Category: A Walk

Not satisfied with one hot day – 19 July 2022

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Today we had another one. This one was hotter but more humid.

Two hot days in a row. Does that make it a heat wave? You’d think so by the way the media are harping on about it. Yes, it was hot today, but uncomfortably so. As the day wore on the heat became more oppressive and humid. I think we got up to 29ºc at the height, but by afternoon it began to look as if it was all falling apart. It nearly did in the late afternoon when heavy looking blue-grey storm clouds rolled in. There was a clap of thunder and a shower of rain, then it all cleared away and for a short time, the sun shone.

I stayed inside for most of the day because it was cooler there. Scamp did some sun bathing (with sun cream on) and then went to Condorrat to post a birthday card. She also digging out the weed between the bricks at the edge of the front garden with the little tool Hazy bought her. Really Hazel that’s the best toy tool you’ve ever given her! I was content with sweeping up the weeds she’d dug out and then fixing the sweeping brush.

The furthest I got today was a walk over to St Mo’s looking for interesting insects. My favourite and PoD was the Burnet Moth. Fairly large day-flying moth, its black wings covered in red spots. It became PoD. I also managed a photo of a grasshopper hiding in the undergrowth watching me intently and wondering, I suppose what the big black thing was I was shoving in its face. It was a Sony A7iii with a 50mm Macro lens!

The poor couple next door had just settled down to a barbecue dinner when that rain started. I think they took the food inside, then when they realised it was just a shower, they brought it out again. That seems to be the thing about barbecues, they always bring the rain with them. Be warned, Jamie!

Our dinner tonight was a “what’s in the fridge and freezer” paella. It actually turned our really well and both of us enjoyed it. Watched the semifinal of Bakeoff the Professionals. Didn’t agree with the judges decision, but what difference will that make. Just as much difference it will make which of the Hooray Henrys and Henriettas get the PM’s job. Life will go on as usual for everyone else.

Tomorrow we may go in to Glasgow. Me, to get my hair cut and Scamp to get a comfortable pair of walking shoes. I might look at shoes too. It looks cooler tomorrow, thankfully.

 

One Hot Day – 18 July 2022

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We were well warned about today. It was going to be hot. They were right.

Last night we slept under a sheet. No duvet, not even our summer 1 TOG. It was going to be one hot day.

Scamp wanted to drive to Tesco to get veg and fruit because we were making a salad for dinner. That was the furthest we went. There was an enormous queue for the petrol station. I wondered what it was all about, then I remembered Scamp saying the other Tesco store in the town was closed for ‘essential maintenance’ and everyone was flocking to our local one. When we got back we put the lounger and the chair out in the back garden where we sat and read for a while. Even I found it too hot to sit for long and wandered in and out of the house trying to find the coolest spot. I didn’t find it. As usually happens with this house in summer, the inside was cooler than the outside.

After an al fresco lunch we went for a walk round St Mo’s for something to do. I took a camera, but find anything worth photographing. However, when we got back to the house we saw lots of Soldier beetles on the Sea Holly (Eryngium planum) in the garden. That was to be PoD. I have no idea what the beetles below are doing! Probably something to do with their alternative name!

Later in the day we walked down to the shops to buy some ice lollies, Mivvies! Just the thing for a hot summer’s day. When we got back it was beers in the garden. Just relaxing in the sun this time with a gentle breeze to cool us slightly.

Dinner was a salad feast. Tuna pasta, Potato salad, Little Gem lettuce, Prawns, Carrots matchsticks in orange juice (try it!), Beetroot, Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. Dessert was jelly and fruit with ice cream.

More reading and relaxing after dinner and eventually we had to call it a day at about 9pm. It’s almost 10.30 now and the temperature is still 22ºc. It was 28.5ºc in the afternoon. Tomorrow the weather fairies predict it will get even hotter. Oh, to live in Shetland where it was 16ºc!

Hopefully more of the same tomorrow. I had hoped to go for a walk with Alex this week, but the whole family are down with Covid … except Alex. He was negative!

The warm-up begins – 17 July 2022

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Today was the start of a heatwave. We were warned that temperatures would rise significantly in the next few days.

Nobody informed the weather. It was raining when we woke and it kept on raining for about half an hour. But they were right about the temperature rising. The temperature was around 23ºc in the afternoon which although not earth shattering, was more than we’d had for the last few weeks. Probably that was due in part to the lack of wind which always cools the place down. It has been an extremely windy year so far. Is that to do with global warming too? I don’t know. All I know is that it’s been the windiest year I can remember.

