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Round the pond

Posted on by Zogman

And into the bog.

It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and light fluffy clouds. The only problem was we had no destination in mind to view this wonderful day from. After a lot of procrastination we finally settled on Broadwood Loch with the added extension of the walk through the woods. So, booted up, we set off into the morning.

I’m not that keen on the walk round Broadwood. Apart from the resident swans and the cormorants there’s not much of interest to see there, but the extension into the woodland does sometimes spring a few surprises, like the occasional deer which seem to view humans as a necessary part of the landscape and nothing to get fussed about. There were no deer today though. What we did find was a fir tree with Christmas baubles hanging from its branches. We had no idea why someone would provide this entertainment for people visiting the woodland, but it created a photo opportunity.

Further into the woods, we came to the part that’s usually flooded and that was the state of it today. I went first as Genghis Pathfinder trying to find the best way through the mud and murky water. I picked the wrong route and sank ankle deep in the mud, backtracked and discovered the water was only half as deep. As I led Scamp through the water which barely covered the rubber soles of her boots, a bloke coming the opposite way decided that it would be safer to go back the way he had come than to risk his new trainers getting dirty or wet. Actually both of us got through with dry feet. More a testament to the construction of our footwear than to my navigation skills.

We were past the worst of the wetland and walked on round the remainder of the loch and then past the exercise machines to the shops. Curry for dinner and ice cream for afters was the reason for the visit and we headed for home feeling so much better for the walk.

After lunch I decided I needed more photos to bolster my small collection from the morning’s walk. I brushed off most of the mud from my jeans and put my boots back on then carrying the 105mm macro lens on my Sony A7, I walked over to St Mo’s. I missed a deer on the other side of the road, deep in the woods, but got a few shots of Cladonia lichen in a nice little bit of afternoon light in the boggy area near the motorway slip road. Quite happy with the afternoon’s haul, I headed back over St Mo’s park and found that some kind soul had planted some crocuses into the grass. Nice little splash of blue/purple and those were the last shots today, but they didn’t quite make the cut.

M&S curry for dinner. Chicken for me and Veg for Scamp with ice cream to follow. I actually sat and read for a while tonight after the photos were posted on Flickr. The book was The Second Cut by Louise Welsh . Good story, but better read as the sequel to The Cutting Room which I read 20 years ago! TWENTY YEARS AGO!! PoD was one of the Cladonia pictures. The Christmas tree in Broadwood is on Flickr too.

We have no plans for tomorrow, but the weather looks good.

 

Today we went on an adventure – 4 March 2022

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We went in to Glasgow on the bus.

When was the last time you were on a bus? That was the question Scamp asked me today when we were waiting for the X28. I was on a bus last year, but she didn’t reveal when she was last on a bus. It was an experience. Another little step on the road to ‘normal’ whatever ‘normal’ will be once we get there. We deliberately chose the ‘fast bus’ rather than the X3 which takes about four days to get in to the city from our house, or at least it feels like that.

We started our expedition with a wander round JL. There was nothing interesting for me in the ‘toy shop’. Big boys’ toys that is. Computers, cameras and lenses. Nothing interestingly cheap enough to actually spend money on. Scamp was looking for dresses for the two weddings we’re invited to in May. There was nothing much for her in JL either. One dress she liked the style of, but not the colour. Others she said she had dismissed, but still wanted to show me. I think she was just hoping I’d cast my tailor’s eye over them and say “I could make that one”, but I didn’t. I restrict my tailoring skills to taking up the legs of a pair of jeans, these days.

