Category: A Walk

The day dawned dry and clear – 25 October 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Not quite sunny when we woke, but dry and clear was good enough for us to pack a pair of boots and head off to Japan.

Before we went, we had one more thing to do and that was to photograph the eclipse. Everyone was raving about having to wear eclipse glasses. Being a photographer, I had a couple of polarising filters. If you orient them with the glasses at 90º to each other, they cut out about 95% of visible light. I did that and took a few photos of the sun with a bite out of it! Then we were on our way.

We drove over the ‘Clacks’ bridge to Clackmannanshire, then over to Dollar. Took a wrong turning there and got stuck behind a slow moving jeep pulling a trailer then up a long, steep, twisting, single track road, only to find a bin lorry coming the opposite way. Luckily I’d just passed a house about 100m back and was able to reverse down into their drive to let the bin lorry through. Thankfully no more vehicles on the road, but we seemed to be at the back of beyond and no sights of anything that could be construed as Japanese. We were looking for somewhere to stop when I saw an elegant open wrought iron gate. That looked like the place. We parked and walked to the cabin to pay for our walk in a garden.

A Japanese garden. Honestly you would never know this place existed if you hadn’t been looking for it. The photo, which became PoD, was the first view we got of this place. It’s laid out like a Japanese garden, but not in a tacky, tawdry way, but one that you just know was designed by someone who knew what they were doing. It was utterly stunning. The weather was trying its best to make it look even more beautiful. The sun, which had survived its fight with the moon, was cutting holes in the clouds and spreading some light on the trees, the pond and the little shelters. Everything was meticulously clean and tidy. Not a spot of litter. We spent about two hours walking round the place. We even found a “Christie Path” that led into the trees! I could rant on for ages telling you what we saw. It would be better have a look here and see for yourself:
https://cowdengarden.com/

Drove home by a different route, taking our time. After a cup of coffee Scamp decided it was time to cut the front grass. When she was finished I hauled the ‘grass hoover’ into the back garden and cut the back grass. It’s not perfect, but given the dampness underfoot, I think we did a fairly good job. It’s like a bad haircut, in a fortnight it will look fine. We also put up another set of lights. Little stars this time that hopefully will fare better than the last ones did. They’re shining brightly as I’m typing this.

Today’s prompt was ‘Tempting’.  I thought of that bag of four doughnuts I’d bought the other day.  There was only one left, so I sketched the bag and the doughnut.  One doughnut left?  It’s always a temptation to just eat it.  You know you shouldn’t. You know you should share it, so that’s what I did.  No I didn’t! I ate it!!

Tomorrow Scamp has been asked out for coffee by June. I’ve got more computer stuff to fix. Always got more computer stuff to fix!

Making the most of the morning – 23 October 2022

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This morning there was light cloud, but the weather report looked gloomy.

We decided that it would be best to go for a walk in the morning while it was still dry, if not bright. Boots on for both of us, because it was going to be wet underfoot, wherever we went.

It wasn’t a long walk. Just down to Broadwood Loch, over the dam past the exercise machines and back past the shops. Around 6000 steps all told. We didn’t hang around much and I only took two photos, that’s how dull it was. We did stop at the shops to get some veg for dinner and a very nice piece of rump steak for my dinner. Scamp was having salmon instead of meat. By the time we reached home it felt like there was rain in the wind and just after lunch it was definitely raining. I’m glad we decided to go out while it was still dry.

Just before it got too heavy I went out and took a few shots of the fuchsia plants that hang in a basket on the fence. There was just enough sunlight to pick out the raindrops on the flowers. That became PoD.

I spent a while fiddling with the settings on the SSD that was now taking the place of the internal hard disk drive of the iMac. I did one upgrade that brought the version number up from 11.68 to 11.7. That seemed to make a big difference to the stability of the drive. The speed difference from using the hard drive is immense. Lightroom takes between 3 and 4 minutes to boot from the hard drive. Today it took 14 seconds. That’s over a ten fold speed increase. There are lots of other areas where things are working a lot smoother too. Still not totally settled on the new technology, but it’s working well for now.

