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A wee girl – 17 July 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We were driving to Falkirk today. Scamp’s bracelet was ready to pick up and so was my coffee. Unfortunately not in, or even near the same place.

First stop was Falkirk for the coffee I’d ordered a couple of days ago. Next was a drive back the way we’d come to find ourselves at the centre of the town where I parked and Scamp walked over to the jewellers to pick up her bracelet which had had a new catch welded to it and was nice and shiny. From there we drove back home for a quick cup of coffee and then it was time to get dressed properly to go to Hamilton for lunch with John and Marion.

It was a lovely morning when we were doing our circuit of Falkirk, but by the time we reached Hamilton, the clouds were rolling in. Lunch was a Salmon Fillet wrapped in Prosciutto with pesto and baby tomatoes. Dessert was layers of puff pastry wrapped round strawberries and whipped cream. I know there is a fancy name for it, but I can’t remember it.

Then came the surprise visitors. Laura and her daughter Erin arrived and we spent a couple of hours being entertained by this one year old wee girl. Such a happy little child who kept us amused all afternoon. She took Scamp’s hand and they walked hand in hand round the living room. Scamp didn’t instigate it, Erin did! I was given teething toy to play with until she asked for it back. Erin, that is, not Scamp!
Too soon, it was time for mum and baby to go home and off they went. Not one cross word from Erin, just smiles.

We sat and talked with John and Marion for a while, then it was time for us too to go home. Just as we were leaving the rain came on. It had been predicted, but I think we were just too busy playing with Erin to notice.

We drove home through the M74 busy with homeward bound workers. I’m glad we don’t have to work anymore!

PoD was a wet Rudbeckia flower from the garden.

Tomorrow we may go in to Glasgow to see the start of the Merchant City Festival.

In the Ancient Woods – 16 July 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today Alex and I went for a walk in the woods.

Special woods, these were the ancient Cadzow Oaks. They are estimated to be nearly 800 years old. Many have fallen now and some have been vandalised, but a gallant few are still alive and producing leaves and acorns.

It’s not a long walk from the cafe in the country park to the oaks, and it’s all downhill to start with to cross the Duke’s Bridge over the Avon Water, but then it’s a drag of a walk back up the other side to the oaks themselves. However, it’s worth the walk. It really is. It puts me in my place every time I see them, amazed that they are still standing, still producing leaves and acorns after about 800 years. I sat for a while today just looking at these giants, and some of them are giants, imaging how the landscape would have looked back in the time of Robert the Bruce when the trees were just saplings.

We had been hoping for the sunny skies the weather fairies had promised, but although the skies were clear in the early morning, by the time we got to the oaks, we were treated to a white sky and the very occasional break in the clouds.

Strangely, Alex and I took exactly 45 photos each today. Not a great score, but enough for us to need another coffee back at the cafe to sustain us. After that I drove back home, via Motherwell to drop Alex off at his house. He suggested Glasgow for our next outing, all being well. I think I agree with him. It’s been about a month since we’ve been. There will surely be something new to photograph.

Scamp made Carrot & Lentil Curry for dinner. It was a bit salty, but will improve and settle into itself in a day or two.

As regards yesterday’s computer disaster, the laptop and the desktop computers are linked with iCloud Drive. The laptop is almost back to normal, but the desktop is hanging by a thread now. One nudge in the wrong direction and it will be curtains. So I’m afraid I’m going to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I’m intending going in to Glasgow this week to ask one of the ‘Geniuses’ at Apple for their recommendation, but I know it will be a case of don’t fix it, buy new.

PoD was the remains of a fallen Cadzow Oak with a live Beech tree behind.

Tomorrow I’m intending to drive to Falkirk tomorrow to pick up some coffee from “Henry’s At Home” my go-to place for decent coffee beans. Meanwhile Scamp is hoping to pick up her repaired bracelet, also in Falkirk.

A bit of a computer disaster – 15 July 2025

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I’m having a bit of a problem withe the iMac and with MacBook Pro.

What should have been a simple clearing out of the iCloud Drive went a bit awry on the iMax and I ended up losing my ‘diary’ – Day One. I also lost some data from the MBP, but for some reason Day One on the MBP wasn’t affected. Hopefully I’ll get is sorted out in a few days. Until then I’m going to be jumping between my Macs. That’s what I get for not making backups!!

As you can see, I can even get the PoD displayed, so it’s not so desperate. It’s a wild Cranesbill flower

Possibly going out for a photowalk with Alex tomorrow. That might clear my head.

Going for the messages – 14 July 2025

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Monday is traditionally shopping day and we drove to Morrisons in Falkirk, in the rain. We were delighted to see some real rain today, just as long as it doesn’t think that it’s staying for good. Scamp got her grass seed scattered and washed in with the prospect of more scattering tomorrow, all being well.