From there we walked down Buchanan Galleries. Now I often call Buchanan Street ‘Bucky Street’, but ‘Bucky Galleries’ just doesn’t have the same ring. At the end of the Galleries Scamp disappeared into a shop and went for a walk. I was pulled back to the shop with a swift phone call to ask where I thought I was going. Apparently I was meant to wait outside the shop like a good little boy. My usual reply to commands like that is “Hope you’ve got your bus pass, ‘cause it’s a long walk home.” Of course that didn’t work this time. We both had our bus passes, and no car to take us home. Going out without the car is sometimes almost as scary as going out without your phone. Anyway my advice was required on another dress which had already been rejected. This time I was more agreeable and suggested she try it on. Actually, I had to agree that it suited her once I saw it on. She bought it. Photos will be sent to interested parties. To celebrate, we went to Paesano for a pizza lunch. Well it was Friday after all. On the way there we wandered past the next place they had started filming. Again turning Glasgow into Gotham for Batgirl or some such American nonsense.

We walked down to Argyle Street to peruse the dress offerings of M&S, but nothing took her eye. We walked back to Cafe Nero at St Enoch’s then to Waterstones because I’d a book token burning a hole in my pocket, but I couldn’t find the book I was planning to use it on. Up Bucky Street and home on the X37 which was just as quick as the X28 in the morning. It was a beautiful day, all day. The weather fairies had it wrong with their threats of heavy clouds and rain. You can’t trust anybody these days.

PoD was a view down Virginia Street to the buildings at the end which seem to crowd in on one another. If you view it on Flickr you will notice that it’s had it’s GPS location stamped on it and it’s been mapped automatically by the software. Neat little trick of linking the camera to an app on the phone by bluetooth. Impressed? I was!

Tomorrow looks like a good day again. Let’s see if we go anywhere interesting.

 

Off to look at the flowers – 3 March 2022

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We were off to Torwood today to look at the flowers and probably buy some.

As it happened, it was only me who got some flowers and Scamp got grass. It was good to see a business starting to build itself up again after the damage Covid has done to so many. Everywhere there were rolling cages of plants being unpacked and put into displays. Spring was springing up. Scamp got two little ornamental grasses. Last year she got one and it has survived the winter winds, the snow and the ice and has come back smiling. I couldn’t understand the reason she liked it, but now I do. It brings a little bit of movement to a dull season. The new two will increase that interest and movement. I got a tri-colour buddleia, something I’ve never seen before. I’ll be interested to see how it turns out.

Today’s PoD was another flower. This time, from the garden. The flower is a Heleborus Orientalis Lenten Rose (Christmas Rose) which is just beginning to flower. I don’t know what I was doing wrong here, but this was the only acceptable shot I got of it on a calm day, so it wasn’t a problem with the wind buffeting the flowers. With a good sharp lens, and with a good camera. The only weak point was the finger that pressed the shutter. I must take the blame for the twenty odd shots that went in the bin. There’s another good shot of a trio of crocuses (‘croci’ sounds so affected although it is grammatically correct) on Flickr.

I was supposed to be meeting Alex tomorrow, but we both agreed that the weather had taken a turn for the worse and as he’s on duty as taxi driver incase his daughter’s baby decides it’s time to face the world, he’d better stay near home. It makes sense and family must always come first.

Weather tomorrow doesn’t look good, but we might go in to Glasgow on the bus. Long time since we’ve done that.

 

Off to Bombay – 2 March 2022

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Not the hot place, but the place in Hamilton where they make the hot stuff.

It was a dull and wet day in the morning and we couldn’t decide where to go. I think it was me who suggested Bombay Cottage in Hamilton where they make good curries and great big naan bread that is baked to order. Scamp wanted our plain naan ‘well done’ and when it came it was indeed singed beautifully. My curry which was a Chicken Salsa-Syrah was a bit tasteless but hot. Scamp had her usual Cauliflower Shimla Bhaji which was fine, but the sauce was a bit thin. However, it’s the naan and the ice cream that are the stars in this curry house. There is nothing much to see in Hamilton now, so we just drove home.

In the afternoon I went out for a photo walk and brought back one decent shot of a sycamore seed sprouting in the leaf litter and another of a man walking down the much photographed lane between Condorrat and the new shops. This truly is the path that keeps giving. After some consideration, the sprouting baby tree got PoD.

