Blog

Chasing the squirrels – 10 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Annoying little “rats with furry tails”.

When I was making the breakfast I spied a grey squirrel walking vertically down the fence and investigating the pot that Scamp had planted some of her bulbs in. Usually I just open the kitchen window and that’s enough to scare them away. Not this one. It just looked up at me and I swear it grinned. Rattling the back door had no effect on it either. It wasn’t until I’d opened the back door and started to walk across the garden that it decided a few bulbs weren’t worth the bother and scampered away. I know it’ll be back, but before it does, I’ll lay down some hot pepper. My mum used to swear by it for chasing away cats and other creatures from her garden.

It was a fairly decent day, although my weather app on my phone was warning about heavy rain coming tomorrow, so I kept that in mind. However, nothing much came of it today.

Scamp went out to get some bread and something to put between the slices for lunch. Afterwards I drove over to the town centre. What a sad looking place it is now. All the upper shopping area is boarded up, the ‘going down’ escalator is boarded up too, although the ‘going up’ side is still struggling along. For how long, is hard to say. I was looking for a hard drive for my computer and did find one there that did the job, even if it cost about twice what my old, full one, did.

I drove back via the east end of Broadwood Loch. I was fairly sure there would be some gulls preening on the outfall of the loch and I wasn’t disappointed. Lighting could have been better, but “Beggars and Choosers …” I managed to get a few decent shots, enough to make it worthwhile. Enough to make one of them PoD..

Back home it was time to get ready to go to Kirsty’s class. A disappointing class tonight. Only two couples and one girl without a partner. Scamp and I were agreed that Kirsty just wasn’t prepared for tonight’s class and was trying to ‘wing it’. I’ve tried that myself in the past and it rarely works out well. So it was tonight. Maybe she just had a bad night. We’ll give her another chance next week. It must be soul destroying teaching to five people.

Back home we had a slice of Focaccia which was ok, just ok. I think I could have made better, but at least the one we had was just ready to heat in the oven. A real focaccia takes ages to make. We watched the trilogy of Monday game shows we usually watch. Very informative and we even got some right!

Tomorrow we might head east,

 

 

Walking in the woods – 9 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

The day started with heavy rain showers, then the sun shone.

I didn’t believe the weather forecast, but after lunch the sun shone.
I didn’t think it would last, but it did. That’s me. Always the glass half empty.

I laced up my boots and went for a walk, deep into the woods. I hadn’t been in the deep woods for ages, but with the leaves falling continuously these days, there was more light than normal through the trees. I walked for a while, longer than I’d anticipated and by the time I was thinking it would be a good idea to head for home, the good light was gone. Then I found today’s PoD. I’ve no idea what variety of fungi this one belongs to, but I liked the shape and colour so I snapped a few shots of it. If I get a chance in the next few days I’ll go back in and try for some better shots.

I also found a dead drone in the middle of the woods. I meant to photograph its details. Such a simple thing to do with a phone. If I get back to photograph the fungi, hopefully I’ll find the drone at the same time.

Other than that, it was a fairly usual Sunday. Late to rise and wasted most of the day. I really need to get up and out earlier. People post such wonderful photos taken out walking the dog in the morning, or just after sunset. Mayne I should get a dog! (Only kidding, Scamp!)

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about his and Simonne’s week. It seemed like their week had been much like ours, with nothing much to report.

I bought a new pair of boots a month or so ago and haven’t worn them yet.  Yesterday’s walk gave me reason to question if one of my old  boots is leaking. Today’s walk confirmed it. It looks like I’m going to need to get the new boots out of their box and break them in gently.

So far, we have an unbooked day tomorrow. We may go out somewhere.

Dancin’ – 8 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We were dancing again at Brookfield.

Thankfully the heating was on today. Not to warm us up, though, it was to heat up the discussion room for the bowlers who were having their AGM or some other get together. We just benefitted from their excess heat.

First dance was the inevitable House of Bamboo. Thankfully we only did one round of it. Personally I don’t see the fascination of this old song, originally by Andy Williams in 1958. Heavens! that was almost as old as me! With that put back in its box for another couple of weeks, our first ‘real’ dance was The Christmas Waltz, also know by its other names, The Spring Waltz, The Summer Waltz, etc. It took a while, but it did eventually work its way into my little grey cells, and by about an hour it was almost there. It is actually quite a comfortable dance.