Today’s prompt was ‘Boogers’.
As another sketcher with the nickname “Mydoghasnno.se” says, different places have different words for the mucus that must be removed from our nostrils. In the US they may be Boogers, but in Scotland they are Bogles and the more liquid varieties are Snotters. The bloke I drew is obviously an expert Bogle hunter.

Spoke to Jamie and heard about the cost of repairing a roof in a listed building. It’s a lot more than I’d have thought, but Jamie seemed to accept it as a reasonable price and with winter coming, it has to be done. Glad to hear they are getting some much needed rain.

I’ve never been much of a political animal, but the events of last week with Liz Truss resigning after 45 days as PM and Boris attempting a comeback are the stuff of pantomime. Unfortunately, it’s real.

Tomorrow we may go and visit Margie … in hospital.

Out to lunch – 21 October 2022

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It’s beginning to be a ‘thing’ this out to lunch on a Friday. I blame June and Ian.

The day began dull and uninspiring, but the sun did poke its face out for a while and we decided to go out for lunch to the Stables on the Forth & Clyde canal just outside Kirkintilloch. That used to be a tradition, back when we were both working. At least one Friday a month we’d drive to the Stables for dinner, especially in the winter. It was the smell of the wood fires and that homely feeling. Back when you could enjoy a pint and still be allowed to drive home.

Before that, we drove up to Tesco. Me to spend part of a voucher on a book and use the the remainder on essentials to go in the the food bank. Scamp was going to get her meds in Boots. I bought the new Ian Rankin book for £12. It would have been £18 in Waterstones including a £4 discount! Another Tesco win. With the voucher spent we headed off to Kirkie and beyond.

The car park wasn’t all that busy, so we went for a walk along the canal tow path to the next bridge and then walked back. The trees were beginning to colour at last. On the way back we watched some Goldfinches working their way along the bushes beside the canal, finding some seeds. Heard, then saw a whole field of migrating geese, then across the canal three deer were grazing quite happily in a field. A photo of them made PoD. The sun was shining and it wasn’t really cold. A few bikes out on the towpath, but not as many as I’d expected.

By the time we got to the Stables it was fairly busy. About fifteen minutes to take our order, then a twenty minute wait for the food to come. Scamp had the standard fish ’n’ chips and I had a chicken and pancetta pie. The pie was good, as was Scamp’s fish, but her chips were dried up. Likewise, my mash was dead. Not taste in it. It was the service and lack of interest from the waiter and waitress plus the wait the 35 minute wait for food to arrive on the table that reminded us of why we stopped coming to this restaurant. Compare that with the humour and interest from the bloke who served us last week in Dead Deer.

I’m still struggling with the new OS on the iMac. It’s a bit slow, slower than it was with the previous version, but the MBP which I’m using to type this up seems to be none the worse for its upgrade. Not enough memory and a slow hard drive are dragging the big computer down, I think. Hopefully there’s a fix on the horizon.

Prompt for the day was “Bad Dog”. Not being dog owners, suddenly became a drawback. I couldn’t decide what to draw, then Google came to the rescue again. I think this may be a French Bulldog, or just a Heinz 57 varieties. It’s just a ‘dug’.

I think we may be going to dance class tomorrow. It didn’t look likely last night, but we haven’t heard any word to the contrary, so our first class in three weeks may be on. Other than that, no plans.

More fillings today – 18 October 2022

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The Muesli must have been mighty or the Crunchy Nut Flakes may have crunched it. Either way, my new tooth appeared broken.

I was just finishing my breakfast when I felt that something wasn’t right in the fang department. I can’t imagine it was my breakfast that did it, but something had. My previous dentist did say that I was one of those people who grind their teeth in their sleep. Maybe that’s what happened here, but whatever it was, a small piece of tooth or filling fell on to my tongue. I phoned the surgery just after 9am and got an appointment for 2pm, a cancellation. That was a pity because we’d agreed that today was the best day of the week and we were heading for the Far East. Thankfully we hadn’t ordered the tickets last night, so all was not lost, but it was still a bit of nuisance having the appointment right in the middle of the afternoon. But beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.