When I came home there was Scamp with a big smile and an equally big bunch of flowers that had come from John & Marion with a card that said “Hope you’re recovering well after your operation”. Isn’t that nice.

I’d intended going out with Alex for a walk and a blether on Friday because the weather seemed to be picking up for the weekend. However, today it looks like Friday will be dull and wet, so he’s suggested we call off until next week. I think it’s a good idea too. We might go for a coffee in Hamilton or Motherwell, if the weather is too bad for a walk. I just want to lust after his new camera which is almost as good as mine, just almost.

Tomorrow also looks wet. We haven’t got any definite plans, but if there’s a dry spell we may risk a walk.

Here’s a thought. I was just browsing on the ‘net and found the Berghaus page. Did you know that they’ll repair any jacket, trousers or boots free of charge. That’s their commitment to Reuse – Repair – Recycle. Wouldn’t it be good if more places did that. I don’t see Apple or Dell doing it though!

Hoping for a dry hour tomorrow.

 

The first day of meteorological spring – 1 March 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Ok, not the real first day of spring, but if it makes us feel like it’s warming up I’ll go with the meteorologists.

It was a beautiful ‘spring’ day but I just didn’t feel like going out. I can’t describe it, it’s almost like I was coming down with a cold, but it wasn’t that either. It wasn’t Covid, because I did a lateral flow and that was ruled out. I just felt sort of ‘washed out’. Scamp reckons it’s the stress of the last few weeks leading up to her eye op and that could be true. I felt so bad because it was such a lovely day and here was I keeping both of us in the house when we could be out walking in the fresh air.

After lunch which for me was tea and toast, we did go out and did a couple of circuits of St Mo’s pond which brightened me up a bit. So much so that when we came back, I started making a pot of soup. A ‘what’s in the fridge’ pot of soup. Then I went out and put some air into Scamp’s car tyres. They were really very flat and I hope she notices the difference the next time she drives it.

I’d taken a few shots in St Mo’s one of which was a rather nice view across the pond, but it was almost an exact copy of one I’d produced last month, so I couldn’t really use it as a PoD. The actual PoD is a bunch of catkins and I realise I’ve used catkins last month too, but these were on a different tree so that’s ok by my rules.

After a bit of coaxing, I eventually got word from Sony that my request for a winter cash back on the new camera has been ratified and should be in the bank within 28 days. It’s only taken a fortnight and four emails to get them to admit it. They make wonderful equipment, but their after sales service is second to everybody’s!

I have no more sketches to do. The last one was posted yesterday and as far as that is concerned, I am free. Once I’ve posted this, my work is finished and I can go to bed early for a change and hopefully wake refreshed tomorrow. No plans for tomorrow. I misread the weather for today. It’s tomorrow the rain is due, but hopefully a dry morning.

Coffee with Isobel – 28 February 2022

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Coffee with Isobel in Costa. Always an entertainment.

I was glad the company was good, because the coffee was awful. Watery liquid with no taste of coffee. You should watch some time and see how much hot water goes into the cup and how little coffee. However, that wasn’t why we were there. It was just a chance for Scamp and Isobel to catch up on recent events. Isobel goes for her pre-assessment on Wednesday and was full of questions for Sheila.

After an hour and a half or so, we went our separate ways. Isobel to meet a friend and us to go and get the messages in Tesco. Drove to Craigmarloch and frightened ourselves with the price of petrol. Nearly £1.50 per litre! I don’t know if I can afford to fill up the tank of the wee blue car.

After lunch I went out for a walk in St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which was another larch flower. It looked as if it and the pine cone were having a discussion, or more likely that the pine cone was giving the new arrival some hints and tips for an easy life in the woods. Or is that just me being stupid again. It’s called Anthropomorphism, just in case you are wondering. Then I thought the larch flower looked like a wee cup cake. I don’t think there is a name for that and I do believe I should severely reduce my alcohol intake in the mornings!!