Next was a couple of sequence dances to give us a break from Christmas dances before we plunged into the Foxtrot we’ve been learning for a while. We were completing it today, by adding the final section. It, too, is starting to gel in my head. Mainly because we really like the foxtrot and feel comfortable dancing it.

A couple of sequence dances finished off today’s class and we were allowed to leave. No dance class next Saturday, because the autumn class is in The Salutation in Perth and we’re not going. Too much other stuff going on.

Back home and after solving the puzzles, I chose to go for a walk in St Mo’s. The light was quite good, but nothing exceptional. However, I did get a PoD which is a Crane Fly hanging on to a reed in the wilderness area behind St Mo’s school. Some work was done on it and I’m happy with the result.

Chicken Cacciatore for dinner tonight then we watched Strictly which is becoming a bore. Some of the dances and dancers are quite good, but most are professional dancers. As the days drag on the real professionals will become installed as the ones to beat and the remainder, the amateurs will fall by the wayside. It’s becoming very formulaic.

No plans for tomorrow.

 

Going the rounds – 7 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Friday used to mean FitSteps for Scamp, but falling numbers meant that Kirsty was leaving it until after Christmas.

With more time to fill, we struggled with the puzzle page in the NYT before we drove over to that cold hole they call Costa in the town centre to meet Isobel. She looked cold and a bit drawn when we met her. No wonder. It’s a great high empty looking cafe that gets a gale blowing through it every time somebody opens the door. It really has very little to recommend it, half a shot of coffee in a big jug isn’t really a Latte, although the Cortado is drinkable.

We sat exchanging stories of what had been happening in Isobel’s side of the town and what we’d got up to on our Autumn holiday. Shona arrived just as Isobel was leaving. I got the drinks in for them and then left to go to Tesco. Bought a few things and made the mistake of forgetting to use my Tesco card which meant I paid full price for my goods. I won’t make that mistake again.

When I got back and put the goods away, I grabbed my camera and left a note for Scamp to say that I was away to get some photos in St Mo’s before it got too dark. I wasn’t kidding either. It felt like the light was failing at 1.45pm. I know the time, because that’s when I saw what looked like a bear on its hind legs in the woods at St Mo’s. Of course it was just a tree stump, but …

I headed for home after that, not because I was afraid of bears, but because I was getting cold. Dull and Cold, that about summed up today. I arrived back at the house just as Scamp was unlocking the door, having travelled home on the bus.

The bear shot is there to see on Flickr if you’re interested, but PoD went to a bright yellow leaf sitting on a pile of old trampled leaves. I liked it.

Tomorrow we may be going to dance class. Hope it’s a bit brighter day.

My good deed for the day – 6 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Just helping out a friend.

Fred’s car was in the garage getting a new clutch, but the garage was over fifteen miles away, so he had asked me to give him a lift to the garage. Actually, Scamp and I were intending to go dancing at an extra Tea Dance that had appeared on the listing. Thankfully Scamp sacrificed her tea dance for me to run Fred to the garage. It didn’t take long to drive there, only about 20 mins, but that would have taken about a good couple of hours travelling on public transport. Sometimes I ask myself if we really need a car or could we manage without one. I think I’ve been given the answer today.

On the way home I stopped off at Haggs and went for a walk along the path beside the Forth & Clyde canal, but the good light promptly disappeared. That didn’t stop me taking a load of photos, though.
I eventually gave up and drove home.

Dinner tonight was Chicken Cacciatore and it was very, very good. Fred phoned me in the afternoon to tell me that he was back home after the garage had lost his keys. It took them about an hour to find them. The paper tag on the keys had been accidentally torn off. He’s not had a great few days.

Scamp and I may go out somewhere for lunch tomorrow. Hope Fred has a better day.

The wind and the rain are still with us – 31 October 2025

Posted on by Zogman

I’d hoped for a dry day after yesterday, but it was not to be.

Instead we had rain. Almost continuous rain all today, the last day of October 2025. I did manage to get out to snap a few flowers in the garden. The winner was three Osteospermum flowers in the garden. One going over, one in full bloom and one that might, just might open to reveal its flower if the rain stops and the sun shines.

Hoping for some better weather in November.

Dentist and Jag – 5 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

For Scamp, I hasten to add. I’ve had my two jags and am looking forward to a new crown. Will that make me a king?

