Category: Birds

A Day of Surprises – 15 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

15-nov

Surprise No 1

When I woke this morning, just after 8am, the sun was shining.  It stayed that way too.  Now after the last two days we’ve had, that was a big surprise.  I checked all five of my photo backup drives and with a combination of them all, I can account for all the photos from 2000 to November 2016.  Not bad going.  However, one of the big old Western Digital MyBook drives looks like it’s a goner.  That is a great shame.  I’ve always thought WD were a really good make, but I suppose the ten or twelve years I’ve had it, it’s worked hard and sometimes there has been the occasional accident, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.  Soon it was time to leave the photos and go get my flu jag.  That’s jab to some people, but jag if you’re Scottish.

Surprise No 2

When I got to the surgery they were just calling my name.  That was lucky.  When I went to see the sister, I recognised her right away as an FP (Former Pupil) of Cumby High.  I couldn’t think of her name, but I remembered the face, because last night when I was browsing the photos in the oldest collection, I came upon the poster I’d made for Bugsy Malone, one I was really proud of, and here was the female lead from the show wearing a nursing sister’s uniform.  We got talking and she asked if I had any photos of the show, because nobody in her family had thought to bring a camera to the show.  I told her that I probably had, but it would take me some time to find them.  I couldn’t believe that was away back in 2003!  Anyway, she said she’d just give me a gentle wee jag.  She lied.  It was gentle at the time, but it’s aching now!

Surprise No 3

After I got back and found the said photos, hundreds of them as it turned out, I got dressed for the weather which was still bright, but cold and headed to Auchinstarry.  Walked along the railway to Twechar and got some photos in the sunshine.  I’ve still to process them, but by the time you’re reading this, they will be done with a bit of luck.  Walked back and took a long cut – the opposite of a shortcut  and walked the last half of the path along the canal.  Almost reached Smithston when a kingfisher flew out from my side of the canal bank, across the canal and down towards the marina.  I was too surprised to grab my camera which was switched off in my bag.  Walked along to where I thought it had landed but couldn’t see it.  Then to my amazement, it shot out of the far bank and continued down the canal and away.  It’s years since I’ve seen a kingfisher on the canal and I was beginning to think they had gone.  Since this one is at least a mile and a half away from my last sighting, I’m hoping there are at least two of them now.  I’ll be ready next time with the Nikon and the 300mm lens.

Weather forecast for tomorrow is wintry with rain, hail and snow predicted.  We’ll just have to wait and see, it’ll be a surprise!

Dreich – 12 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

12-nov

A day that started out looking like it might just be ok, but gradually slipped down into dull, drab and dreich.  Did you notice that ‘dreich’ is one of those words that buck the trend of “I before E except after C”?  Of course if you’re reading this as a translation into a different language from English, you will be thinking “What??”

We toyed with the idea of driving in to Glasgow or to Stirling.  Neither of us wanted anything in either place, but we felt the need to go out, despite the dullness outside.  We finally chose Stirling as our destination.  It wasn’t a great choice although there was a Farmers’ Market in the town or should I say ‘City’ as it got that as a prezzy from Mrs McQueen in 2002.  If you’re reading this, Mrs McQueen, go on, make Cumbernauld a city.  Just for a laugh.
Other than the market where I got some venison and Scamp got an Arbroath Smokie,  (Don’t know what it is?  Google it.) there wasn’t much to do in Stirling.  Couldn’t get a coffee anywhere, so we came home and dropped in at Milano for a late lunch instead.  They actually do a pretty good pizza, not as good as Paesano in Glasgow.

When we got home there was just enough light to grab a few shots in St Mo’s.  Spotted a pair of Goosanders in the pond.  Don’t ever remember seeing them there before and liked the way they cruised through the ripples and the reflections of the sunset colours.

I don’t know why I called this ‘dreich’ or mentioned Goosanders, but it just triggered a déjà vu in my head.  It happens quite often to me and I hate it.

Thunderstorms, Blazing Sun and Airies – 5 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

5 Nov

This morning we had breakfast – a lighter breakfast than yesterday and retired to the pool. 

