Category: Beasties

Zooming over to Falkirk – 14 July 2020

Posted on by Zogman

Not literally, but virtually.

We had a Zoom meeting today with Andrew, the man from Falkirk. All seems to be well and we don’t need to make any changes at the moment, but he advised us that he’ll be getting in touch to make some amendments to things before the New Year.

While we were in Virtual Space, there was a knock at the door and a mysterious parcel was left on the step. It wasn’t a mystery to me, I knew what was in it. After the meeting, Scamp asked who was at the door and I pointed to the tall cardboard box sitting in the hall. She knew immediately what it was. The Gertrude Jekyll rose had arrived in a similar one. After “oohing” and “ahhing” she opened the box and allowed the rose to see daylight after being cooped up for a couple of days. Then she took it outside and gave it a drink. Tomorrow we will go and find a suitable container to plant it in. It will also need a fair amount of compost to fill it up. This rose is Comte de Chambord.

In the afternoon Scamp went to visit Isobel with her birthday present, which was the other Coreopsis plant we got last Thursday. While she was out I started clearing up the painting room, then got sidetracked into a WhatsApp text conversation about painting with Fred. A few sarcastic comments from both of us confirmed that it’s time we went for a coffee some time soon, all of us, that is. I don’t think we’ll be going for a beer any time soon. The thought of taking the bus into Glasgow, or even the train doesn’t entice me at all. Maybe in a few months if the situation improves it might be possible. The other option is for someone to volunteer to be nominated tee-totaler for the day. That’s not all that practical either. Maybe coffee with the Auld Guys will do for now.

After our correspondence I went for a walk down to the shops because we needed milk, Scamp wanted oranges and I wanted apples. Hoped to get a PoD on the way. I finally got one on the way back. It’s a Dead Nettle, so called because the leaves don’t sting. In fact I was reading an article online that said if you chew up a dead nettle leaf and spread it on an insect bite, it takes the sting out of it. Not sure I fancy that, but it might be worth trying some time.

Did a wee pen sketch of a mug and a spoon for Sketch of the Day. I was quite pleased with it. Did it with a 0.4mm rollerball.  Very slippery to sketch with, but the line remains 0.4mm because unlike felt tip fineliners, rollerballs don’t wear down. Or at least, not as much.

Scamp got an email from the Beechgrove Garden telling her that a question she’d asked about pests on the blackcurrant bush had been answered in a video.  She even got a name check by one of the presenters.  She’s famous now!!

No real plans for tomorrow other than compost and a plant pot for The Comte!

An aching start – 12 July 2020

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We were both a bit slow to rise this morning, as predicted by someone last night.

Despite all our walking every day, or at least every second day, our bodies were aching this morning. I suppose I felt it more in my upper body, arms and shoulders. Scamp said she thought it was the strain of holding the frame when we were ‘in hold’ during the ballroom dances last night. Probably, although I hate to admit it, the Salsa routines we did contributed too. More arm swinging when we’re out then. That would fit in with the ethos of Scamp’s route marches.

Not at all related to the above, I volunteered to do the strimming of the front grass. Scamp did the main grass cutting. We really need to get a new grass hoover. The safety grip doesn’t work any more and now the power plug is slipping out of the socket. Scamp will say that it doesn’t happen, but I was watching today and it slipped out on two occasions. That’s just not safe. I hope you’re reading this Scamp and take what I’m saying to heart!

After lunch, Scamp went for a walk, an energetic walk round our Broadwood route while I took some photos in the garden. Unfortunately all of the photos were rejected in the first cull. Either they were out of focus or there was obvious camera shake. When the power walker returned, I went looking for some friendly looking beasties willing to pose for me in St Mo’s and the surroundings. What I found was an acrobatic Soldier Beetle working out on the grass stems. Next up was a belligerent looking Ladybird. I gave it a wide berth, but I took its photo first.

Watched a second Austrian GP that started with a remarkable crash with both Ferraris taking each other off. That was followed by about 70 laps of boring racing. The adverts every 15mins or so were actually more interesting, then in the final three laps it all brightened up considerably with some great driving. Pity about the intervening 60 odd laps of tedium. Funny to see the awards being presented by remotely controlled trolleys! The driving of them left a lot to be desired! Maybe Vettel has found a new position!

