Category: A Walk

Coffee and a walk in the Toon – 5 May 2016

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combo bCoffee at lunch time with Val and Fred P.  Quite enjoyed the cut and thrust of another “frank exchange of views”.  Never one to allow the grass to grow under his feet, Fred held court on a variety of political issues of the day while Val attempted in vain to pour oil on troubled waters.  Me?  I threw in the occasional match to see if the oil would burn.  Topics for discussion today were the cost of upgrading your central heating, In or Out of Europe and the poor selection of guests in Jools Holland’s programme.  Sketches and paintings were critiqued and the world was set to rights.  Thankfully the word ‘ANTISEMITISM’ was not used by any of the participants.

After the scintillating discussion, I headed in to Glasgow to get some masking fluid to try some different watercolour techniques.  While I was in Cass Art, I wandered round their botanical watercolours exhibition and was really, really impressed with the quality and detail in the pictures.  My favourite had to be the sweet peas.  Such delicacy I can only dream of.  Walking back to the car, I grabbed a shot of the elegant security grilles at the Buchanan Galleries carpark.

When I got home, after a great walk round Glasgow bathed in sunshine, Scamp reminded me that we hadn’t voted, so it was off again to do our constitutional duty.  On the way back, we walked over to Condorrat to get a fish suppers for our dinner to celebrate the end of this boring baby kissing round of canvassing.  On the way I spotted the little yellow ball shaped flower and took its photo, along with its resident fly.  I wonder how many flies there are in, say, a cubic meter of bushes.  Probably incalculable, but as we are talking about a finite volume, there must be a finite number.  Multiply that by the number of cubic metres of bushes in Cumbersheugh and you have a very large number.  Now, if all those flies voted for the Greens, would the SNP still get in?  Probably.  A little bit too much politics for this time of an evening.

Our plans for tomorrow were to go to Perth tomorrow (Friday), but they had to be changed at the last minute and we’ll probably go next week.

Posted on by Zogman

ComboToday we had to drop Scamp’s car off at the garage by 8.30am. This meant a much earlier rise than normal, but we managed it and got the car dropped off in time. Even then, almost all the parking spaces were taken, mainly because of poor parking skills by the garage’s clients. Some people are so impressed that they have reverse parked, they don’t seem to notice that they are not actually in a bay or maybe they think that white line is a target and you’re supposed to get a wheel either side of it. The parking was so bad that a couple of the mechanics were gainfully employed parking the cars neatly and so releasing a couple more spaces. Scamp parked very neatly, showing all these dobbers how it should be done. Don’t understand ‘dobbers’? No, it’s not an Australian word, much ruder than that. Google it.

Because we were out early, we had intended having breakfast out, but with the exception of Tesco and Asda, there was nowhere in Cumbersheugh where we could have breakfast. Buckfast, yes, Breakfast, no. And there was no way I was having breakfast in either of the supermarkets with school doggers (Don’t Google it!!) sitting at the next table. So we came back home for a normal breakfast.

Later in the morning the gas salesman phoned to say he was running ahead of schedule and could he come early. No problem, that left us more time in the afternoon. Yesterday we had a sales lady. Today we got a gas engineer. Someone who could answer our questions without spin or waffle. Of course there was still spin, there always will be when people are trying to sell something, but not as much as there could have been. No quote yet, but it should be posted to us tomorrow. We thought that was the end of the quotes, but I bumped into Fred P this morning and he’s going to give me the number for the guy who installed his boiler and a personal recommendation is always the best way to get a good workman. The road goes ever on.

Since we didn’t manage to get breakfast out this morning, we did lunch out instead. We went to Milano and I had a tuna pizza which wasn’t all that great. First failure for Milano. Scamp had a gigantic Chicken Burger. Absolutely enormous. She finished it!

Went for a walk to St Mo’s later in the afternoon and despite an unspoken embargo on ‘Flooers’ as a subject today, the first shots I took were flooers. But you see, they aren’t flooers, they’re blossom, so that’s ok! My photo, my rules. The wireless shutter release on the ’10 is so good for taking ground level shots. No more lying on the ground, picking up mud, twigs and the occasional sheep tick. Jut remember to charge your iPhone and remember to take it with you! That’s how the monochrome shot was taken. The green blobs are fruiting bodies of mosses. I’m not sure what species of moss it is, but it was the safest shot to take today because mosses don’t have flooers. Just fruiting bodies called ‘capsules’. There, you and I have learned something new today!