There are two pools one for each main building.  Both buildings have the same ground plan, but one has the restaurants and the reception in addition to apartments while the other is entirely apartments.  Ours is the second one.  This means that our building is a bit quieter than the other.  Unfortunately, half of our pool is currently being renovated so we don’t have the ‘swim-in’ bar which is perhaps a blessing in disguise. 

We grabbed a couple of sunbeds after breakfast and we sat and read for an hour, then got a sketch done,  before I decided to find out just how cold the water was.  It was quite cold, but I was prepared for that after last year’s cool pool in Tenerife.  Once you’re in it’s not so cold, and once you come out again it’s lovely and warm.  I read a bit more while I was drying off and then went up to the room to get yesterday’s blog finished and the photos processed.  When Scamp came up she said it was starting to rain and as we watched the clouds roll in, we heard the first peal of thunder.  Oh dear, there goes the day.  We waited a while and then went for lunch which for me was a thin steak, a hamburger, spinach and potatoes.  Lovely.  By the time we came out the rain was off and the sun was out again.

After lunch we went for a walk in the direction of the airport.  For those of a binary persuasion, this was Left along the front, not Right like yesterday.  We walked on and on until we reached the airport.  Not the actual airport building, but the very end of the runway which was almost within touching distance.  The sound of the airies taking off is surprisingly loud this close up.  It was actually worse further away because the buildings shielded us from the sound of the engines as the plane thundered along the runway and it was only when it rose above them that you heard the roar.  Actually it was worse than that because for a couple of seconds the plane lifted in silence, then the roar began.  Those of a mathematical and scientific frame of mind will tell you it’s all to do with the relative difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound.  It does look strange. 

While we were sitting a (French?) family decided to scramble down a steep ramp to the sand.  First the mum and wee boy tentatively edged down.  Next the dad, much braver, pushing the empty pushchair just ran down it.  The front wheels of the pushchair caught in the soft sand at the bottom and stopped dead.  Dad didn’t.  He did a clumsy sort of cartwheel before landing on the sand.  It was one of those things you see happening, but are helpless (with laughter?!) to stop.  The only injury was to the poor bloke’s dignity.

We watched a few airies taking off and then headed back with more than a few stops to rest our weary legs.  The promenade is mainly flat, but it is quite long and it takes its toll on the feet.

After dinner we went to see if the singing duet would perform any songs worth dancing to, but Scamp declared them unsuitable (both the singers and the songs, I think).  Since the dance floor was littered with weans running about while their parents watched from the audience, it was probably a good decision on safety grounds.  We retired to the waiting G&T in the room.

Sat on the balcony under the stars with a couple of G&Ts. 

First Full Day – 4 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

4 Nov2

A more relaxed morning than yesterday!  Unfortunately it was still raining.  Just a shower we told ourselves but the sky gave a lie to that.  Breakfast was the usual holiday hotel fare and of course we had too much of everything.  Notables were the big slab of butter you could cut for yourself to spread on the bread you also cut for yourself.  Butter was white and unsalted and also quite delicious. 

After breakfast the rain was going off so we waited a while and then headed off in the direction of Puerto del Carmen.  It’s a fairly long walk and the weather was improving so we took our time.  Our objective today was to find the cheapest bottles of Gin and Tonic.  Although we are all inclusive, it doesn’t go wrong to have the makings of a G&T for sitting on the balcony watching the world go by.  The hotel provides us with as much drinking water as we want, free of charge, which is an improvement on some places we’ve been to.  WiFi is also free, but only in the reception and only for two devices at any one time.  Not a real drawback.  To get back to the walk, we wandered down the road checking prices as we went.  Stopped for a beer in a wee roadside bar.  Checked that a really good Asian restaurant we’d been to was still there.  Usual holiday stuff.  Then we walked back, and it was getting real holiday hot now.  Forgot to get the gin and were appalled at the price they wanted for it in Hyperdino (usually the cheapest, so we hadn’t checked it).  I volunteered to walk back to the cheapest shop to get some and also some tonic.  Finally arrived back, just in time for lunch.  We were a bit more modest in our lunch selection, really just a salad.

After lunch, Scamp went to sunbathe and I went for a walk over the rough lava rocks to get some photos.