In the morning, we took the tomato plant and the two chilli plants out to get the benefit of the rain, then we just left them outside to talk to the rest of the plants. While I was inspecting the flowers in the front garden (and getting some steps recorded) I noticed a little wee Marmalade hoverfly on one of Scamp’s dahlia flowers. It was kind enough to sit there for me and get its photo taken with not one, but three different cameras from three different dynasties. Ranging from the half frame Oly E-PL5 up to the mighty Sony A7iii with the Sony A6000 wedged in between. All of them produced great images, but the best of the lot was a shot from the A7iii. That photo became PoD.

In the afternoon we emptied out another ‘tattie’ bag. Not as many tatties in this one, but they were bigger. Some were pretty scabby too. Must ask Colin about that the next time I see him. There wasn’t much more to the day. Scamp watered some of the plants in the back garden with a watering can, then set up her lounger and read. In the meantime, I put my boots on and sprayed myself with insect repellant and went photographing insects (?) in St Mo’s where I almost got bitten by a cleg. Not a very clever one, because I felt it land on my leg and smacked it off. Clegs 0 – Photogs 1. I took a fair few photos, but nothing to beat the Marmalade.

Came home made a Pimms for Scamp and opened a bottle of Estrella for me. Sat in the warm garden. Note, warm but not sunny. The milky white sky from the morning hadn’t opened up to reveal blue skies and sunshine. A bit disappointing.

Dinner was Trout fillets with our potatoes and a salad. The potatoes might have been scabby, but once that was removed they tasted fine.

Spoke to Jamie and heard all about Hedgehog Houses and surveillance cameras to photograph the poor things. Must be a bit like being in Colditz! I think they’re resigned to the high temperatures predicted for the next few days. Thankfully the thick walls of their house will keep the temperature from rising too much inside.

Tomorrow we may go for a walk somewhere. Hope the sun shines.

Bussing it around Glasgow – 16 July 2022

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We got the bus in to Glasgow and went all cultural.

Like I said, we got the bus in to Glasgow and then another bus out to the West End. We had a walk round the paintings in Kelvingrove Art Galleries. Found some of the Glasgow Boys paintings. Neither of us had realised that there were around twenty Glasgow Boys. Hornel, Peploe and Fergusson were the one’s that I’d heard of, but few others of the twenty were familiar names. Scamp wasn’t all that interested in hearing the organ recital today, so instead we went for lunch in the restaurant at Kelvingrove which was Beer Battered Haddock and Chips with a glass of wine each since neither of us was driving. It was really good, and even better, it was in the conservatory.

After lunch, we walked through the park and up to Kelvinbridge where a toy car became PoD. Over the bridge we walked on to the Botanic Gardens which were really busy. On the way we bumped into Dr Barbara who initially diagnosed Scamp’s malignant mole. Long time since we’ve seen her. I’m not sure she knew exactly who we were, but she knew that she knew us. Ships in the night.

We usually go round the Kibble palace at the Botanic Gardens, but today we walked through the bigger glass houses instead. Each area inside was set out for a different region, from temperate to steamy jungle with desert heat in between. Lots to photograph.

From there we walked down Gt Western Road and caught a bus that took us to the bus station. We waited there in vain for a fast bus to take us to Condorrat. It never came. Instead we got the X3 slow bus that takes 50 minutes to go fifteen or so miles. Worse than that, instead of using my bus pass, I plonked my credit card on the pad and had to pay a fiver or thereabouts for the privilege. I won’t do that again!

Back home, the day that had started cloudy and overcast but had promised a bit of blue skies and sunshine when we were walking round the West End, had returned to the dull clouds we had started out with. A bit of a disappointing end to a good day.

Tonight we watched The Duke. An entertaining film with Jim Broadbent as a socialist trying to get free TV licenses for OAPs. Based on a true story, it was so much better than the rest of the rubbish the BBC were offering. It cost us about a fiver, probably the same as my bus ticket from Glasgow, and probably lasted almost as long as that journey!

No plans for tomorrow. It depends on the weather, as usual.

 

It’s been raining – 15 July 2022

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We woke to streets wet with rain. It wasn’t actually raining, but it had been.

That was good. It meant we didn’t have to water the garden. As a result, we decided we’d have a relaxing morning. So after we’d had coffee and solved today’s Wordle (four for Scamp and a risky six for me) we set out our plan for the day which was: Let’s go down to Broadwood Farm and have lunch with a drink. We both thought that was a good plan.

We walked down to the restaurant and ordered our meals. Small carvery for Scamp and a large one for me. The small carvery gets you two pieces of meat, the large one, three. It wasn’t really worth paying the extra. The roast beef was like dried out cardboard and the turkey was dry. Thankfully the ham was much better. Veg was ok, just ok. However, it was lunch with a pint of Belhaven Best for me and a glass of Merlot for Scamp. All for around £20. Not bad really.