We changed our plans and drove to Auchinstarry, parked at the car park where they are building a gigantic play park with a castle on the top of a hill. They’ve been building it for about a year now and seem to have got stuck. We didn’t want to go to the castle we were going for a walk along the canal. For once we decided to go anticlockwise round our usual walk and started on the old mineral railway, then crossed over to the new soulless straight tarmac path that used to lead you beside a burn, but now takes you straight through the trees to join up with the mineral line again. I much preferred the old path with its puddles and bends and the sound of running water. This manicured path is no fun at all. I think I can find another route that will be more scenic and won’t have tarmac.

At Twechar we crossed over to the towpath for the Forth & Clyde canal and walked back to the car park avoiding all the pensioners on their electric bikes. I think we were passed once or maybe twice by cyclists on ‘real’ bikes. Yes, I’d like to try an electric bike, but No, I don’t think I would buy one. They look heavy and I’d have nowhere to store one. My Dewdrop will do me. I just have to get it out more and cycle. That’s my biggest problem.

We drove home and had lunch then I went to see the dentist lady. She was apologetic and said that the chip off the tooth I’d brought to show her was indeed a filling and she could fix it on the spot. It took less than ten minutes to clean out the cavity and pack in the new filling. I just hope it lasts longer than the previous one. It certainly felt like my mouth my tongue was investigating as I left the surgery.

When I got back, Scamp was working in the back garden, planting, digging and moving tubs around. I dug over a bit of ground where the old clothes pole had been and planted three of my Teasel plants there. The ones I’ve grown from seed. Scamp claimed a bit of the space for an Astilbe plant, or maybe two. I quite enjoyed the hour or so of gardening, but it was getting cold later. So cold that Scamp brought in three of her pelargoniums to over winter on the bedroom windowsill.

I’d got a few photos in the beautiful autumn light, nearly all on the way back from Twechar and one, with a reflection of the trees at Strone Point, became PoD.

The prompt for today was “Scrape”, and I was struggling to find something that would cover that guide. What I eventually drew was a hand holding a paint scraper. It wasn’t the best sketch ever, but then again it was a very vague prompt. I did think of drawing somebody reaching in to the bottom of a barrel to scrape it, because I think the folk who make up these prompts are indeed doing that!

It the weather holds, we may go travelling east tomorrow. If not, we won’t!

 

 

No Fillings Today Mum – 17 October 2022

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Out early to meet the new dentist and let her have a look around my mouth.

Not that early though. It was one of those dull mornings when the sun forgets to get up and shine. My Fitbit demanded that I take 250 steps, so I went for a walk around the block and brought my camera with me. I saw the two rowan berries and thought about how they brightened the morning. That was the seed that sprouted into today’s PoD.

For the first time in ages I brushed my teeth this morning. I thought it was better to make an effort, rather than to present with a mouth that was BER (Beyond Economic Repair). I needn’t have worried, the dentist lady was completely unfazed. She went ahead and filled the tooth that was giving me grief. She also offered to repair a few more teeth that I’d worn down or damaged over Covid. Not right away, though. Not until the middle of next month. Thankfully the bill for the both of these repairs together was much less than that to fix Scamp’s single tooth. I’ve NHS to thank for that. As always, when someone has been inside your mouth, my teeth don’t feel like my own. I’m getting more used to my new ‘bite’, but it might take a few days yet until it becomes mine.