The acrobatic soldier beetle narrowly beat the aggressive ladybird to PoD, but both are available to see on Flickr. No sketch today, but I promise I’ll do my best to catch up tomorrow.

Out walking – 6 July 2020

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We drove down to Auchinstarry to walk along the canal this morning. Typically, now we are free to travel the length and breadth of the country, we stayed within the 5 mile lockdown limit!

Walked along the canal, avoiding a few cyclists and joggers on a beautiful, if slightly breezy morning. Still didn’t see any kingfishers, but did catch one of Mr Grey’s relatives hiding in the rushes on the far side of the canal. Initially he tried to hide, but then realised it was just a couple of humans out for a walk and totally ignored us. We turned around when we reached Twechar and took the railway path back to Auchinstarry. The railway path is much more sheltered than the canal towpath and as a result we could dispense with out waterproof jackets. Hardly met anyone on the path. When we were crossing the wee stone bridge at Auchinstarry I spotted a Shield Bug and that got PoD. It just ignored me for most of the time, but when I got too close it became defensive and as they have a tendency to fire smelly fluid at you if attacked, I said goodbye and took my leave.

After lunch Scamp went looking for food at the shops while I stayed home and attempted yesterday’s painting, a Ruby Wedding rose that Scamp had cut yesterday to stop it being battered by the gales. It was much more glamorous today picking up the light from the window. I didn’t do it justice, I know that, but this was the best of three attempts and would have to do. It was another catch-up.

When Scamp returned I grabbed my camera and went looking for more subjects. Found a Burnet moth behind St Mo’s school. First one I’ve seen this year. Didn’t get a chance to count its spots, just took its photo.

Tonight I did today’s sketch which turned out to be a still life pencil sketch of two apples. One of my favourite subjects, but, again, not very successful. I’m intending keeping the Lockdown Library going until we’re sure we’re out of it or until I reach my limit.

Another sketchbook filled tonight. May go looking for another one tomorrow. Otherwise no plans. Depends on the weather.

Feeling a bit run down – 2 July 2020

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You know how some days you feel a bit lacklustre and not exactly full of energy. That’s how Scamp’s wee red car felt today.

We had spent the morning lounging around and too lazy to do much. Although the wonders of shopping in Glasgow were drawing us in to the big city, inertia was holding us fast. Eventually we decided that today was a lovely sunny day after a few wet and dull days, and we should both make the most of it. Tomorrow promises to be wet and windy. That might be a better day to wander round the shops. Our decision was to go and do some food shopping because Scamp was chef tonight, then I might go out for a run on the Dewdrop. Scamp’s car hadn’t turned a wheel for about a month, so she offered to drive, except …

When she turned the key in the ignition the starter coughed a few times and then went silent. She tried again and it was like a death rattle. Lifted the bonnet, but there was nothing to see. After my recent problems with the Juke, I suspected a flat battery. Scamp tried phoning for the AA which is run through our bank, but there was a 20min wait in a queue, even to find out if we were covered for home start. I phoned Jim Dickson our go-to place for all car consumables to find out how much a new battery would cost. It was a lot less than Kwik Fit or AA were quoting, like a hundred pounds less in the case of the AA.

After a fair bit of swearing and about half an hour’s work the old battery came out and I took it for a run to see what Mr Dickson would say about it. He (or as it turned out, she because it was Ms Dickson who was in charge today) said yes, they had one in stock and for once it was the cheap one we needed. Back home I wrestled the new battery into place and nearly wrecked a Torx spanner tightening the retaining bolt. Before I connected the terminals back in place I did check with Mr Google who told me that I was correct in assuming that the negative terminal was the first to be connected. I don’t know where I’d remembered that from, because it’s a very long time since I’ve replaced a battery in a car. With everything connected, the key turned, the engine started an Scamp had a smile on her face again.

Work done, I had an hour to spend walking over St Mo’s before dinner. Came back and sat in the garden with a pint of Guinness while the chef prepared dinner which turned out to be a lovely Paneer Curry. Quite the best curry I’ve had in a long time. I must get the recipe!

While I was out I got today’s PoD which is a seven spot ladybird. Managed a shot of a hoverfly masquerading as a bee too. I took the ladybird with a conventional shot, but the hoverfly was captured using Post Focus. It’s really an extremely short video that allows you to select one frame to download and turn into a JPEG file. Yes, JIC I know that’s Technospeak and you weren’t warned. Sorry. Just call it Black Magic! That’s how it seems to me and I know how it works.