Booked dinner in the Asian restaurant in the hotel for Monday as Saturday and Sunday were fully booked.  At night we waited for a while for the Flamenco show to start, but gave up on it after a while.  Had a drink in the lounge and then went back to try again.  The show is supposed to start at 21.30.  At 21.45 they started the presentation of the awards of the day for the Kiddies Club.  That was supposed to happen at 20.30, so it looked like they were running at least an hour behind.  We, or to be more exact, I couldn’t be bothered waiting that long, so we headed for bed.  Scamp was keen to demonstrate that she, as Genghis Pathfinder had discovered a faster way to get from the main building to the room and, for once, she was right.  Full marks for Pathfinding, Scamp.

Less food tomorrow and hopefully some sunbathing with the possibility of a swim too.

A Busy Day – 2 November 2016

Posted on by Zogman

02-nov

Some days there are loads of things to write about and some days, like today, are busy, but nothing all that interesting is happening.

Out this morning to meet Fred and Val for a coffee and a catch up.  We were all pressed for time for different reasons and had to rush more than normal.  Still a good sharing of minds 😉

From there I drove back home to pick up Scamp and drive to Falkirk.  We were running a bit behind time and perhaps that’s why we didn’t notice the ‘Road Closed’ sign.  We did notice the barrier across the road a mile or so further on.  The only way I was sure we could use was back a couple of miles at the roundabout and that’s where we went.  We managed to get to the office just in time.  Thankfully this was good news again and to celebrate we went for a coffee in a new cafe just down the lane from Andrew’s office.  The decor was good with guitars and mandolins hanging on all the walls, the coffee not so good.  Maybe it will improve with age.

Drove back and dropped Scamp off at the house where she had some work to do.  Drove up to Argos to get myself a 32Gb SD card to replace the 64Gb one I had bought from 7 Dayshop.  It was a good price for 64Gb, but the speed was dire.  Nice surprise when I went to pay for the 32Gb as it had 1/3rd off.  Glad I went there.  Managed to grab a couple of sunset shots at Broadwood Loch on the way home.

Back home had birds to feed because the greedy things have eaten all the peanuts already.  Hopefully this lot will last a little longer.  It’s an expensive hobby feeding all these feathered friends.

Tomorrow?  Who knows.

Nurse again – 30 October 2016

Posted on by Zogman

30-oct

Not a bad day, plenty of sunshine and no wind to speak of.  Not exactly blistering heat, but good for the time of year.

Scamp took to her bed in the afternoon feeling sick.  It was the sensible thing to do and now she’s back downstairs watching another exciting F1 GP, this one from Mexico.  Well, actually she’s playing Gummy drop – it’s definitely more exciting than the race. She can’t pin the sickness down to anything she’s eaten, it could just be the tail end of the cold she’s working out of her system.

That gave me the opportunity to practise my nursing skills again, but it was mainly restricted to making her ’white tea’ as Sim’s dad called it when he was here – hot water to you.  I did think I could take her pulse or her blood pressure, but decide it was best to leave her be.  I could be taking this nursie thing too far.

Later in the afternoon,  the  patient declared herself feeling better and suggested I go out and get some photos in what was left of the good light.  That’s what got me the three photos above.  I liked the shot of the beads of water on the spider web and also the spines on the thin branch.  Mr Grey is always there, he’s just too far away to get a decent sharp shot.  He knows he’s safe there and I presume there is a good food source near that rock.

img_3480-flickrToday’s Inktober sketch is probably the weakest so far.  It started out in Isometric projection (Google it), very unrealistic, but at least the proportions were right.  Then I changed it to put in some perspective and that looked a bit better.  Shading was rushed and very untidy as a result.  Tomorrow is the last one for this year in Inktober, but I’m definitely going to continue as long as my nerve and the pens hold out!  I can always buy more pens, of course.

Fish – 18 October 2016

Posted on by Zogman

18-oct

This morning we drove to Linlithgow to get some fish. It was either Linlithgow (which has an actual fishmongers) or Morrisons in Falkirk (which has a good fish counter – no, he doesn’t actually count the little fishes, it’s not that sort of counter). We opted for Linlithgow because it’s quite scenic, if a little twee and I might just find something to photograph. It was a bad move.

