Wordle and the rest of the puzzles and waited. About an hour later I got the result. A failure because of a fractured front coil spring. Not surprising given the number of potholes and broken drain covers that are scattered around Cumbersheugh. Did I want to go ahead with the repair and service? It was the first failure I’d had with this car in the six years of driving it. I don’t think I had much to complain about. Yes, just go ahead.
I phoned Scamp to tell her the bad news, but she also agreed that we’d done well with over 39,000 miles it had done. I think in retrospect that I got off lightly.

The rest of the day just chugged along. Not really a good day to go for a walk, but instead I photographed a bunch of fading flowers in a vase on the window sill. They were the variety “Lady Emma Hamilton”, one of Scamp’s favourites. The light was beginning to fade and I spent an hour or so adjusting the levels in Lightroom until I had the picture the way I wanted it. I could have worked for a few extra hours, but knew I was just wasting my time. Lady Emma Hamilton made PoD.

About 4pm I got the message from the garage that the car was ready to be collected. Another taxi ride took me bak to the garage. I pushed my card into the reader and collected my keys. We were back in business. I didn’t notice much different in the drive home, but I couldn’t argue with the work done.

Dinner tonight was Pizza and a slice of Scamp’s version of Tiramisu which was very welcome.

Later, Scamp was typing and messages were flying to and fro between others in the family. I was asked for my opinion a few times, but I think I was more engrossed with Angry Birds than was healthy for me, especially if I wanted to keep breathing. One ‘faux pas’ with the Lady Emma Hamilton debacle was bad, but not listening to Scamp would be unforgivable. I listened properly and agreed with what she had planned.

No real plans for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Jamie – 16 August 2026

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Twenty One again!

We spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about Simonne’s new car but unfortunately no new car for Jamie, even on his birthday. Glad you liked the card and the prezzy, though, Jamie.

Earlier in the day we took some time rising from our slumbers after a late night the day before. That set the tone for the rest of the day. I did get out for a while in the afternoon, but the best shot I got was one of a brown slug. Not my favourite creature, but it had lovely patterns on its body, so that was my reason for making the gastropod, PoD.

Dinner tonight was a Baked Potato with Tuna for Scamp and Spaghetti Bolognese for me. The first time I’ve made Spag Bol for a very long time and it tasted really good.

I’ve a few things to do tomorrow, and an early rise too.

 

In the garden – 15 August 2026

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After yesterday’s stramash, today was a little calmer.

We had intended to take the train to Glasgow, but I wasn’t feeling well with a bit of an upset stomach (too much good food) and we stayed at home. It was a good bit cooler today with a cold breeze. It’s difficult to decide what to wear in these days of fluctuating temperatures.

I couldn’t decide what to photograph too, but eventually settled on an old shot I’d taken a few weeks ago of a Rowan berry sitting on a group of Rhododendron leaves. For once I can honestly sat that this was not a set-up. The rowan berry was sitting comfortably in the centre of the rhododendron. I couldn’t pass it up, that would have been a sin, so there it is. The orange and green made a good colour contrast too.

Later in the day we got ready to go to Brookfield for what used to be a monthly dance, but which is now just a fairly regular event, especially in the summer when folk are off on holiday. For once I really enjoyed the night, although by the end of the evening I was getting tired. It was good to drive home through a much quieter Glasgow than is usual.

A wee glass of something when we got home put the seal on the day, and I climbed the wooden mountain to bed, wearily for the second day in a row.

Relaxation will probably the name of the game tomorrow.

Busy, Busy, Busy – 14 August 2026

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Driving around Cumbersheugh, getting things done.

We had visitors coming for dinner tonight and we were running around like headless chickens. Too many things to do and it seemed like we didn’t have nearly enough time, but as with all things, Scamp’s calm brain pulled everything together and it all went swimmingly. We didn’t get to bed until nearly Saturday, but we all had a good day and that’s what matters.

Just a short blog post today. PoD went to a Broccoli stalk that Scamp found when she was cooking the veg.

Definitely NO PLANS for tomorrow!

Dancin’ – 14 August 2026

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Today was the first tea dance day in ages, and it showed.

First, though I went to get some fruit in Tesco. That gave me a chance to stretch my legs. A ‘piece’ on banana was my lunch, then it was time to get ready for today’s tea dance.

We started by driving to Glenburn, only to find a Road Closed sign stopping us. Thankfully, after checking our direction on the screen and after working out what direction we should be heading in, we managed to plan the best route through the streets on the edge of Paisley, and it worked. We weren’t the only ones who were caught out by this last minute decision to close the road. There were a few puzzled looks from cars in front of us. In the end, we were only a few minutes late.

My dancing was poor today. I’ll admit it. I just couldn’t put a foot right. It’s a wonder Scamp didn’t disown me, the number of times I was wrong footed. I think the reason was that today was the 13th of August. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

My dancing ability improved a bit later in the day, once I’d had a cup of tea and a blether to Barry & Cath. Also, the dances were a lot easier in the second half. Almost all were sequence dances, with the occasional simple Waltz or Rumba.

Drove home through fairly heavy traffic, but by using the M74/M73 we got there in a decent time.

I was stuck for a PoD until I found a bunch of little purple flowers in the garden with the sun shining through the fenceposts. That won the day.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to have Crawford & Nancy for dinner, so that means we’ve got a lot of work to do.