Coffee with Fred P and Val tomorrow. Three auld guys putting the world to rights.

Another wet one – 2 May 2016

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comboToday was similar to yesterday with intermittent rain showers, but today’s showers were heavier and blown along by a stiff westerly wind. That’s the weather report done. Tomorrow looks much the same.

Got fed up sitting in the house and since we needed some shopping, I took the opportunity to go and get some photos – two birds, one stone, you get the idea. Actually two birds were involved in the photos. Two mallards sprang from a pathside puddle on the old railway and walked quite happily along in front of me. I had my camera ready, focus and exposure set, ready for them to fly off, but they just kept waddling along keeping a weather eye on me to make sure I didn’t get too close. When I did speed up, they did too, but they eventually tired of the game and flew off. It was either that or they were deliberately leading me away from their nesting site. That could have been the answer to their strange behaviour. After that the rain came down in torrents and there was nowhere to shelter, so it was just a case of grin and bear it. By the time I got to Dumbreck marshes the rain had passed and the sun was shining on the Campsies. Had a quick scout around to see if any deer would show themselves, but as I was upwind of them, there was little chance of me surprising them. Then the next shower hit and this time I did get a bit of shelter under some pine trees. By then it was time to head back and that’s where I saw the textures on the Broom seed pods. I liked the twisted pods which for some reason remained dry in spite of these showers.

Driving back home I got caught in a long and heavy hail shower. I’m glad I was in the car when that came. Wouldn’t have liked that stuff stinging my face.

Like I said, more of the same forecast for tomorrow. Oh what fun!

A couple of lucky ones – 1 May 2016

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Combo bToday was wet from first thing this morning.  Not heavy rain, but persistent.  We took advantage of this to a certain extent by planting our potatoes in their bags.  At least we didn’t need to water them once they had been planted.  Scamp potted up her sweet peas and they are outside for their first overnight.  She also planted out my rocket which I kept meaning to do, but just never got round to.  Anyway, they are planted now.  It doesn’t matter who did it.

Photographically, there wasn’t very much decent light with grey overcast skies, but I went for a walk along the railway to see what was worth taking.  I liked the little branch with the blossom on it and I did see the fly, but I was impressed with the sharpness and the clarity and the fact that it was a colourful little hoverfly.  The second shot was another lucky with another little fly hanging below the white flower (it’s a common mouse ear by the way – the flower, not the fly).  Not as sharp as the blossom or the hoverfly, but still a decent shot.  Check them out on my Flickr page.  To think I drove about 10 miles and walked about 3 miles in the rain to get these shots.  That’s what a 365 makes you do.

Today’s word was ANTISEMITISM.  It has been bandied about on radio and tv since Ken Livingstone made his ill timed or cleverly calculated remark.  It was while Scamp and I were watching the Andrew Marr program this morning that I thought is there such a thing as SEMITISM or is there only a negative version of the noun?  It seems that everybody seems to have an opinion on this topic and everyone is desperate to have their opinion heard.  It’s probably true that those who speak loudest have the least to say.  I will say no more.

So that was Saturday and that was April. – 30 April 2016

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combo bDidn’t do a lot today.  The furthest we got was Robroyston for coffee and a quick jaunt to Asda.  Later I went for a walk to St Mo’s, but by then the light was getting low so there wasn’t much to see.

Nothing to see here.  Just move along.

And that was April.

At least it was dry today, it’s forecast for rain tomorrow.

Must be the shortest blog post ever!

Friday, Fridges, Coots and a Coy Crow – 29 April 2016

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combo bFriday used to be the beginning of the weekend, especially on a long weekend.  Friday is the only day I regret being retired because you don’t get that TGIF (or TFIF for the atheists).  My dad was right when he told me “you don’t get weekends when you’re retired.”  Not to worry, the rest of the week makes up for Fridays!