We wandered round Morrisons and bought more than we really should have, but that’s the problem when you’re not shopping in your local supermarket, you keep finding new things on the shelves and adding them to your trolley. Then you realise how little space you have left in it. Anyway, as we were piling the shopping into the blue car, I said to myself, Well, that’s something done.

My main complaint with Morrisons is that the cafe was closing at 2.30pm. This seems to be a common occurrence in the Falkirk shop. The slightest thing causes the shop to shut. It’s raining. Oops we’ll need to close the cafe. Don’t they want to make money?

Scamp had an old bracelet that needed a new clasp and there is a wee jewellers in Falkirk she trusts with her fragile things, so we managed to get two things done in the same place. The bracelet should be ready for collection on Thursday. Two tasks completed.

While Scamp was off explaining what she wanted done to the bracelet, I was sent off to Waterstones to browse the books. I did see two I liked the look of, but of course I didn’t write down their titles. Instead Scamp met me and we went for a coffee in Nero across the road. I thought I’d manage to drop in to Waitrose on the way to the car and snap the titles on my phone, but only one was still there on the stand. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the other one, but with an interesting cover, I’m sure I’d recognise it again. At least I had one title safely in the phone.

On the way back to the car we passed Falkirk Trinity Church. Even in the rain it looked really good, and after a few shots I got what I wanted and with a little bit of work at home it would become PoD. Task number three completed. We drove home in the rain.

Tonight was the start of the Monday dance class with Kirsty. The plan was to begin with a Foxtrot. As with most of the dances we do, Kirsty takes them forward very slowly to make sure nobody is left behind. I think she sometimes takes too much time to it, but usually Scamp starts shoving me around the floor and that is when I see that it it isn’t all that different from the routines we use in Stewart and Jane’s classes. Sometimes the names are slightly different, but my feet know where they are going, because we’ve walked through those techniques many times at Brookfield. It’s really just muscle memory, or parts of it. By the end of the night, things were clicking into place. More Foxtrotting may be planned for next week, all being well.

Tomorrow it looks like more rain for us. Good for the garden.

 

 

 

Now that’s better – 13 July 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A slightly cooler day. Much more like what we expect in Scotland in July.

I wasn’t feeling great in the morning and ended up having toast and tea for lunch while Scamp had her usual Sunday fry up. After a pretty lacklustre Laura Kuenssberg offering we allocated each other jobs to do in the garden

It may have been cooler, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Scamp was determined to get both the front and the back grass cut and I let her get on with it after I’d moved all sixteen plant pots out on to the path to allow her a clear run with the mower. I also evicted at least twenty slugs from their previous living quarters under the pots, then rehoused them in the bushes in front of the house.

The sweet peas have been growing at an astonishing rate and really needed some extra support. The wind was getting strong too, so I cut and tied some bamboo canes to prevent the sweet peas from getting broken. I know they aren’t as delicate as they seem, but wee bit extra wood and twine wouldn’t do any harm. They now reach almost 2m in height. Scamp thinks we will need to pinch out the growing tips to force the growth into the body of the plant. I think she’s right.

With the tasks and the front and back grass successfully cut, we could rest for a while. I still had to find a PoD and walked round St Mo’s to see if there were any contenders. The first thing I saw was a curved and twisted bunch of sycamore seeds, probably not this year’s growth, but almost definitely last year’s. That was PoD, but further into my travels, I came upon a Clouded Border Moth. Tiny little thing smaller that a 10p coin. First time I’ve seen one or even heard of one. Must look out for them.

Dinner was a demo by Scamp of the best ways to make an omelette. She did her’s one way and I did mine as directed. Both ways worked and both were different. I’ll try to repeat the exercise this week.

Spoke to Jamie and found that their temperature yesterday was almost exactly the same as ours, about 400 miles apart. It’s a strange world. I think they might be considering buying an air fryer. I know Scamp says they are bulky and probably not much use to us, but it might be interesting to hear their opinions if they do get one.

Hope the temperatures continue to drop gently for a few days and that there is some rain, both for England and Scotland. The gardens need it.

 

A late night leads to a late morning – 12 July 2025

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We were slow to rise today. Too much moon gazing last night.