We walked back up the road, choosing not to buy anything more at the shops. When we got back the place was warming up and the wind, though gusty, was warm. Scamp got out her lounger for probably the first time this year and after slathering on some sun cream set herself up for a tanning session in the back garden. I changed into shorts and tee shirt and went for a walk with the Sony in St Mo’s.

On my safari through the tinder dry grassland of St Mo’s I did actually see a black and green striped dragonfly, but it had no intention of posing for me, or even stopping for that matter. It was just constantly flying loops round the bushes. I eventually gave up and went looking for lesser prey that I might actually capture on camera. The best I came up with was a black and white hoverfly and that became PoD.

Back home I helped Scamp finish off a bottle of red from yesterday and then had a bottle of Birra Moretti. Snoozed for a bit in the sun before it started to set and the temperature dropped too low.

Tomorrow we may take the bus in to Glasgow and go to Kelvingrove. The weather fairies are predicting seriously high temperatures early in next week. I don’t think they will reach as far as us, but we live in hope!

Off the leash – 14 July 2022

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Scamp was going for coffee with the Witches. I was left on my own for a few hours.

Spent most of the morning writing a reply to two of Alex’s recent emails. I’d berated him for promising photos and delivering a description of what was in them, but not the photos themselves. He made up for that omission by sending me two emails worth of recent photos. Quite impressive photos too. Anyway, I used my time this morning wisely and sent him a few of my photos and the story of my week so far, which you, my readers already knew! That and a bit of jiggery pokery on Photoshop and Lightroom took up most of the morning. I did have a notion to do a bit of painting, but never quite got round to it. “Not getting round to it” is an art in itself I think.

While Scamp was out, a lady came to the door with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, addressed to both of us. I was quite taken aback and couldn’t guess who could have sent it. Then I though of Isobel and her run in the country. I left the bouquet for Scamp to unwrap, and sure enough the card with the flowers had a message from Isobel. A lovely surprise.

When Scamp had recovered from the surprise and arranged the flowers in two vases, I decided it was time for a walk, so I retraced my steps from yesterday and walked down to the shops by the long way through the long grass behind St Mo’s school. I found some interesting shapes in the seed heads of the Flag Irises that have now all gone over, but the PoD was a tiny little fly on a hogweed flowerhead. A really tiny thing that must have measured about 3mm long. While I was photographing the Iris seed heads, a cleg landed on my lens hood. Just to be sociable, I squashed it. The swelling on my wrist from yesterday’s attack has now disappeared although it was quite red this morning.

Watched the final episode of Slow Horses tonight. Sadly that’s it finished until season 2 arrives some time later this year. Although I’ve read all the books, I’ve still enjoyed the story of The Hub and Slough House. It’s not often a TV version of a book stays so close to the original.

No real plans for tomorrow, although we may get a chance to walk down to Broadwood Farm for a carvery lunch and a glass of something alcoholic.

 

Shopping – 13 July 2022

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Out on the road again, this time to get the messages at Waitrose in Stirling.

Just a wee bit of a drizzle as we were leaving the house, but it didn’t last. We got a fairly load of messages at Waitrose. We’d originally thought we might split it between Waitrose and Morrisons, because I wanted a box of Estrella beer in Morrisons, because Waitrose didn’t have it the last time we were there. However, the extra trip wasn’t necessary because not only did Waitrose have the beer, but it was discounted too, a bonus!It was a heavy car on the way back to Cumbersheugh, plus we were fighting a strong headwind.

After unpacking and after lunch, started it raining. Just gentle rain to start with, then it got heavier and heavier. It lasted for about half an hour. I was glad to see it, it meant we wouldn’t need to water the garden tonight.

Later I went for a walk round St Mo’s and from there down behind St Mo’s school because I’d an idea in my head. There’s a group on Flickr called Flickr Friday where they set a weekly topic to photograph. This week the topic is ‘Field’. Behind the school they are creating an activities area, part of which has been sown with grass seed for football pitches. The last time I was there the place was covered with wild flowers as well as grass. My idea was to use the wide angle lens to make the football pitch look like a field of wild flowers.

When I got there today’s wild flowers were Chamomile plants. Lovely white petals with a bright yellow centre. I got two or three shots then a fly kept buzzing round me. Next thing I felt was a nip, just at my watch strap. A cleg bite. I hope it enjoyed its last meal, because it won’t be dancing with the Bolshoi again. It really stung, and of course my first aid kit with Piriton was in my other camera bag. Note to Self: Buy a cheap bag and fill it with plasters and pills then keep it in the sling camera bag and keep the other one in the rucksack. Most importantly, I got the photo and it became PoD. I was nearly at the shops, so I bought some ice lollies, and took them home for us to share. Dosed myself with Piriton and slapped on some Anthisan when I got home.