Because of the battery problems, I didn’t really get round to doing a sketch until just before I started the blog, but it is done and will be posted tomorrow, all being well. Also tomorrow we may go in to Glasgow if the rain isn’t too heavy.

Hot! – 25 June 2020

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We were warned it was going to be hot today. They weren’t wrong.

First job was to get my hair cut. Number three all over followed by a number two to clean up the fluffy bits at the nape of my neck. I’m always amazed at the amount of hair that falls in clumps on the carpet as I’m cutting. A bit thank you to Scamp because she did quality control on the operation and was the one who used the number two cutter to achieve perfection on the neck line. It’s such a great feeling when you step out of the shower and dry your hair in about 20 seconds flat.

With the big job over, we walked down to the shops and bought a new set of coloured lights to go round the tree in the garden. It brightens up the place and although the last lot hardly lasted a month, it was worth the fiver. It wasn’t until we got home we found that someone had swiped the solar cell from the box. Not only that, they’d just ripped it off the cable, so it would be almost no use to them.

After lunch Scamp was going to see her sister, so she got her money back on the lights. While she was off to see big sis, I walked round St Mo’s and got today’s PoD of an Azure damselfly. I also saw three dragonflies doing circuits and bumps at the pond. I imagine one of them was the one I saw emerging yesterday. Walked over to the shops and bought some pineapple cakes sweets and ice-cream, The healthy option.

Dinner tonight was smoked salmon and broccoli quiche with a salad. Very nice indeed. Sat in the garden and listened to the bloke next door pontificating on a range of topics, but mainly The Eagles. We discussed Scamp’s idea for a storage unit for the paved area of the back garden, but mainly we just soaked up some rays. It seemed sensible because it doesn’t look as if there are going to be many sunny days for a while. Thunder and lightning forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Heavy rain too, which should mean we don’t have to water the garden.

Today’s painting was a watercolour of a plantain flower. Not the Caribbean green banana, but an insignificant little plant that produces a brown and white flower on a long stem. If you live in the UK you’ll have seen them on any patch of waste ground.  They are also known as Ribwort.

As usual, no plans for tomorrow. It definitely depends on the weather!

Disobeying orders – 24 June 2020

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Well, not really. We were travelling more than 5 miles from home, but not for exercise or leisure, we were going shopping. Honest!

In the morning we did a bit of cutting and cropping of various bushes. Scamp was dead heading anything that didn’t move and I was taking cuttings from a rosemary bush, then giving it a more serious short back and sides. Might have to do my own hair tomorrow if I can find the time, but I’ll use a pair of clippers, not a pair of secateurs.

We drove to The Fort after the gardening was deemed done and walked around shops that were now coming out of the mothball stage they’ve been in since March. There was a lot more activity in them than I’d anticipated. All sorts of shops, too. It seems that Nick the Chick has turned a corner and is actually taking steps to get people back to ‘normal’ and perhaps trying to kick start business into life again. Let’s hope it’s not too little, too late.

However, this was not leisure or exercise although to the casual observer it might have looked like that. No, we got back in the car and drove on to Morrisons and bought such essentials as yoghurt and fish plus a couple of bags of Yorkshire Mixture sweeties. The place was busy but not overcrowded. We did, however, have our masks on, unlike most of the Glaswegians who are made of sterner stuff and don’t need such fripperies.

Back home lunch was two ‘pieces’ on corned beef with a fair dash of brown sauce for me and one ‘piece’ on cheese for Scamp. Then it was out to sit in the sunshine for a while. I chose not to take the lazy route and went for a walk round St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which is a dragonfly emerging from its nymphal stage. They can live for about two years as a nymph in shallow water before emerging and turning into the adult flying insect. They only live out of the water for about two months maximum. It’s a hard life being a dragonfly.

No sketch today. Too warm, couldn’t find anything interesting, just couldn’t be bothered, to be honest. Maybe I’ll do catchup tomorrow. No other plans for tomorrow, but it’s going to be hot we’re told and with the threat of thunderstorms too.

Another dull, wet one – 23 June 2020

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Much the same as yesterday. Woke to grey skies and wet ground.