It was going to be another hot one today, in fact the temperature did reach 29ºc in the afternoon, as predicted by the weather fairies. We did attempt to sit outside at the front of the house, but had to give in and move to the back garden, despite a whole bunch of children from next door, all having a wonderful and noisy time splashing in a paddling pool. Water and Sun are the main constituents for fun when you’re under 10, I think. I can’t really testify to that, but I do remember going with my mum on a bus that took us down to Millheugh and going paddling among the rocks in the shallow water to catch minnows which we called Minnens. I also remember stepping on a broken bottle there and getting a taken back to the doctor’s in Larkhall in one of my mum’s friend’s car to have it checked out. I’ve still got the scar to this day. No stitches nor anything, just a big plaster and either TCP or Dettol.

Back to the 21st century, Scamp and I had lunch inside because it was too hot outside today. Later we found a fairly cool spot in the back garden after the noisy weans had gone somewhere else. Scamp and I went for a walk in St Mo’s which is where today’s PoD came from. It’s a Common Blue Damselfly and it sat there posing for ages. A big blue dragonfly was patrolling the pond at the time, but it hardly stopped its circuit, so I didn’t get a photo of it. Sometimes they choose a resting site, a boulder or a bulrush that it will cling to for a while as it scours the pond for interlopers, but not today. Too busy.

I was on dinner duty today. Scamp had made a lovely light salad a couple of days ago, but mine was going to be different. A mixture of sweet and savoury. An apple, a pear, strawberries, beetroot, cucumber and lots more went into the bowl, along with cooked chicken breast pieces and some lettuce. I was quite proud of my creation. It was based on a salad Simonne had made for us a year ago. It was a success, I’m glad to say.

Thankfully the temperature is going down again as the sun sets. We’re hoping for a slightly cooler day tomorrow too.

Another day in the sun – 12 July 2025

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Scamp was out in the early afternoon, meeting a friend for lunch.

While she was out, I started dismantling a couple of bird feeders. One had been partly demolished by a squirrel a couple of weeks ago. The other one was almost new, but just wasn’t fulfilling the brief, so it too was being taken to pieces. The problem with the second feeder was that when I was filling it with the fine seeds I’d been using ran right through it. I reckoned I needed a baffle or a temporary block in the metal mesh tube that makes up the body of the feeder. I cut a piece of brush handle and roughly shaped it so that it would reduce the volume of seeds going into the tube. Then I needed to fit the wooden block into the mesh tube and screw it in place. It took me some time and a lot of swearing to get it into the place I’d selected for it.

On the first test, it seemed as if the model worked, but still too much seed was flowing down the tube and out at the bottom. I set it up hanging from a tree branch in the garden and it appears to work … partly. Now I think I need to reduce the seed flow a bit more.

By the time I’d cleared up the workbench and most of the mess, Scamp had arrived back home. With the temperature rising we had lunch in the garden and discussed our mornings. Then, as the sun was brightening the back garden we sat and read for a while. PoD was two Osteospermum flowers soaking up the sun

We were heading to Larky for dinner with Crawford and Nancy in the evening and we sat on their patio and blethered for an hour and a bit, had a light dinner inside and then retired to the patio again to get a conducted tour of the garden. Later we watched the full moon rise and rise above the trees. A very mystical sight and one I’ll remember for a long time, I think.

We drove home and arrived back at the house just after midnight. A wee dram for me and a G ’n’ T for Scamp completed a lovely day out with friends. I’ll remember the guitar next time Crawford … promise.

Tomorrow the temperature is forecast to be at its highest. With 29ºc predicted.

Sitting in the sun – 10 July 2025

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Scamp was up early to go to the hairdressers. I didn’t need my hair dressed, so I stayed at home.

Scamp returned home looking wonderful and without a hair out of place not long after I started today’s Wordle et al puzzles. She had about an hour free before her next appointment, this time with Isobel.

When she had left to meet Isobel, I took one of our folding seats out to the front and read another chapter of “Stone and Sky”, the latest Ben Aaronovitch book. It’s probably the most confusing Rivers of London book I’ve read so far. I keep thinking I’ve read it before, but I haven’t. Sometimes it reads like a Young Adult book, sometimes it’s Police Procedural. Sometimes it’s about fairies and unicorns. Always it’s worth reading and now at book ten in the series, it’s getting complicated, but I know it will mostly all turn out fine in the end.

It was hot today. Not just warm, but hot. I think the maximum temperature that was reached was just over 25ºc which is hot for Scotland. Tonight the weather fairies were warning us that it’s going to be even hotter tomorrow. I don’t think I can take much more of this heatwave nonsense!

After Scamp returned with all the gossip from her meeting with Isobel, we had lunch and Scamp went in to Gardener mode and I just kept out of the way. Eventually I decided to take a walk to St Mo’s and get some photos. There didn’t seem to be too much insect or animal activity, so I headed down past the back of St Mo’s school and found today’s PoD waiting for me. As far as I can see the mating insects are Five Spot Burnet Moths, but what is the creature below them, breaking free of its cocoon? Another Burnet Moth perhaps? It doesn’t look like one. Maybe some clever person will be able to ID it.