I’d forgotten that Linlithgow actually welcomes people to park cars, vans and lorries at the side of the narrow road. It also encourages farmers to drive their massive pumped up tractors and slurry tanks at full legal tilt down the congested main street. Today, just to confuse the unwary and annoy me in particular, they also decided to start roadworks at the three way roundabout at the end of the town with three way traffic lights to raise the blood pressure of all and sundry. This meant a crawl behind a snaking caterpillar (is that mixed metaphors?) of cars, vans and buses through this historic town. We did eventually get to the carpark and the fishmongers and get the fish, but I couldn’t be bothered going to get some photos and end up getting mired in more traffic chaos to get back out of the town. I wanted to get the dinner on by about 5pm and it was already after 1pm. I wasn’t sure we’d get out of the congestion by 5. As it happened, the traffic heading west was easy peasy and we scooted home in double quick time.

When I took the shopping bag with the fish out of the boot there was a decidedly fishy smell coming from it, but hey, there WERE fish in the bag, what do you expect. It wasn’t until we were unloading the shopping bag that we noticed a few of the individual bags were leaking fishy juices into the shopper. Oops, straight into the washing machine with that then.

Since we’d made such good time coming home, I thought I’d take myself off for a walk before dinner and I’d drive down to Auchinstarry for a change. Dumped my camera bag in the boot – fishy smell still there, and off I went. Got to Auchinstarry and while retrieving my camera bag I spied the culprit. The lining of my lightweight rainproof jacket was soaked with fishy goodness. That explained the smell. Hmm, straight into the washing machine with that too when I get back.

Today’s photos:

  1. Young deer hiding in dried reeds. It didn’t run because it knew there was a 3m drop and a 5m wide torrent to cross before I’d be anywhere near.
  2. Two young horsewomen riding through the trees. Incongruously, one of them was smoking a fag (cigarette to any American readers who may be conjuring up very strange images 🙂 )
  3. Bramble leaves soaked with sugar (that’s what makes the colour). I promised myself that I wouldn’t photograph leaves this autumn. That didn’t last long.
  4. Abandoned farmhouse on the Campsie Fells. Lovely warm textures from the glancing sunlight attracted me.
  5. Crows and pigeons rising from their late afternoon feed in the corn field. A bit of fakery in this shot to lighten the corn without lightening the trees too much in the background.

img_3453-flickrToday’s Inktober is an old house near the railway walk. In real life, it’s gloomier than this sketch shows, but it’s a fair representation of this old and rather sinister looking house.  It sits behind a wood and from the path you are looking through the trees at it.  I only managed a quick, twenty minute max, sketch before the midgies really got to me and I had to move on.

So, back to the house and dump that waterproof jacket in the washing machine. Thankfully it’s made of nylon, so I’m hoping:

  • It will still be waterproof
  • The smell won’t he stuck in the fibres

I’ll find out tomorrow when it’s dry again.

Tonight’s dinner was Simple Fish Stew which came from BBC Good Food.  Recipe here.

More sunny spells expected tomorrow. Viva the Jet Stream!

PS To those who didn’t get the photos, but presumably have them now, the WiFi died last night and didn’t come on again until this morning.  Virgin Media apologises for the lack of connectivity – Aye Right!

The Weather Fairies Lied – 16 October 2016

Posted on by Zogman

16-oct

They promised us sunshine.  I think they must have had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

It started off dull, but we were expecting that.  We knew it would brighten up around midday.  However, when the wee hand was at 12 and the big hand was also at 12, the weather was much the same.  It stayed that way with the occasional bright spell through the afternoon.  I risked a half hour walk later in the afternoon and got a fairly decent portrait of a swan and a shot of a ‘Black Panther’ salute from a bush before the rain put an end to play.

Drove in to Glasgow in bright sunshine, but the sun was low and distracting.  One of those days where you wish it was dull like in the morning.  It might be boring, but at least there’s nothing to blind you.  Salsa was very energetic and very, very enjoyable.  I think Scamp was wondering what was coming next a few times when I started to string two or even three half moves together in a sequence.  It must be really hard being a follower at times.

img_3449-flickrTonight’s Inktober sketch is of some Lisianthus flowers in a vase on the table.  I keep wanting to call them Lissajous which are a totally different kettle of fish.  As far as I can remember, they were produced on an oscilloscope when we were studying AC current at college, back last century some time.  Google it, that’s the best idea.  Anyway ‘flooers’ as I call them are sometimes a picture of last resort, but these ones were quite a challenge.  Pen was a blue Linc Saffron from the Pound Shop.  Quite high quality rollerball pen, made in India.  It has a tendency to smudge when wet, but dries to a water resisting finish, at least the black does.  I’ve been using them for years now.  If you see them on sale, buy a pack.  A pound well spent.  Paper was my favourite Pink Pig sketching book.