Back home I started to make a Focaccia, a bread that has more oil in it than Saudi Arabia, or at least that’s what it feels like. Water and oil mixed into the flour, salt and yeast. Once that’s been kneaded, more water is needed and the whole sloppy mess has to prove for an hour or so. Then it gets slopped into a tray and a second mixture of oil, dried rosemary and garlic is poured on top and holes are poked into the dough to encourage the oil to seep into the mixture. It’s left to rise again and then it’s baked in the oven. We’re not finished with the oil yet, though. More oil is drizzled on top and salt flakes are added to give a salty crunch. Unfortunately, maybe I used the wrong kind of oil maybe I should have used 20W-30 instead of 10W-40 or maybe I didn’t bake the focaccia for long enough, or maybe it should have been at a higher temperature. Anyway it ended up doughy and almost inedible. I’ll try again in a couple of days, once the oil tanker comes round and refills the tank.

That kind of limited what we were having for dinner, but yesterday’s celeriac soup and the remains of Scamp’s crumble supplemented with an apple sauce from our own apples was plenty to fill a wee space.

The prompt for today was “Salty”. I chose the ‘Salt Pig’ I was using today. It’s an unglazed terracotta pot that holds sea salt or rock salt. I needed that kind of salt to crumble on the top of the focaccia and since the salt pig was sitting in front of me when I was waiting for the bread to cool, it was an obvious subject with a link to the prompt. Initial sketch done with the fountain pen upside down (you’ll understand this, Hazy) to get fine lines, then the same pen held normally to get the thick lines. A final wash with a brush and clear water to give a bit of shading. Quite pleased, but only quite. Could do better.

Tomorrow we may be visiting another country for an hour or so if the weather is nice.

 

Tea dance without tea … or dance – 16 October 2022

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Today we we had booked and paid for a tea dance. We left at half time.

Still messing around with the new toy, the Samsung phone. It’s got more bells and whistles that a hundred steam trains. Controlling them, ah! That’s a different matter.

I found an app in the Galaxy App Store that led me down a rabbit hole and stole away hours of my attention. It’s called Good Lock. It opens out to two lists of apps. Some are good and useful, all are clever in their own way. All of them needed investigating and that’s what stole away the morning Your Honour. I did find a couple that more substance and less flash. Tomorrow’s task is to find out how to use them sensibly.

I’d half intended going for a walk in the morning, but that would have to wait until later. We were going to a tea dance with a live band in the Lanternhouse cinema cum dance studio in the new Cumbernauld Academy. We arrived fairly early, we thought, but already the room was packed, and I mean PACKED. Far too many tables for comfort and far too many of them were already occupied. We’d paid over the odds, I thought, for the tickets, but that was for a tea dance. I could see no tea and the dance floor was smaller than the one we practised on in the British Legion on Wednesday.

The music was from a Swing Band and they looked the part. Probably about 12 musicians with two singers. We did get up for for the second dance, which was the tempo for a social foxtrot, but the dance floor, oh the dance floor. It was as if it was made from suede leather or felt. There was no way to do an Immelman Turn (actually a Telemark Turn) on that floor if you’d tried you would have ripped the sole from your dance shoe. All the tunes had roughly the same tempo. One waltz, no rumba, no cha-cha, no tango. Just social foxtrot after social foxtrot. There were two Swing dancers who definitely could dance, but the more I think about it, the more I think they were stooges. There to show off their skills to the music that was playing.

The floor was small and made even smaller because the band were taking up about half of the available space. To me, it looked like they’d sold as many seats as they could and hadn’t considered that people might like to dance at a tea dance. We left at half time, disappointed. The amount of people that were crammed into that space would be a fire hazard. The floor was no in any way a dance floor, and one of the ‘singers’ couldn’t sing. Honestly, I could have done a better job … well, maybe! Did you get the impression that we didn’t enjoy it? We didn’t.

Back home I got dressed for a walk and went over to St Mo’s. Got a few photos, but the light was all but gone by the time I got there. PoD went to a photo of a Cow Parsley seedhead.

Dinner was Celeriac Soup, Fish Pie (from M&S) and Apple and Bramble Crumble. All were good and there’s soup and crumble at least for tomorrow.