When I came home and was perusing the photos I’d taken, I noticed the sun had come out for the first time today. It had been noticeably missing when I was out walking.

Today’s final prompt was Happy. This is me sitting at the table trying to think up something to draw for the final sketch of February 2022. I think that this is fitting. I’m happy that I’ve finished all 28 again. As always, it’s been a struggle some nights, but it was good to get ‘likes’ and even some comments, so thank you for your ‘reactions’ as FB describes it. It does make you want to continue and gives value to the sketches and paintings. Also, a thank you to my wife for being my most honest critic. I don’t think I’ll torture myself with an Every Day in March, but maybe I’ll participate in the May edition, if I’m allowed, DV.

Spoke to Fred tonight and he was asking how Scamp was getting on. Then we discussed the quality of work on Landscape Artist of the Year and what we’d have done to improve it. While Fred and I were talking, Scamp was talking weddings and outfits with Jacqueline (Big Jac). Later Jamie phoned and we discovered that the survey of the roof timbers of the house had found that the woodworm was historical and nothing needed to be done, but as usual, other timbers needed strengthening. Good news and bad news. That’s the way of the world. You just hope that the good outweighs the bad, because there’s usually little you can do about it anyway.

So with that thought, I don’t think we have any plans for tomorrow. It looks like rain.

A beautiful day – 27 February 2022

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We got up and went out this morning, pointing the blue car at Auchinstarry.

We were lucky to get one of the last spaces in the car park, then it was off on foot along the canal footpath as far as Twechar. Hardly a breeze to ruffle the surface of the Forth & Clyde canal. The path was busy with walkers taking advantage of the first decent day for at least a week. Lots of cyclist, most of whom were sensible enough to have a bell that worked on their bike. I was thinking I should really get my Dewdrop out and give it a run in the fresh air, but that’s all it was, just a thought!

At Twechar we met up with a wee group of boys, about 12 years old hanging over the barrier trying to get passing motorists to toot their horn at them. This must be ‘entertainment’ in Twechar. No TVs, no computers and no Xbox for them. Just a toot from a car sends them into hoots of laughter. One of the boys who may have been twelve but had the seriousness of a 90 year old great-grandfather agreed with Scamp that it was a lovely morning and told us that it was “good to get out in, er, nature”. I think he thought he was taking the mick! Probably another Twechar pastime.

We crossed the road and the sound of the toots and the laughter followed us for a while until we reached to path to take us back to the car. I’d brought the Sony A7 today and I found a great subject for it in the bank of snowdrops just beside the path. So good to see so many of them all flowering at the same time. We walked on, but apart from some shots of the Campsie Fells, there wasn’t much to entice me. Scamp just enjoys the walk and I sometimes feel I hold her back with my constant stops for photos.

Back home and after lunch I wrote to Alex to see if he was up for a photo walk this week. At present, Friday looks the best day. Then I grabbed the A7 with the posh macro lens and went hunting for the mysterious Female Larch Flowers. The female flowers are big and showy in pinks and yellows. They sit upright, usually at the end of a branch, looking like miniature pineapples. The male flowers are fairly insignificant little things that hang down from the branches in groups and are limited to yellow. There were a lot of the female flowers today. I got quite a few shots of them. Last year there were hardly any.

Today’s prompt was True Colours. I listened to the song until about halfway through and switched it off. I decided there was nothing inspirational in there.
No, I had to change my thinking on this one. There is no such thing as a true colour. There is no true blue or red or yellow. Ultramarine blue tend to purple, as does Alizarin Crimson. Lemon Yellow tends towards green, and that’s just the primaries. Once you get into secondary and tertiary colours it’s just a big mess. So that was my starting point for today’s sketch: My watercolour palette. Not one true colour in the box and as you will notice I ignore the teachers’ warnings not to start mixing colours in the pots. I just go for it. All the colours in the box started out as tube colours, squeezed out into pots and they looked pretty for about a day, then as they dried, they darkened and that gets us to a whole new argument about True Colours. Here endeth the lesson on colour theory. Maybe I’ll be a bit “Happier” tomorrow!

