Author: Zogman

A dull day … – 7 July 2023

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… but a brightener to start with.

The day began with an email from Hazy wondering what the poor peacocks had done to offend me. A typo on my part was the reason. In yesterday’s blog I was discussing peacocks and especially the white one Alex and I saw at Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline. A slip of the finger had exchanged the ‘W’ in the peacock colour with an ’S’. Oops! I do hope I haven’t upset anyone with a bit of rude language and thank you again, my eagle-eyed daughter for your proof-reading!

It was a dull day, but warm. Not a pleasant warmth, more a muggy feel to the air. Not really a day for going anywhere, and anyway, I think I am photographed out. I took far fewer than normal on our trip to Dunfermline yesterday. I think it was the overkill of the 1,000 odd I took over two weeks on holiday. Maybe that’s what I need, another holiday. That’s not likely as one of the first tasks today was to put the cases away in the loft space until our next holiday whenever that will be. Scamp had washing to do and there were always things to do in the garden. I finally planted the last three leeks that had been languishing in their wee pots for almost a month. I’m sure they will grow better in the raised bed, even if it is falling apart.

I had another email returned from Gmail. Apparently they demand that I must ”authenticate with at least one of SPF or DKIM.”. I’ve had a look at both of these collections of letters and maybe, just maybe I have a plan. It will not be a cunning plan or a simple fix, but it might pacify Mr Google.

I didn’t do much today. Read another few chapters in ‘Unhappenings’. Such a weird book. I fell out with Scamp about nothing. Eventually apologised and and we sat down to look through her holiday photos. She calls them ‘snaps’, but they are so much more than that. They are photos.

Next I took my time to set up today’s photo. The chilli plant was sitting on the draining board in the kitchen and after I’d cleaned the windows inside and out, I set up my tripod in the kitchen and took my time to compose properly. In the end I was happy with the result and the process grounded me, I think.

Dinner tonight was Kedgeree. Scamp made it, I wouldn’t know where to start. She wasn’t happy with it, I thought it was a bit dry, but with a spoonful of cream improved it greatly.

No plans for tomorrow. It looks like we’ll be under a raincloud all day.

I haven’t proof-read this blog. Any errors are mine as they say in the epilogue of books these days.

Dunfermline Toon – 6 July 2023

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Off to meet my brother and drive to Dunfermline today.

The weather wasn’t as good as was predicted earlier in the week, but we’ve never let that stop us before and it wouldn’t today. After our traditional coffee we discussed our plans for the day. We were in the Peacock cafe which was chock full of screaming toddlers but a peacock, a real one, was parading around outside the cafe seemingly unaffected by the mayhem inside. I suggested we might start by going to visit the rest of the peacocks that roam free around the park. We saw a white peacock among the other ‘normal’ ones. Apparently only one in 30,000 peacocks is white. There you are, I bet you didn’t know that.

We walked back to find the path that would take us over the burn and up to the Abbey Church. On the way we stopped to watch a boy and his father (?) flying a small electric powered radio controlled Messerschmitt Bf109. The tiny little plane had a wingspan not much more than 400mm, but flew well. I think we both though “I want one!”, but we walked on and found the path.

The Abbey Church is a beautiful building and much better lit than Glasgow Cathedral, Alex commented, and I had to agree. We took a lot of photos and my favourite was the shot of the main part of the church, the ‘modern’ church. It’s a combination of two shots that allowed me to ‘paint out’ visitors who spoiled the view of the alter. That became PoD. As we were walking through the Nave on our way out of the church the rain that had been threatening all day came down in torrents and we waited until it had moved on before we left.

Lunch was in Wetherspoons in Dunfermline and again, just as we were leaving the rain became heavier, so we waited until the rainclouds had passed before we went for a walk up the Main Street, than back down to the park for the drive home.

I dropped Alex at the station and about ten minutes later got a text to say he was on the train. Dinner was Fish Fingers, Egg and Spaghetti. A family favourite.

Watched Andy Murray battering a ball about for a while and managing to start making inroads on his younger opponent’s initial lead. Poor Andy looked as if he’d done himself a mischief just before clinching the set. The umpire actually called “New Balls Please” just after it happened! Let’s hope they weren’t needed.

No plans for tomorrow, but the rain is lashing down again tonight as I write.

A day in the Toon – 5 July 2023

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We drove in to Glasgow today just for a wander and the chance of a spot of lunch.

We started before that, at home having a serious talk about money and cars and it looks as if the blue car will be staying for a couple of years.

In Glasgow we began in JL. There is so little in the ‘toyshop’ now for me, it was really only a cursory glance over what little they had to offer. One overpriced camera (second-hand, although JL don’t call it that). The shop now seems to have become a clearing house for goods bought and returned, unwanted gifts, but really, whisper it, second-hand. Maybe it’s a sign of the times, maybe it a warning sign of things to come! Scamp was luckier than me, she found a couple of things in the sales.

Walked down Buchanan Street and along Argyle Street, taking in the sights and sounds of Glasgow. Scamp went looking for a dress she’d seen in M&S a month or so ago, but we came out empty handed.