Spoke to Jamie and told him our story about selling the red car. Also our sorry tale about a tea dance with no tea and no room to dance.

Prompt for today was “Fowl”. The fowl I chose was a cockerel, a photo from Google and I thought it looked fairly good. It had a lovely red comb and I was tempted to add a bit of watercolour red to it, but I resisted the temptation and just washed in some ink. It’s done and in.

I’ve an appointment with the dentist tomorrow. First visit in three years! Apprehensive? Just a bit

 

 

Roses and lunch – 15 October 2022

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We’d intended going in to Glasgow today, but …

We really had intended going in to Glasgow on the bus today, but half way to Condorrat I realised my watch was still charging in the house. By the time we went back, we’d missed the bus, the only bus for an hour. The best thing to do was to have lunch, but then I mentioned to Scamp that I’d seen one of the roses she loves in Torwood the other day. That changed the whole complexion of the day. We would drive to Torwood for a rose and grab a spot of lunch while we were there.

There were a host of roses in the garden centre and thankfully they had her rose too, Sheila’s Perfume. She’s had one for a few years now, but she transplanted it last year and it never made any decent growth this year. Just to insure against the original rose being lost in the winter, a second one wouldn’t go amiss. That was the theory, anyway. The fact that another rose in the garden would never go amiss wasn’t in her head at all …! For the new rose we needed a pot, but we had enough compost at home to give it a good start. With plant and pot bought, I put them in the boot of the car and we had that spot of lunch.

First I had to drag Scamp away from the knitwear that attracts ladies of all ages like moths to a flame (some of them do get burned!) Lunch for both of us was a Tuna Toastie and half a Tipsy Cake each. Nothing very tipsy tasting in the cake. More rum essence than real rum in the cakes. Strangely, for a little tea room in a garden centre, their coffee is made with real coffee and tastes like real coffee too. Impressed. On the way out, that flame was still attracting the lady moths, but Scamp resolutely passed it by and we drove home.

Back home, Scamp was set up with another coffee and a good book, but I needed a PoD which turned out to be a picture of a bunch of rosehips framed in branches with wicked looking thorns. Pretty to look at but you’ll rip yourself to shreds if you try to pick them. That was the only decent photo of the day.

Dinner tonight was going to be a fish pie from M&S, but that has been postponed until tomorrow. We had a pizza instead. Then it was time to watch Strictly. I did watch a bit, but concentrated more on getting a decent score in Angry Birds. Matt Goss really needs to go and seek some medical help. I don’t think his head is securely fixed to his body. One of these time it will come clean off. I hope I’m there to see it. There seemed to be a dichotomy in the acts I did watch. Half were wonderful and clever. Half were dangerously bad.

Found out today that Isobel has Covid. She’s had it for about a week and is still positive. She sounds terrible on the phone according to Scamp. Hope she gets rid of it soon.

Today’s prompt was “Armadillo”. I chose The Armadillo in Glasgow. Originally it was called the Clyde Auditorium but as with so many structures in Glasgow it was becoming better know by its nickname “The Armadillo”. Now it’s officially the SEC Armadillo. It was completed in 1997 and is meant to represent a series of ships hulls.

Tomorrow we’re off to a tea dance in the Lantern House in the new Cumbernauld Academy. I won’t like it. It’s not my school.

A more relaxing day – 14 October 2022

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Lazy start, didn’t wake until about 10am

In such a mixed up week I completely forgot that Scamp was off this morning to her FitSteps class. Brave girl, this was only the second time she was driving the blue car for real. When she left I started thinking about today’s prompt which was ‘Empty’. A Humblebums track “Silk Pyjamas” had been in my mind for the last two days, with the lyrics ” … empty pockets, heavy debts …”. Of course, Paul Simon’s song “Diamonds on the soles of her shoes” also worked with ” … empty as a pocket with nothing to loose …”. So what I’m saying is, it just had to be an empty pocket and with that I started sketching. The music made me do it! The first attempt became the final attempt and although the hand wasn’t right, it was close enough and a splash or two of water added bit of necessary form. Sketch done with lots of time to spare.