Booked for coffee with Isobel tomorrow.

Not the ‘C’ word! – 27 February 2022

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Today the weather started out dull and stayed that way.

Some days are like that, you just have to take them and do what you can with what you have. We weren’t in a rush to go out, but had decided we’d go to Culross in Fife. Then Hazy phoned. She wanted to find out all about the eye op and I think Scamp was happy to relate all the gory details. We also found out about what was happening down south too. Just as we were finishing the conversation she asked where we were going and when Scamp hesitated and tried to hedge round the answer, Hazy gave me the title of today’s blog when she said “Not the ‘C’ word!!” Hazel detests Culross for some reason. Thanks for that Hazy.

We drove over to Fife and tried to convince each other that the clouds were lifting. They weren’t, they were just getting ripped apart by the wind and then joining up again even thicker than before. However, we got parked in Culross and managed a walk along the long path beside the Firth of Forth. Along the way I got a few photos and my favourite was one of the an old chain padlocked to a mooring ring on Culross pier. Not a lot of directional light to give shadows, but you work with what you’re given.

It was cold and on the way back along the path we were walking into the cold westerly wind, so when we got to the car I suggested we try a couple of tacos from a wee stall across from the car park. Tacos were fine, but the stall didn’t sell coffee. What an oversight. Culross in February and you don’t think to sell hot drinks? A lost opportunity there, I think. Drove home and still the weather didn’t improve.

Today’s prompt was Down Under with a link to the Men At Work video from last century. This was the most sketchable or paintable image I could find from the video. To think we laughed at this back in the eighties, because we thought it was funny. I’m sure Colin Hay has made a few dollars from that piece of music, but he’s made a whole lot of better music since, IMO.

Weather tomorrow is to be better than today’s. We’ll believe it when we see it.

Woke at 7am – 25 February 2022

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I hadn’t intended waking at 7am.

I was just so tired last night I forgot to cancel the alarm on my watch. It’s cancelled now. Oh yes it’s been warned that if it does that again it’s going out the window. If I’m feeling generous I might even open the window first.

I got a message from Jamie asking how the patient was and telling me that there was a parcel arriving here between 11am and 2.30pm. I reckoned I could keep a secret for a few hours. It was a lovely bright morning. Cold but the sun was shining. We watched one of our neighbours nearly take a tumble on the ice sheet that had appeared overnight on the path outside. That meant we weren’t going anywhere soon, which meant I didn’t have to tell too many lied keep Scamp at home until the parcel arrived. We did go out to have a look round the front garden and that was where I found today’s PoD. One little yellow crocus flower poking its head out above the grass. I’d initially taken it just because it looked good, shining in the morning sun. It turned out to be almost the one picture I took today.

It was after lunch before the parcel arrived. Scamp answered the door and carried in a big blue box with ‘Moonpig’ written in pink. No guesses who had sent this one. Inside was a big bottle of sparkling rosé wine and a box of posh chocolates. They have now been sampled and found to be just as good as you’d expect. Scamp very kindly allowed me to help her test them! Nice card. We both laughed.  We both appreciated these gifts.  You are all lovely people.

After an exchange of messages we went for a walk round St Mo’s and then on to the shops to get a Friday Pizza. It’s going back to the old Friday tradition, I think! We also got a box of ice cream, just in case the pizza, wine and chocolates didn’t fill us up entirely and we were peckish later.

After dinner which was pizza, of course, we watched another uninspired episode of Death In Paradise. As Scamp says, we only watch it for the music and the scenery which is lucky, because the acting is stilted and the plots are terrible.