Dinner was easy fish and chips. ‘Easy’ because it was oven chips and the fish was baked in the oven too. Chips were fine, but the fish was a bit tasteless with a heavy batter and breadcrumbs coating. I don’t think we’ll have that again.

That was about it for today. Scamp got a cleg bite on Sunday and I just wanted to be up sides with her, so I got one today! Scamp’s bit is looking a lot less fiery and the swelling has gone well down. Mine looks ok tonight.

Hazy, I thought you’d like to know I finally got round to reading The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. It’s been sitting on my Kindle for over a month now. Only just started it today. Needed something different after reading almost end to end Scottish crime fiction.

Scamp is out for coffee tomorrow morning and I have the free run of the house. I’ve got no plans yet.

 

A day window shopping in Glasgow – 12 July 2022

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Well, I was window shopping, but I didn’t buy anything. Scamp was shopping for ‘things’.

After some discussion today, I drove in to Glasgow. Scamp offered to drive, but I knew she doesn’t like driving in to Glasgow, so I said I’d drive. It was fairly easy to get parked in Buchanan Galleries, probably because it’s holiday time, but Glasgow was busy, probably because it was holiday time! Lots of people coming out of Queen Street station and just standing there with their phones or a map in their hands. I always feel sorry for them. There really should be a kiosk near the exit to help visitors, even those from Embra!

We walked down Buchanan Street (note, I’m giving it its ‘proper’ name today). I was looking for a pair of trainers. I’ve been looking for a pair for a while now and I now know that the problem is, I just don’t know what I want. We went in to Tiso and I tried on a couple of pairs that looked like what I thought I wanted, but I didn’t like them, or they weren’t comfortable. The bloke who was serving me couldn’t have been more helpful. He didn’t push me in any way or for any make. He just explained the benefits of the different shoes they had and left me to make up my mind. I may go back before the weekend and seek his advice again.

Scamp in the meantime had visited the first shop on her list and had secured the purchases she wanted. She was now complaining that a second shower gel she really likes is being discontinued. Why do people do this? The same happened to me with Grass shower gel in Lush. They discontinued it, even after saying it was one of the most popular sellers. Hazy found the same with Lush a few years ago. I understand that there is a constant need to push new products, but think about the consumers please!

We walked along Argyle Street to have a bite to eat and a coffee in Nero. Scamp chose a window seat that gave us a panoramic view along this busy street. That allowed me to grab a photo or two of folk just walking. Nothing fancy, no ND filters, just ordinary folk going about their business. Something I’ve not considered before, but it was interesting, just people-watching.

When we left there, fed and watered, Scamp wanted to go to M&S and I didn’t, so while she walked round the store, I took more photos: Pigeons on the disgustingly dirty glass roof over the entrance to Argyle Street station, A bloke sitting reading a paper which became PoD. I’d have taken more, but Scamp reappeared and we walked back and I got quite a decent one looking along an alley off Buchanan Street.

Driving back home, Scamp noticed that the heavy clouds, that had been blocking the sun in the morning and most of the afternoon had broken and blue sky was appearing. Were we going to have a decent evening? I hoped so. And so it was. I transplanted my teasel seedlings into individual pots and also potted up the last few kale plants. Scamp did some potting on too, giving two cuttings she’d taken at Jamie and Sim’s garden a new pot and fresh compost because they were building strong roots. After dinner we sat in the garden and read. I finished my latest book and now I need to start on one that Fred gave me.  FInally we had to go in because the temperature was dropping.  It had been a good day.

We have no plans for tomorrow yet.

Driving Miss Robinson – 11 July 2022

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Well, actually Mrs Robinson, but that’s just splitting hairs.

As a birthday treat, we were taking Isobel out for lunch. We drove down to Gouldings in Rosebank on Clydeside. It wasn’t quite as sunny today as it was yesterday and Saturday, but it was plenty warm enough.

Before the outing I took Scamp to the chemist to speak to the pharmacist because a cleg (horsefly) bite yesterday had caused her elbow to swell overnight and she needed something a bit stronger than Piriton tablets and Anthisan cream. The pharmacist gave her a course of penicillin tablets with a recommendation to go and see her doctor if it wasn’t improving in three or four days. We drove back home to let her take one of the tablets then we were off to pick up Isobel.