Scamp wanted the drain in the fridge unblocked.  It’s a messy, awkward job that means the fridge has to be angled out from the wall so I can clean the drip tray at the back after unblocking the drain hole in the fridge itself, then drag it back in.  Only, this time when I dragged it back, one of the little wheels at the back came unstuck.  The axle had come loose from the wheel and in an attempt to fix it, I tried to drive out the axle using the screwdriver as a drift (<Technospeak> a DRIFT is a bar used to push another into or out of place </Technospeak>).  It didn’t work.  The axle got jammed in part of the chassis of the fridge.  Oh well, I’d just have to forget the wheel and use a packer to sit that corner of the fridge on.  Switched it on and … the light came on, but the compressor didn’t.  Shit!
Left it for about 10 minutes to settle but still no go.  Switched it off and made a cup of coffee while Scamp priced a new fridge.  I imagine I had rattled the compressor too much by hammering the drift.  After the coffee and the shock that the most expensive fridge she found was £9900, I switched on the fridge and Lo and Behold, it sprang into life.  Obviously my analysis of the situation was correct and the refrigerant just needed to stabilise itself.  Phew!

Went for lunch at Cotton House, then had Scamp’s tyres checked at Jim Dickson’s and finally booked her car in for MOT next week.  Lunch and housekeeping dealt with.

Walked over to St Mo’s and took the “Big Dog” AKA Nikon for a change.  The batteries in the Nikons last forever compared to the Olys.  About 750 shots at present with the battery on category 2 out of 4, 1 being New.  Got some shots of mummy coot sitting on a nest with at least one wee red chick in it.  Further on I actually framed my shot to include the round out of focus light.  The rest of the shots were too poor to bother with.

On the way home, I saw a crow having a bath in a puddle.  I thought it would make a good shot, so I brought out my camera.  The crow took one look at me and walked away.  Ok, camera back in bag and walk away.  Took a few steps and watched the same crow walk back to the puddle again with its towel over its shoulder.  It saw me watching again and did an abrupt about turn.  I didn’t want to delay it’s bath time any longer and turned my back on it before its bath water got cold.

Manic Monday – 25 April 2016

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comboMost Mondays are manic for one reason or another.  Usually because they are formulaic in that we both float about in the morning, then have lunch and immediately after that Scamp goes to pick up some of Gems while I pack my bag and head off to the gym.  Get back once Gems have dispersed, grab a quick PoD and then make dinner before we go to salsa practise.  Back about 9.30, process the pics and write up the blog.  Manic.

Today we went to the pool for a swim because Scamp’s shoulder isn’t up to gym type exercise.  Swam for a while before the pool got ridiculously crowded (eight people trying to swim lengths were five are uncomfortably close).  Spent some time in the sauna and the steam room, then came home for lunch and for Scamp to pick up Gems.  I tried to paint for a while in the afternoon but I couldn’t concentrate, so I booted up and went for a walk to St Mo’s.  I immediately noticed a couple of deer right in front of me.  I tried a few shots but they were all views from the rear.  I didn’t bother to post them because nobody is interested in deers’ bums, except perhaps other deer and since, to the best of my knowledge no deer are visiting my blog or Flickr page, I thought I’d give the photos a miss.  I did get some nice (well, I think so anyway) contre-jour shots of trees and leafs, oh yes, I also got shots of a patient hoverfly and a shivering butterfly.  Taken in a hail storm while the sun was shining – It’s Scotland, you get used to that kind of weather.

That’s about it for Monday.  Not quite as manic as usual and not as formulaic as it sometimes is.  It just takes a little change to make all the difference.

A Super Sunday – 24 April 2016

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comboWent for a walk around Broadwood Loch rather than its little cousin St Mo’s.  Broadwood is a bit duller than St Mo’s in my opinion, but nowhere near as dull as Strathclyde Loch.  Like SL it’s a manmade or manflooded loch that originally was a piece of bogland with loads of peat underneath.  It was always being set on fire during the summer.  Flooding the area produced a loch and reduced the possibility of it going on fire.  Originally there were great plans to have it stocked with fish and there was to be a sailing club.  Neither of these plans saw the light of day.  What NLC did was categorise part of the loch as a nature reserve which has the advantage of costing nothing and preventing either of the leisure activities from taking place.  Cost saving from NLC?  Surely not.

After lunch I chose cycling rather than the gardening that Scamp opted for.  Went out with the intention of finding some damselflies to photograph, but they were still swimming in the ponds dressed in their nymphal disguise.  Maybe I was being a little optimistic, but I just thought with the increase in the temperature and light recently there was just a chance of some of them hatching early.  Maybe next month.

What I did get were, from the right and going anticlockwise, Mr Grey’s cousin from the morning walk around Broadwood.  Next it looks like a volcano, but it’s a pit bing near Kirkintilloch.  On the left is a wee bit of interesting sky I saw on the way home.  At the top a monochrome landscape shot with the Arran hills in the background.  Centre stage is a recently ploughed and seeded field with tractor tracks heading over the hill.