Yesterday’s prompt was Black & White. I chose a piano keyboard as the typical case of black and white. I know I should have looked more deeply at this subject and researched the hidden meanings in the Michael Jackson song, but sometimes the literal answer is the best one. This is version 3 of the drawing. The first one is generally the best with me, but it was just too rough and version 2 which drawn using a ruler and a 0.7 pencil was too neat and tidy, although the perspective was much more accurate. The ‘Goldilocks Version’ you see here was just right to my eyes and was drawn today, because yesterday had been a long day that started about 6am and finished after midnight. Something had to give and, unfortunately, it was the sketch.

Today’s prompt was The Love Cats.
I don’t really love cats and I’m not a great fan of The Cure either. Having said that, I’d much rather have a cat in the house than a dog, just not this particular cat. This is not a ‘puddy tat’. This is a true Scottish Wildcat and it would do you up a treat, mate, given half a chance. There’s not much love in those eyes. Getting rare now in Scotland and reduced to a few mating pairs in the highlands. Still a fearsome creature to meet on a dark night. This was drawn from a photograph I took in 2005 and I still love that look. So, I suppose, in a way it IS a Love Cat!

Tomorrow we’re hoping to get out for a longer walk.

Out early – 24 February 2022

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The alarm rang at 7am and we had to be out before 8am.

A phone call yesterday asking if we could make it in to Braehead to the eye clinic for, say, 8.50am instead of 10am? We said yes, having already planned our leaving time after considering the traffic on the route. Today we were allowing an extra fifteen minutes or so for rush hour traffic. Then there was the threat of snow and high winds, leading to blizzard conditions. Let’s aim for an hour and ten minutes for a trip that would normally take about twenty minutes. The threat of snow had materialised into real snow this morning. We left at about 7.45am and Google Maps though that should be enough.

Snow wasn’t too bad to start with and on the motorway at that time of a morning you’re riding in someone else’s tyre tracks anyway. Just stay in line and keep the pace. Actually we arrived with a few minutes to spare. I walked Scamp to the clinic door, from the snow covered car park and told her I’d see her in about two and a bit hours. Drove home by the alternative route on the M74/M73. Same tyre tracks maybe even the same car, who knows. Took about the same time too. Had a coffee and solved today’s Sudoku then the phone rang. The bloke said the op had gone well, no problem and Scamp would be ready to pick up in about 15 mins. I wasted no time getting into the tyre tracks again and Scamp was waiting for me when I parked the car. Drove home through various clumps of falling snow, some sleety, some large light fluffy flakes, some just dirty spray. I’d meant to wash the car at the beginning of the week. I’m glad I didn’t now, it would have been such a waste of time. Also glad I had fitted the new wipers!

Another coffee and time to relax a bit. I did go out later to get a pair of swimming goggles for Scamp. Apparently they are recommended for patients after eye surgery so they can use the shower without getting their eyes wet. Then I left the car at home and walked over to St Mo’s to take a photo for the PoD. It’s actually one I took from the door step. Miniature daffodils poking through the slush that used to be virgin white snow.

Dinner was a cut down version of Bacon and Borlotti Beans. It was more a “what have you got in the fridge?” version.

No sketch yet, because I’d dog tired and am going to bed. Scamp has already gone to bed she looks shattered, but she says she can see much better now that both eyes are done.  She said there was a ‘gritty’ feeling from the new lens, but that’s sometimes quite usual and it’s clearing up now.  I remember one of my eyes feeling like that after my cataract surgery.  Also there was some water leaking from one eye for a while this morning when she came home, but that seems to have cleared up now.  I’m sure she’s looking forward to getting the eye patch off tomorrow and seeing with both new eyes.

Today the Russians invaded Ukraine. Such a senseless waste. Such a senseless loss of life.

No plans for tomorrow yet. If the slush and the lying water freeze tonight we won’t be going far tomorrow.