When an energised Scamp returned, happy that she’d reverse parked and had a good exercise hour into the bargain we had a coffee and she had a shower, then we were off to lunch at Dead Deer. Scamp had Kedgeree Fish Cakes and I had Gammon Steak. Of course, both of us had chips and eggs. The bloke who served us was fairly chatty and friendly. The place wasn’t very busy for a Friday lunchtime, so he had plenty of time to spend talking to diners. After he asked if the food was ok, he turned to me and asked if I was a teacher at the High School, because the chef had seen me in passing and wasn’t sure it it was me, but didn’t want to ask. I just laughed, sometimes I can go nowhere without being spotted. Usually a nod and a smile is all I get. That’s better than “Campbell ya ba5t@rd!” and a laugh.

Since there was no rush to clear the tables, we sat and talked for a while over the dirty water that was trying hard to be coffee. Future plans and destinations were discussed and a sort of solution was found. That’s all I’m saying at present.

Back home I did manage to get out for half an hour in St Mo’s. There was a strange gathering in the woods with about half a dozen neds with Buckie bottles and a pram with a toddler in it. I thought “Oh-Oh, this looks like trouble.” But I needn’t have worried, it was all good natured. One big bloke, well over six feet tall gave me the “Ye all right mate?” to which I replied “No’ bad”. That was the correct password, apparently. Then he said “We’re just educatin’ the younger generation!” and we all laughed. I think it was a picnic they were having. A liquid one.

I found a PoD on the way back to the house.  It’s a Garden Cross spider, so called because of the cross shaped pattern on its back.  They’re quite common around here, but this was a big one, its body was about 2cm long and a beautiful chestnut colour.

No great plans for tomorrow yet.  It looks like it will be wet during the night, but promises a better day in the late morning and afternoon.

Up and out early – 13 October 2022

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This was an early shout. Synchronised alarms set for 7:30. That’s early for us.

Scamp was off to Inverness today to meet her sister for lunch and a blether and maybe just a wee G&T each.

The day started with the 7:30 alarm, then after a quick breakfast I drove Scamp to the station where she would catch the train to Glasgow. After a brisk walk up to Buchanan Street bus station, it was on to the coach for the 3.5 hour journey to Inverness. Meanwhile I’d done my bit for now and was free to enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee and a seat in the sun, because it was a beautiful morning. Instead, I walked over to Condorrat to drop a couple of birthday cards in the post box then went for a morning stroll round St Mo’s where I got a few shots that never made PoD, but at least I had something in the bag. Then I had the coffee and the seat in the sun.

I messed around with my newest piece of software ON1 2023 and was amazed at some of the things it could do, but also disappointed with the quality of some of the things it was supposed to excel at. As with all pieces of software, the first version is always poor, but after v2 or v3 most of the bugs have been ironed out and it’s only seven or eight months later the software can be relied upon to produce the goods.

Lunch time was coming up, but I had other things on my mind. I was heading out somewhere to take some photos, but where? I was starting out heading east, first stop was Torwood to get a new set of solar powered lights for the back garden. Instead of buying the cheapo ones from B&M or Home Bargains that last about three or four months, I thought Scamp deserved a set of better quality ones and I was pretty sure I’d get some at Torwood. They had quite a large selection and I managed to get what I was looking for. Unfortunately just as I was getting close to the garden centre, the rain came. It came in sheets, blowing along the valley. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea to go that way after all. I cut my losses and drove back towards Cumbersheugh and stopped at Haggs for a walk along the canal, where there was still blue sky and no sign of rain. Scotland can be like that. Dry when you start out, then five miles down the road the rain is torrential. Five miles further on it’s blue sky and sunshine again.

I got a few shots at one of the locks on the Forth & Clyde canal and was happy with them. Added to the ones I had from the morning walk around St Mo’s, I should get a PoD out of the selection. All the while I was conducting an on/off WhatsApp conversation with Scamp, getting updates on her journey.