By this time lunch was on our minds, but we couldn’t settle on a place to go. There is a new restaurant in Exchange Square and we thought that might be good to investigate. It used to be Zizzi’s, but now it’s called Banca da Roma. The building used to house the Bank of Scotland back in the dim and distant past. Lovely big space with a high, high ceiling with glass panels that spread sunlight over everything today. I had Porchetta con Salsa Verde as a starter and Rigatoni Amatriciana for main. Scamp opted for Forcaccia con Rosmarino as a starter and Spigola e Spinaci which is Grilled Seabass with sautéed spinach. Service was a bit slow and the food when it came was, to my mind, quite expensive for what we got. As a lunch it just about managed to fit the bill, but the portions were small. There was a 12.5% service charge at the end of the meal which might be standard practise in London, but is not common in Glasgow. “Style over Substance” was how Scamp described it and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Walking back to the car I noticed a wee man painting en plein air in St Vincent Street, using oils. He was doing a pretty good job of it too amid the tourists and the traffic. I took a few shots over his shoulder and one became PoD.

Drove home after a relaxing day and started the procedure to get some of the scrapes on our car repaired using Smart Cover which we’d paid for when we bought it and never thought we’d use. I think it might be a long process.

Hoping to go to Dunfermline tomorrow with Alex. Today was a lovely warm day. Hoping for something similar for tomorrow. Scamp will be hoping for the same as she’s intending to cut the grass again.

Fourth of July – 4 July 2023

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Another day of thundery showers followed by warm sunshine.

Scamp decided we should go shopping and I went along to make sure it was done properly! We arrived back home with a sight more than the milk, potatoes, fruit and veg. Stopped on the way to get the makings of tonight’s dinner which was stir-fry. We just got in the door as the rain started.

Yesterday Scamp decided the bed needed changing and the mattress turned. Today she decide the upstairs rooms should be hoovered so between us we hauled out the bed, dusted behind it then hoovered there too. Finally we put almost everything back in place. Some things though, including my ancient but totally shot leather slippers didn’t go back. They went into the bin instead. Poor things were almost worn through. I’ll never find another pair like them.

We were just relaxing with a coffee after our work when the rain came on again and it really did come down like stair rods. The weather fairies had warned of thundery showers and for once they were correct. I waited until I was sure the rain had stopped then booted up and walked over to St Mo’s with the A6000 in tow and took a few insect and flower photos. The flower photos won today. The ultimate winner was a photo of a branch with Snowberry flowers. Delicate little pink bell shaped flower that will produce bunches of white ball shaped fruit in the autumn. Managed to get back dry, apart from the drips coming from the trees after the heavy shower earlier.

Got an email from Nissan asking me to Pay Up or Put Back by September. Still considering what the final fate of the wee Blue car will be.

No plans for tomorrow as yet.

Out for a walk – 3 July 2023

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Scamp suggested a park or maybe Culross. I chose Culross (Sorry Hazy!).

When we got there, it was breezy with some heavy clouds scudding across the sky and the threat of rain, but we were dressed for rain. We live in Scotland, we’re always dressed for rain!

We walked along the path beside the old railway and with the wind at our back it was quite pleasant. Once we crossed the railway turned edge on to the wind it was a bit less comfortable. For about a mile we were buffeted by the wind with the occasional drizzle of spray from the incoming tide. The next turn put the wind at our backs again and with the turn after that we were in the lee of the banks of elevated lagoons that are what’s left of an attempt at reclaiming the land of Preston Island (which is now not an island at all) from the Forth.

We walked past the remains of the salt panning factory which provided salt when Preston was a man-made island in the early 19th century. Further on we found a relatively new bird hide made from sheets of mild steel with laser cut viewing holes in the shape of birds. They made interesting frames for the views across the Forth estuary. One of the bird shapes made PoD.

We were now on the home stretch which was lucky as Scamp’s feet were beginning to cramp and despite my suggestion that she wait at one of the car parks on the path while I brought the car round, she refused and soldiered on.

We stopped at the Red Lion pub in Culross for a welcome coffee although it was really too weak to call it coffee. It did however give us a rest and we were both in need of drink by this time. It had stayed dry all the time we were walking, but as soon as we were parked at the house, the heavens opened and that rain continued for about an hour.

We’d walked 4.8miles today in 2 hours 15 min according to the Fitbit app. Over 10,000 steps done.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about future plans and interviews. Typical Jamie, always has an iron in the fire!

No plans for tomorrow, if we can walk.

Rain, Sun and Wind – 2 July 2023

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Three words to sum up today as far as weather goes. There was rain. Sometimes heavy sometimes light, but always there on the horizon. Then there were occasions sunbursts, sometimes while the rain was falling, but welcome when they appeared. Lastly there was wind for the third day recently. Gusty wind blowing in from the west. Very unseasonable weather after a Flaming June.