Dinner tonight was a salad with baby potatoes, beetroot, feta cheese, prawns and lettuce. I’ve probably missed something out, but you get the idea. We washed it down with a half bottle of Bijou white wine. Highly recommended!

And that was about it for today. A hot day due to get even hotter tomorrow. Speaking about tomorrow, we’re hoping to go out for dinner with our pals in Larky.

 

 

Things to do – 9 July 2025

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It’s not often I have a list of things to do in the morning, but today I had.

I was up and showered early(ish) this morning and drove to the health centre to book an appointment for my annual check-up along with the inevitable blood letting. Just for a change I got a pleasant receptionist who actually helped me without any of their usual harrumphing. It won’t last, I told myself. The next time I come in, it will be Gort the Alien. Anyway, I got the appointment for the blood letting and for the dreaded meeting with one of the sisters. I don’t know if there are any doctors in the health centre now. It seems to be run by the receptionists and the sisters or the nurses.

Relieved that one of my tasks had been completed, I drove on to Tesco, Big Tesco as it’s known in the town. Every time I shop there, I feel that things have been moved and even the direction arrows have been rearranged to make it more easily accessible. At least that’s what we’re told, but I think they just do it to ensure that you walk the longest distance, searching, always searching for that lightly seeded brown loaf or the pot of flat leaved parsley that used to be in the same section as the leeks, but which has now disappeared completely. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve seen others like me wandering the aisles with the same blank look as me. However, today I did find almost all the items that were on my mental list (I’d left the physical list at home). Feeling fairly please that I’d managed to get most things on my list and therefore ticked the second box, I drove home.

Back home, Scamp was repotting some of yesterday’s plants and pruning others. I decided I’d tidy up the Rhododendron by removing the old flower stems. It’s a fairly easy task and I’d already cleared half of it a week or so ago. The bush looks so much better now it’s done.

Later I took my A7ii fitted with a 50mm f2.8 macro lens and proceeded to photograph a few flowers in the back garden. My favourite, and PoD turned out to be a close up of a wild orchid. I used manual focus with Peak set to medium and Red. That was a note to self, as I’m sure you guessed. Just in case I look back at the photo some day and ask myself how I took it! Simple.

Dinner was a mixture of pastas with mushrooms, tomatoes and onions, with a squirt of tomato paste and half a tin of chopped tomatoes. A typical “what have we got in the fridge?” dinner.

Tomorrow, Scamp is booked to go to the hairdresser in the morning and I’m intending to read in bed.

Out for a spin – 8 July 2025

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Just a run round old haunts.

We spoke to Hazel on a bright sunny morning. We had a good blether about people we knew and books we’d been reading. Caught up with what the foxes were doing, which was appropriate, because foxes were playing a big part in my book today.

Once we were all up to date with each other, Scamp and I struggled and complained about Wordle and all its hangers on. We seem to do nothing but moan about the links the setters find for the morning puzzles, but we still do them religiously, every day.

We both agreed that the weather was too good to waste sitting in the house and we went for a drive over to Gouldings Garden Centre in Rosebank partly to have a spot of lunch and partly so Scamp could ogle the plants on display. Scamp had Mac ’n’ Cheese for lunch and I had what was advertised as Chilli con Carne. I’m not so sure there was a great deal of Carne in the Chilli. There did seem to be a little bit of sugar in it though, which was strange. Scamp said her Mac ’n’ Cheese was a bit sweet too. Hmm were Gouldings kitchen trying to mask something in their lunch menu? Maybe.
When we were leaving with a handful of plants each, I bumped into an ex-teacher, with his wife. It’s been ages since I’ve met him, but he hasn’t changed … thankfully.

We drove along Clydeside for a while and then turned off, heading for Kirkmuirhill and found ourselves behind a slow moving tractor on what was in effect a single lane road. It was a slow crawl through Auchinheath to Kirkmuirhill where eventually the tractor turned off and we had the road to ourselves. Eventually reaching Lidl in Larkhall where we got a flowerpot for one of the new plants and a bottle of Hortus gin for me. I think Scamp enjoyed the run in the country and so did I. We’ve now gathered a few more plants for filling up borders and replacing older ones.

I took a camera and a 50mm f2.8 macro lens out for a walk when we got back. Got a couple of decent shots among the many I took. PoD went to a Cucumber Spider wrapping up its prey. The spider is easily recognised. It’s bright green with a red spot on its bum.

Tomorrow I should book my annual bloodletting at the doc’s, since they asked so nicely, and there may be plants that need a new home.