Not sure what to expect from the weather tomorrow, but hopefully it will be better than today.

Another day waiting for the aerial man – 12 October 2016

Posted on by Zogman

12-oct

The bloke who was going to take down that bloody aerial failed to turn up today.  Different bloke from the last time, different day, same result.  Now he says he’ll be here tomorrow.  Do we believe him?

Went out early for some photos in the sunshine in St Mo’s.  Got one of Mr Grey preening.  Unless he’s lost a lot of weight, I don’t think this is the real Mr Grey, more likely it’s a body double.  The real Mr Grey has probably flown south for the winter and he’s arranged this substitute to make it look as if he’s still here.  The body double probably even collects the real Mr Grey’s Giro.  Yes, I know that we don’t do Giros any more, but unemployed bird still use them, because they don’t do internet banking.  Anyway, the green leaves were growing from a storm felled tree.  There must have been enough continuity between trunk and roots to keep the transfer of sugars and starches.  The landscape is from St Mo’s and is of clouds breaking over the Meikle Bin above and beyond Kilsyth.  The wee spider was climbing a tree and if you look closely at the Flickr version, you will notice that he’s got his safety rope securely fixed to a branch.  Even spiders have to be careful these days.

img_3438-flickrI’ve been following “The Constant Doodler” and today’s Inktober sketch is my first attempt at his signature One Line drawing where his pen never leaves the paper until the drawing is finished.  It’s much more difficult than it looks.  Try it sometime and you’ll discover just how much planning is required before you start.

Other than that, it was another dull day after the promise of the morning’s weather.  There was a bit of rain in the evening and more if forecast tomorrow.  Maybe that will give the aerial man another excuse to avoid the demolition of the bloody aerial.  But then you never know.  Maybe tomorrow we’ll be celebrating the removal of this piece of roof architecture.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting for Kizomba to begin – 10 October 2016

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10-oct

Sitting in the STUC building after another slow run in to town. Not much fun, but at least I’m in a better mood than last week and more prepared for the slow drag.

Physio said there was a definite improvement again this week again, but he still made me in to the human pincushion. Three weeks until the next appointment.

Finally got yesterday’s Flickr uploaded this afternoon. To the eagle-eyed, congratulations if you noticed the swap of the Inktober drawing.  Once I saw yesterday’s on the computer, so many things were wrong with it, too many things in fact, so I did another, more calculated version in pencil first and then with ink on top.  After that I rubbed out the pencil guidelines.  Today’s Inktober isn’t done yet,  I’ll do it later and add it in to the blog when I get the chance

Today’s shots were just grabbed when I was making dinner. The coal tits must have been waiting for the feeder to be refilled because they were down as soon as the back door closed. The crow just looked so depressed sitting on the fence in the rain and I managed to capture the raindrops too.

[Later that same day}
Ok we’re home now and Kizomba tonight was equally good, although it was moves we’d done before ie. Forward Travel with Cha-Cha and Ladies Saida.  Kizomba seems more like Ballroom dancing than Salsa or Bachata to me because you have hand movements and foot steps too and they must co-ordinate.  I still find that difficult, but I’m sure it will get easier with practice.

It was a day of mixed fortunes weatherwise.  There was sun, it was cold, there were cloudy spells and rain showers too.  A wee bit of everything except (whisper it) snow.

Pictures are up on Flickr, Blog is written, Mosaic is in place.  Just a bit of sketching to do and we’re done! So, here it is.  Hope it was worth the wait.  Hands are fiddly to do, but they’re patient, they don’t img_3434-flickrmove unless you ask them to.  They’re always there and although they look like five limbed octopi or spiders, if they’re drawn badly ( I don’t think this one’s too bad ;-\ ), they’re always happy to sit for another sketch … or five.  I even got the twisted knuckle in my pinky to look like it is in real life.  Such a pity I couldn’t spell Inktober!