I drove home from Haggs and started thawing out my dinner which would be Pork Stew and a baked potato. I’d made the stew ages ago and buried it deep in the freezer. It was a solid brick and would take quite a while to defrost. The weather I’d met on the way east was beginning to appear around here now. Big black clouds looking quite ominous. Time to power up the computer and get the images downloaded. While that was happening, I was working out what to do for today’s prompt ‘Kind’. Another of the vague prompts that don’t give you much of a toe hold on what to draw. I finally settled on a scarecrow as a central figure and little animals in his pocket or in his straw.

Dinner first, though and while I was eating it I was watching a webinar about the new software, but the bloke who was teaching it kept stopping to answer questions and would then go back over what he’d already done. Pointless. I gave up, finished my dinner, selected the PoD and started the sketch.

Missed a message from Scamp to say that she was on the bus heading home. She sent me a message when she was passing Stirling and I drove in to Glasgow to pick her up.

As it turned out, it was a bit of a messed up day for me, although Scamp seemed to have enjoyed her outing with Jackie. Glad she did it and I’m sure Jackie is glad she went too.

Tomorrow we may be going out for lunch, somewhere local.

 

Out for a walk – 12 October 2022

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Out walking round Dalzell Estate with my brother.

The weather fairies were convinced that the weather today would start our wet in the morning, but would clear for the afternoon. I wasn’t so sure, but that’s exactly the way it turned out.

I sat and talked to Carol and Fiona and Ollie. Ollie didn’t say much, at least not much that I could understand, probably because he is only about 7months old, but he smiled a lot and made noises which is the best kind of talking.

Alex and I said goodbye to everyone and we headed off to Dalzell Estate and went for a walk in the woods. Some folk were having a picnic in a clearing. I don’t know what that was all about, but they didn’t invite us to join them so we walked on. From one of the bird hides we watched a flight of geese, some swans and a host of lapwings. I haven’t seen any lapwings (or ‘peeweeps’ as we call them on account of their call) for years. One of the serious bird photographers arrived and I think we were crowding his hide so we left to find a temple Alex wanted to show me. It was a fairly long walk, but one I remember going with him a year ago. Eventually we found the temple, but it wasn’t the one I was thinking about. After looking at a map tonight, I think I might have confused it with a mausoleum which is in the estate.

Anyway, we walked back to the car from there after admiring the “Big House”. It’s an impressive building with centuries of additions to the old part of it, but the land in front of the building has been turned into a car park which spoils the look completely. We stopped once more at the Japanese Garden where I got some decent shots of the maples. I also got a bruise on my bum when I slipped on the slimy steps up to the garden.

With some of the day left, we drove to Chatelherault in the outskirts of Hamilton and had a coffee in the cafe there, then went a walk down the broad avenue of trees that stretches for a mile or so to Hamilton itself. Walked further down to the Avon Water which was still in spate after last week’s rain. Back at the Chatelherault House itself I got PoD which is a view down the narrow avenue.

Drove home and dropped Alex at the house, then drove home for dinner before I changed from my waking gear into my dancing trousers and drove to the British Legion in Cumbersheugh for an hour long dance class. I wasn’t impressed with the first half which was Tango Serida. Not my favourite sequence dance. The second half was more interesting, but there were too many clowns in the class, every one a comic.  Let’s hope they calm down next week.

Today’s prompt was one of the vague ones, ‘Forget’. After a fair bit of soul searching, I decide on the one you see here: a note pinned to a wall.  I am a master of forgetful. My mum used to say “You’d lose yer heid if it wasn’t sewn on!” She was probably right. I haven’t lost my heid yet, but I’ve forgotten much more than I’ve remembered. Now what was I saying???

That was about it for a busy day. Tomorrow Scamp is hoping to get to Inverness for lunch with her sister. An early rise to get the train that will take her in to Glasgow and then a walk to the bus station to get the bus. Rather her than me.