We drove down the M73 and the M74 to Larkhall where we took a detour through Larky, partly to avoid roadworks at Garrion Bridge and partly to let Isobel see where we used to live. We continued on to Netherburn and down to Clydeside then along to Gouldings which was quite quiet for a change. It was still morning, so the crowds hadn’t arrived yet, but they would. Got parked easily and waltzed in to find a table. Since Isobel is coeliac, her choice from the menu was a bit limited. She settled for Sweet Potato Soup while Scamp and I had Fish ’n’ Chips. We had a dessert too. I had a slice of Rhubarb pie and the other two shared a gigantic meringue with cream and strawberries. Then it was a walk around the plants, because as well as being a restaurant, originally Gouldings was a plant nursery. The ladies eventually bought five dahlia flowers between them. Scamp got a radiator brush she’s been looking for since January and Isobel got a hose connector to replace her broken one. Then we were off again.

We left Gouldings and drove along the Lanark Road to Lanark itself. Drove through the town to Lanark Loch and sat there for a while before we headed for home by the ‘Top Road’ through Carluke, Newmains and Airdrie before dropping the birthday girl off at her house. It’s not really her birthday for a few days yet, but that, again, is splitting hairs! I think she enjoyed her day out ‘in the country.’

We drove home and I changed into shorts and took a walk in St Mo’s while Scamp pondered where to put her new flowers. I saw a strange looking insect on a hogweed flower head. It had long dark brown wings folded over its body, a yellow abdomen and a black head with an orange spot just behind the head. After asking Mr Google, it turned out to be a Red Necked Footman moth. I think it’s more orange than red, but maybe it’s just a bit bleached in the hot summer sun! Anyway, it was an obvious PoD. In all I took 132 photos of that moth and a couple of other insects. Those 132 images have now been reduced to a more manageable 44.

When I got home both the dahlias were sitting in a large pot, still in their original pots because Scamp isn’t sure yet where they will go. We may find out tomorrow. Just the outside chance of some cooling rain tomorrow while the south of England swelters.

The swelling on Scamp’s cleg bite is much reduced tonight which is a relief. No plans for tomorrow yet. I hope it won’t involve driving, because that was a long run today, but very enjoyable.

Walking in the woods – 10 July 2022

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Another lovely day with wall to wall sunshine in the morning.

Scamp’s suggestion for today was a walk round Broadwood with the extension through the woods. It suited me too because it meant I didn’t have to drive. Just for the sake of it, we went anticlockwise as opposed to our usual clockwise walk. I didn’t think there would be much to photograph and I was right. We did see a pair of crested grebes on Broadwood Loch, but they were too far away. I think it was just the feeling of being out with shorts and tee shirt in the sunshine that made the walk interesting. Also, for me, not lugging a camera and a couple of lenses, just one small camera with one lens made the walk more enjoyable. An as yet unnamed butterfly followed us on our Sunday morning walk through the woods at Broadwood, stopping occasionally, but never long enough for me to get close. Finally, I thought I knew where it had landed, but then couldn’t see the insect. Purely by accident I triggered the shutter button and took a photo of a butterfly I couldn’t see! Almost perfect camouflage. That photo of the butterfly became PoD.

Back home for lunch and then I volunteered to walk down to the shops to get some salad veg for dinner and a carton of milk. No wee man to offer me a Mivvi today, but after I got home I thought I should really have bought a packet of them just to stick in the freezer.

While I was out, Scamp was hacking into the blackcurrant bush and doing a great job of cutting it back while opening it out to remove all the criss cross of branches in the centre of it, Those are the ones that limit the light getting in to the bush.

I was on dinner duty today and it was quiche. It’s a while since I’ve made quiche and I had to stick to Scamp and Jackie’s quantities and techniques to get the pastry made and then the filling added. Two quiches as it happened, one with broccoli, smoked salmon and tomatoes. One with cheese and tomatoes. We ate half of each and have the other half ready for tomorrow.

After dinner we sat out in the sun for a short while before deciding to water the garden. It really needed the water with the temperature reaching 25ºc which is positively tropical for Scotland. Later when Jamie phoned, we found that they could beat us with a 31ºc, but that’s becoming the norm for those in the Deep South. Who knows what the temperature was in London.

We watched an almost interesting Austrian GP with a commentator nearly bursting a blood vessel trying to make it sound like the earth shattering race it simply wasn’t. Nice try, pal. Hope the blood pressure is back to normal now.

Now here’s a strange thing. I just checked and the title of the blog one year ago in the 10th of July 2021 was … “Walking in the woods”. Maybe I’m becoming predictable. Hope not!

Tomorrow we may go out for a drive. Not been out driving for ages.