Scamp was feeling much more like herself today and we went out for a walk in the afternoon. It was dry almost all the way down around the exercise trail behind Broadwood stadium, then just a little way round the side of the loch. That’s where we bumped into David, the bloke who used to own the garage I we got our cars serviced and MOT’d in. He ran a good business and I could tell he’d hated having to retire from it. It was him who suggested, four years ago, that it might be time for me to let go of the Renault Megane, because I’d guessed, but he knew it was going to cost me a lot more in time and money to keep it on the road than it was worth. We stood and talked for about twenty minutes, observing social distancing as just about everyone does these days. It was good to speak to him and find out what he was up to now and how they were coping with lockdown. When we left him and headed up the hill towards home, we both suspected there was just the hint of rain in the air and it did actually rain for the last hundred yards to the house, but just enough to dampen our hair, not actually get us wet.

I’d taken some photos in the garden earlier in the day and I took some more when the rain eased off. It was one of the early ones that got PoD.  It’s a Jenny Long Legs (Crane Fly) dangling on my pea netting. Poor wee thing. I quite liked a close-up shot of one of Scamp’s favourite roses, Remember Me. It didn’t quite make PoD, but it is on Flickr.

Scamp was chef today and Carrot & Lentil Curry was on the menu. Always a firm favourite in this house. I made the flatbread, but it turned out a bit salty. The curry was fine, but more fiery than Scamp had intended. Still worth going for seconds, because there was ice cream to cool our mouths afterwards. More curry in the fridge for tomorrow, but unfortunately no more ice cream!

Tonight’s painting was going to be a landscape, but it just didn’t work out right. It was overworked and you just can’t do that in watercolour. I gave it up and changed completely in the second painting of an anemone flower. I liked it, although there are a few errors I didn’t see until I photographed it. Still, it’s done and it is miles better than that landscape was going to be.

Tomorrow we may go out somewhere just to get one of the cars moving and to get ourselves out again.

Brighter Later – 16 June 2020

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A dull start to the day with this week’s white cloud hanging over us.

Spent the morning spending money on Amazon. Nothing specific, but lots of little things that all mounted up, then there’s the inevitable delivery costs for the items that aren’t covered by the free delivery con. Eventually we agreed that it was worthwhile taking on another month or two of Prime. I just have to put a reminder in my calendar to make sure I cancel it when we’re finished spending!

After lunch I took the Oly E-M1 with the new lens and went for a walk in St Mo’s. Lovely warm weather much nicer than it had been in the morning because that white cloud had burned off. The new lens worked much better today with decent light. Still not that fast to focus, but the results are worth the small inconvenience. Lots of damselflies round the wee pond by the boardwalk. One dragonfly that was cruising round and round, either looking for a likely mate or for some tasty morsel for lunch. Saw a fairly large grasshopper sunning itself on the edge of the boardwalk and got a few closeup shots of it. One of those got PoD.

Back home we sat in the garden for a while before Scamp went in to start tonight’s dinner. We’d pulled some rhubarb earlier in the day and she was making a rhubarb pie for pudding. I’d asked for macaroni ’n’ cheese for dinner and that’s what we were having. It was delicious and served with tomato ketchup. Scamp of course had brown sauce. Rhubarb pie was just excellent. Her shortcrust pastry was just perfect.

The Lockdown Library topic for today was Something You Have Made. I’ve made a lot of things, mainly mischief, but one of the things I’m most proud of is my waistcoat. Complete with dummy pockets, lining, button holes and buttons. I made it all. It was a bit of a trial at times with a whole new language to learn. Interfacing, darts and basting, but it was worth the effort. The first ‘rough’ turned out really good and by comparison it’s better than the ‘finished’ sketch. That’s often the way, but I’d used it as an experiment to find out what medium worked best for the yellow check, and it wasn’t fit to be shown. The final painting is ok, but not much better than that.

Tomorrow we have no plans, but we’ve a Tesco delivery scheduled for between 5pm and 6pm. Chance of rain and thunderstorms during the night and again tomorrow afternoon. If the rain doesn’t come we might need to water the garden.

A Toy of the rack – 11 June 2020

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I’ve been looking for a decent quality second-hand macro lens. Today it appeared on the Wex website, but not for long.