So Scamp was out in the morning to have her six monthly checkup at the dentist. Conveniently, she was to have her Flu jag later today. However, she asked if it would be possible to have the Flu jag after her checkup and was told that would be easy to arrange. She came back looking pleased with herself.

It was a terrible morning after yesterday’s perfect autumnal day. Drizzly rain in the morning that gradually increased to heavy rain by midday. We needed to get some odds and ends in Tesco. I’d already looked for the Araldite I needed in our local Tesco and Scamp needed some meds, so I headed for the better equipped Town Centre Tesco.

Surprisingly, after lunch the rain decreased and I got out for a walk round St Mo’s with a detour to the shops hoping to get some plasticine to act as a prop while I glued a fridge magnet. I couldn’t get plasticine anywhere, so I had to resort to Blu Tack instead. Hope it holds long enough for the glue to set.

Four tiny feathers look like being the PoD for today. They’ve been hanging on grimly to a grimy kitchen window. Must clean it soon!

Tomorrow I’ve been asked to be Good Samaritan to drive Fred to Stirling to get his car back from the garage.

A morning at the horses – 4 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We were up fairly early today and I thought we might take a trip to see the Kelpies.

It was a clear morning. Not too cold and with just the hint of a blue sky. Just the sort of day you’d like to be out in, especially as the parking was free. Not that I object to paying a nominal fee to Falkirk council for parking in Helix park. It seems to be one of the more forward looking councils, unlike the money grabbing North Lanarkshire lot.

For a change, we walked round the canal locks in a clockwise direction. It gave a totally different look to the area. Unfortunately the paths were crowded with yellow jacketed ‘helpers’. Ernest looking people who were filming and interviewing minor stars from TV. Well, they interviewed one weather person, but there were lots of ‘hangers on’ with their clipboards and laptops and printouts. The star attraction, Pudsey Bear arrived and the visitors who came to see the Kelpies went back to what they’d been doing while the the yellow jackets milled around looking important.

We had a coffee and a scone each in the onsite cafe and headed for home. Don’t worry, Duke and Baron, we’ll come back to see you again, soon when the yellow jackets are off being important somewhere else.

Back home, Scamp was planting out some spring bulbs while I went for a walk in Fannyside where I met a man who was looking for Bean Geese which apparently are very rare and overwinter in the hills east of Fannyside. Neither of us saw any and we both went away empty handed.

Watched the final of Bakeoff and weren’t surprised by the winner. A good display.

PoD was a low level reflection in a puddle of one of the Kelpies.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to get out for some more photos.

Blood Thirsty – 3 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Out in the morning to give some of my precious blood.

Just a little dribble or two to keep the doc amused and to give her a chance to give me more meds. Spent about half an hour with the phlebotomist discussing the good and the bad aspects of cruising. I think she was just hoping we’d been to some new places to go sailing. I also think she wasn’t really interested in our fairly downmarket ships and destinations.

It was a dull day and we didn’t do much. For the first time in ages I didn’t do a PoD. I left it too late to go out looking for photos and with night closing in quicker these days, I decided I’d leave it to another, hopefully more interesting day tomorrow. I know I could have fudged it, but instead we went dancing in Kirsty’s class and learned a new waltz routine.

Here’s another view of a holiday destination instead. If you look directly below the cable car on the right, you’ll see the almost complete Sagrada Familia.

Tomorrow it will be a better day.

Another lovely Sunny Sunday – 2 November 2025

Posted on by Zogman

The clocks went back an hour and for an hour after we got up, all the digital clocks and watches were frantically trying to keep up with what was happening. The analog clocks on the other hand were just taking things in their stride. After all, who cares if you’re an hour too early or an hour too late. Live life like and Italian and go with the flow. It may take me a few days to find all the clocks that need changing. I’ve just realised there’s another one that I’ve forgotten!

More autumnal weather. St Mo’s is just a small pond lined with rushes and some trees, but when the sun is fairly low in the late afternoon, those rushes and trees really shine for an hour or so, but not much longer than that. If you add in some dark clouds blowing past, you get a good tonal contrast That’s the story behind today’s PoD.

Scamp had been baking while I was out taking photos and there were two sultana cakes just out of the oven, smelling delicious when I came home. Our dinner tonight was a Greggs Chicken Bake with potatoes and veg, followed by a slice of Sultana Cake and Custard. What’s not to like!

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and he retold his mum about Ori’s resettlement in Canada and where Simonne was going this week.

Tomorrow we’re hoping for another day of reflections in St Mo’s pond.