Not a bad Sunday.  Not bad at all.

On Reflection … 22 April 2016

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combo bIt wasn’t a bad day. Up a bit earlier than normal today to take my niece and her mum to a hospital appointment. Rather than sit in a crowded carpark waiting for them, I thought I’d just drive in to Glasgow. Followed my nose and relied on guesswork to get to where I was going. On the way I passed a Chinese supermarket and went in to see if I could find Dried Fenugreek Leaves because I’m sure the Indian chef who took the cook school I went to had listed them as one of the main ingredients in pakora. They had loads of dried an fresh herbs and veg, but no fenugreek, dried or otherwise, so I left empty handed, but I’m going back there some time for some Chinese curry mix like Jackie made for us in Skye.

I got parked easily up on St Mungo Avenue in Glasgow and walked down past Queen Street station and looked across past the College of Building and Printing as-was, now Glasgow Metropolitan and liked the light on the old sandstone building (top middle). On through George Square where I caught the wee man looking bemusedly at his iPad and down Queen Street to peruse the bargains at Cass Art. There were none – bummer. Walked back up and admired the reflections on the new office block, not for the first time. Managed a few shots, but then a crowd of school weans arrived out of the GOMA (Gallery Of Modern Art) clutching sketch pads and pencils and proceeded to sketch everything in sight. I put my camera away, knowing I had my PoD in one of the reflection shots. I’d just sat down with a coffee in Pret when my phone rang and I knew the Outpatients were ready for their lift home, so back up the hill again and back home via the hospital.

After lunch which was fried bacon, potatoes and egg (not the healthiest perhaps, but very, very tasty) Scamp wanted to go shopping. I decided my calling was more cycle related and put the bike on the rack on the car and got going to Auchinstarry. I’d decided it was warm enough for shorts. It was, but only just.  Today was not as warm as yesterday or Wednesday with clouds massing over the hills. Colder, but ideal for another go at another time lapse (That technique is becoming a bit ‘old’ now that I can remember its name – time for something new). Cycled along to Dumbreck and set the camera up on the Gorillapod on a fencepost and fired off a 100 frame, 10 second interval movie.

Then changed lenses and did another 100 frame, but 5 second interval movie. That was enough for me. I was getting cold standing around so I packed up and headed for home.

I was just fitting the bike on to the rack when the first splashes of rain appeared on the roof of the car. There was that delicious earth smell you get when it rains after a long (for Scotland) dry spell. It rained all the way home, but when I drew into our street the road was dry. Got the bike in to the house and the raindrops appeared on the window. It must have followed me home.

So, on reflection, it wasn’t a bad day!

Two in a row – 21 April 2016

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combo bTwo good days of sunshine in a row.  That’s what we in Scotland call Summer!  We decided not to waste it, so Scamp had the brilliant idea of taking the bus to Dunfermline in Fife.  No driving for me, so that put a smile on my face – for once.

Bus to the “Toonie”, then another less rattly and rickety bus to Dunfermline.  We walked down to Pittencrieff Park where we were accosted by the squirrel that stood there quite the thing in front of us and begged for peanuts.  Unfortunately for Tufty (reference to an ancient road safety cartoon) we didn’t have any, not expecting to be waylaid by a hungry animal.  We walked on through the park and strayed for a while in the greenhouses admiring the flowers and the goldfish pond.  Lots of hand painted mobiles that looked almost like puppets hanging in part of it.  I really should have taken some photos of them, but only now realised I hadn’t.  Oh well, a reason to go back again.

Had lunch in a Wetherspoon’s.  Cheap and cheerful – you can’t beat it.  Walked round the town and I added some books to my Bento booklist.  Why on earth Filemaker stopped supporting this excellent app, I’ll never know.  Filemaker Pro is a great piece of software, but it’s no use on an iPhone.  It’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut, whereas Bento is a nutcracker.  By that I mean it fulfils the purpose it was designed for.  I’m sure there is enough space for both of these apps in the world.  Filemaker, you made a big mistake there, and it’s not just me saying this.  Google Bento and just count the number of people worldwide who are mourning the cutting off of this software in its prime.

Bus back from Dunfermline and then the rattly, shoogly X3 back home.  Another lovely day.  Tomorrow isn’t to be as nice, which is a great shame.