The lens I was looking for was an Olympus 60mm f2.8 M.Zuiko macro lens. I have a very hardworking Lumix 30mm f2.8 macro at present. It produces immaculate photos of ‘beasties’ as Scamp calls them. However, (there’s always a however!) you have to get really close to an insect to get a decent large image. Sometimes that’s quite easy, but often trying to get your piece of glass in place 10.5cm from the subject is just going too close to the insect. The Olympus 60mm allows you to be almost twice that distance away and still get the same shot. 10cm is a lot when you’re trying to capture a skittish dragonfly. I’ve seen a few of the Oly 60s for sale on different websites, but they were all well used and quite worn. This one, this morning, was almost brand new and for a price I was willing to pay. Snapped it up and with a bit of luck it will arrive tomorrow. If not it will be Monday.

That was the morning taken care of. After lunch I went out for a spin hoping to get some photos in an improving day. Came home empty handed to find Scamp just finishing repotting the new little acer she got last week. She’d also fed the magnolia and the acer with ericaceous dressing. I still hadn’t found any photos and as the sun was coming out, I got togged up and took the dewdrop out for a run. Wheel and especially the brake disk is still bedding in, but getting better each time. Walked the bike round Mosswater Nature Reserve behind Blackwood. Met a bloke who was running round it with his son. He had a curious way of counting the laps they’d done. All done with stones placed in different patterns on the viewpoint. A line of pebbles counted the number of times they’d done the round trip and a pile of them counted something else. It was all a bit beyond me. I left them too it and walked round past the ponds, noting that appearance of some damselflies and a few dragonflies. Possible targets for that new lens when it comes.  On the way back I stopped at St Mo’s and grabbed a shot of a little froglet, or zoglet, wandering back to the pond.  Tiny little thing about 1cm long. That was PoD sorted.

Got home to find Scamp just finishing grass cutting at the front of the house and trimming the edges with her new fancy edging shears.

Hopefully we’ll get another dry day tomorrow, and get out for a run, but we’re not doing the sort of run that involves pebbles in piles on a viewpoint!

Out for a run – 8 June 2020

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On four wheels and then on two.

Scamp wanted some pots for the front garden and some compost. I wanted some Polyfilla and something to kill the bugs that are becoming a pest in the front garden.

When we went out, George was washing their car and cursing the bird crap on it. I gave him my anti-birdcrap spray and told him it worked well if you give it some time to soak through. They have a Toyota Aygo and I’d read good things about it. I asked him what it was like, knowing that he doesn’t drive, but his partner does. He said “It’s ok, but it’s a woman’s car.” Oh dear, wrong thing to say. Scamp was talking to Angela next door and both heads went up at the same time. “What did you just say??!” I think he was outnumbered and knew it. He changed the subject double quick.

We drove to B&Q, but the ‘Q’ in B&Q obviously stands for Queue, because this one stretched all the way along past Halfords. I think there must be a lot of Lockdown DIY fanatics out there, desperate for a chance to redecorate their entire house or, maybe even to build a new one. With all the money they’ll be saving by not going on holiday and all the spare time they have on their hands, why not? We weren’t that desperate, so we went to Calders instead.

Queue there was zero. We walked straight in and I got lumbered with one of their unwheelable, unsteerable and heavy low trolleys. They really are a nightmare, but I knew I needed one of these clumsy behemoths to carry the compost bags safely. We got the pots and compost and a bug spray to kill off whatever it is that’s destroying Scamp’s eryngium buds in the front garden. Loaded up the Juke and off we went home via the new shops. Scamp went to get lunch and I went to get some lock ’n’ lock storage alternatives and some jammy cakes and oh look, a Toblerone fell into my basket! Also noted that Home Bargains were selling the same bug killer for half what we paid. Bummer!

Lugged the compost and stuff in and had lunch. Then organised a photo of the car to draw later. Scamp had started repotting a rose and splitting up a heather plant, so I thought it was high time I was out of there and getting photos. Cycled to the off road path beside the railway and stood, resting my bum on the crossbar of the bike while gazing across to the Two Amigos (the two beech trees that used to be three) and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Sometimes that’s what you need. Just some quiet time in the sun. No need for foreign holidays and the stress of air travel. Just some time in the sun.

Got back home and made Pesto Pasta for dinner. It was lovely at the time, but the garlic is beginning to make its presence felt now.

PoD was some foxgloves glowing in the sun. Three sketches added to the Lockdown Library on Instagram. All caught up and once this blog is posted I’ll be off to bed.

Tomorrow? Looks like it will be decent for most of the day, but deteriorating in the late afternoon.