Scamp was out planting her new flowers. They are a white Salvia and a white Penstemon. Both in the new pot she bought (but didn’t wear) yesterday. They are now ensconced in the front garden to strengthen the barrier and hopefully prevent the Scottish Terrier from round the corner from crapping in our front grass. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have to resort to digging pits with sharpened spikes at the bottom, between the pots or the ‘nuclear option’ – Land Mines. Anyway, for now the flower pots are doing a good job of keeping Hamish at bay. In the afternoon I swear I saw Scamp out in the front garden watering the plants while the rain was tipping it down. I now have seriously concerns about her sanity.

Later in the afternoon I put my boots on and went for a walk in St Mo’s, hoping to get some photos of some yellow Flag Irises, but was disappointed to find that they were long gone. That spell of hot weather had forced the flowering of these elegant plants way ahead of their usual blooming time. What I did find was a couple of Batman hoverflies, so called because they have what looks like the Batman symbol on their thorax. Then a Five Spot Burnet moth feeding on its favourite knapweed flower. After some discussion with myself, the Burnet moth got PoD.

Watched a crazy Austrian GP with almost half the field succumbing to five second penalties for exceeding ’Track Limits’. For once, Charles Leclerc didn’t find the wall!

We don’t have any plans for tomorrow.

 

A new month – 1 July 2023

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Finally I’ve cleared the backlog of blog posts and Flickr submissions. It took a bit longer than I expected, but even as I was downloading today’s photos, I found more on the A6000 that I had missed so I’m now up to about 1300 photos for June. That’s a personal record, I think. It’s partly down to the new phone. The results I get from it are almost indistinguishable from those on my A6000. Not quite as good as the A7iii, but it gets close when I use the RAW mode on the phone camera. Quite amazing. Truly now, the best camera is the one in your pocket.

I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon clearing up loose ends of blogs. If any of you out there notice any mistakes, please don’t tell me, because I’m not going to do anything about them. Not long after midday I posted the final backlog blog.
Meanwhile, Scamp was doing the ironing and by the time she was finished, I was just finishing, so we could have lunch. Both of us settled for banana on toast.

After lunch Scamp decided she needed another garden tub to house her two new plants, so we walked down to the shops, got some messages and other essentials like jam doughnuts and then picked us a reasonably sized tub that Scamp threatened to wear on her head on the way home to protect herself from the rain. Thankfully the rain dried up once we left the shop. I could have gone for a walk in St Mo’s and probably I should have, but instead I came home with Scamp and did my file shifting that I usually do at the end of the month.

It had been windy since early morning and photography in the wind is difficult, so I chose to take some shots in the back garden where there is a bit of shelter from our high fence. PoD turned out to be the seed pods of the long gone Shooting Star flowers that bloomed in May. There wasn’t much more to tempt me today. Maybe I should have gone over to St Mo’s or encouraged Scamp to wear that flower pot hat and got a shot from one of those two situations … or maybe best not!

No plans for tomorrow.

 

The last day in June – 30 June 2023

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What a month this has been. Two weeks in the sun – too much sun. Record high temperatures. Torrential rain. Then cooling down. Things got so bad that the BBC weather app went crazy, gave up and just predicted temperature highs of 8ºc and lows of 7ºc for the next week. I think it just got fed up with all the fluctuations!

The furthest I got today was a couple of shots of an aquilegia in the back garden. Taken in the rain that never seemed to stop all day.

Scamp went out in the morning to meet Isobel for coffee and then June & Ian arrived there too. That was her morning and part of the afternoon filled. She made a delicious Prawn & Pea Risotto for dinner when she came back. Meanwhile I was writing, writing, writing and am almost finished. Tomorrow should see the end of the backlog. I think I’ve said that before!!

Tomorrow a new month and a new start hopefully.

Torwood and Ladybirds – 29 June 2023

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Today we drove to Torwood Garden Centre to find replacements for some of the plants that were lost during the hot weather.

We found a few that Scamp liked but bought only two which weren’t actually replacements, but it was Thursday, so that ticked a box for me! While we were there I picked up a scrap on the offside wing of the blue car. Nothing terrible, but I’ll need to get it fixed with the Smart Repair voucher I got when we bought it.

Back home I wanted to go out in the sunshine while Scamp was gardening and drove up to Fannyside looking for dragonflies. When I got there it was too windy to have a hope of catching them, so instead I went looking for ladybirds and found a compliant one sitting on a lichen covered fence post. It’s a Striped Ladybird, brown rather than the usual red and with stripes (obviously) rather than spots. That became PoD.

Scamp is out with Isobel tomorrow. I’m hoping to draw the blog catchup to a close!

Blogging – 28 June 2023

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These blogs don’t write themselves. Today the furthest I got was a walk round St Mo’s in the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent writing blog posts, selecting suitable Flickr photos from the 1,000 odd shots I’ve taken and posting both. Still only about half way through the backlog.

Just as reminder to me, here is a rough breakdown of photos taken by what:

I took the A7iii with the kit lens and the 16-35mm, and the A6000 with the kit lens and the 10-18mm. Just over 1,050 shots taken in total.
Roughly:
42% taken with the A7iii
33% taken with the A6000
25% taken with the phone

The walk round St Mo’s gave me one decent photo of a couple walking their dog round the woodland walk. That became PoD.

Tomorrow we may drive up to Norwood to look for replacement plants.