Category: Flowers

The last day of March – 31 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We went for a walk today. The options were Glasgow Green and Drumpellier Park. Drumpellier won for the simple reasons that it was closer and there was a good chance we’d find an ice cream van waiting at the end of our round trip.

It was a pleasant walk in and out of the trees and across the fields of this lovely park, especially as the trees were now beginning to show some of their greenery. A few of the older trees had been blown down in the gales, but a surprising amount of them were still standing. Possibly the amount of trees in the park protected them. About an hour long walk in total, and yes, the ice cream van was there! I don’t think I’ve seen ice cream vans on Glasgow Green, more’s the pity! Can you believe I didn’t take one photo in that hour long walk!

Drove home and had lunch before Scamp was starting on the back garden, cutting back, planting cuttings and generally tidying things up now that fresh growth was forming after the long winter we’ve had.

The good weather and sun from the morning was disappearing in the middle of the afternoon, so I wore my orange RAB jacket for a walk over to St Mo’s. On the way I bumped into our new next-door neighbours. Two women and maybe three girls. I’d bumped into them Thursday or Friday of last week and they were asking about the house and I told them I’d never been in it, but that it was almost exactly a mirror image of ours. They seem fine. Just wanting to get schools sorted out for the girls and eager to get furniture in. Scamp had bumped into them too while I was over in St Mo’s, and of course she found out names and a lot more than I did. I completely forget everyone’s names … except mine, or only sometimes does that happen.

Today’s PoD came from St Mo’s and was a shot of a dandelion. I had to scramble down a slippery banking to get that photo. Ended up muddier than I’d intended, but I got the shot.

Off to Kirsty’s Dance class for a lesson on Tina Tango. I can’t believe I’ve been dancing that sequence dance for years and only today I discovered I’d been doing bits of it wrong all along! Simple steps that I should have known, but didn’t. Anyway, I was dancing, not with Scamp who was dancing with Kirsty, but with Nicola who has been dancing since she was knee high I’m told, but she too was making a few mistakes … and I admit I trod on her toes, just like I do with Scamp. Scamp introduced Kirsty to Ed Sheeran’s Shivers. So much better than the old fashioned tango music she was playing. Next week it’s to be Melody Foxtrot to the tune of Go Gentle by Robbie Williams. That might be fun!

Possibly meeting Isobel for coffee tomorrow. Who will be the April Fool?

Dancin’ and Flowers – 29 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today we drove over to Brookfield for the first dance class in ages.

The road was busier than normal but we made good time despite that drawback. Busy carpark at Brookfield too. Something to do with a committee meeting … on a Saturday morning? Have these people no other plans on a Saturday?

We started with a couple of sequence dances both Melody Foxtrots to ease us into the routine. I was quite pleased that I managed to tie my shoes, far less dance! Then it was in to the lesson proper with a new-to-us Cha-Cha. Most of it we’d seen before, but some of the steps were new, also the teachers were adding some very technical bits and pieces we definitely hadn’t seen before. I’ll admit it, I was lost for a while.
I don’t know who had been in the hall before us, but the floor was treacherous. Even the teachers were slipping and sliding at times. However, we survived it.

Next up was a Tango. Again, we knew some of it, but not all. Hopefully the short videos I’d taken will make things clearer, as will the short one-to-one lessons we both got from Jane.

We finished with a couple of Tina Tangos the first one being to Shivers by Ed Sheeran, of course.

We left the dance class and faced a gathering storm with driving rain that followed us all the way home. Again the roads were busy although most of the traffic seemed to he heading for Braehead.

A surprise parcel was waiting for us on the steps of the house. It was a bouquet of flowers from John & Marion. Then another parcel arrived about an hour later. A posy of flowers in a glass jar. That made PoD.

I walked down to the shops to get a take-away dinner. The rain had paused and it looked safe to go. Wrong again. When I came out of M&S the wind and rain had redoubled. A day of bad choices, all in

The rain and wind is still with us at almost 11pm. Hoping for a better day tomorrow. Hoping to meet Shona for coffee in the town centre.

 

It rained today – 27 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Unfortunately it forgot to stop.

After yesterday’s sunshine, today was a bit of a let down. The farthest we got was Tesco for a shopping expedition. Not much fun to be had in Tesco.

Then it was back home for lunch. I did take the chance of getting some photos in the garden in the afternoon, between showers. My target was a Snake’s head Fritillary. One of many Scamp had planted last autumn and were beginning to flower now. The light was pretty low by the time I got a chance to beat the rain, but hopefully I’ll get another chance tomorrow, or at the weekend.

Not a lot more to say about a typical wet Scottish day.

Hoping for better weather tomorrow.

Dunfermline – 26 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We couldn’t decide where to go, but eventually settled on Dunfermline.

We usually go there by bus, but instead we drove there today. Weather was warm and dry and we got a free parking space which was a bonus.

We went to Nero for a coffee, tried unsuccessfully to find a pair of trousers to suit Scamp and likewise tried unsuccessfully to find a book I was looking for in Waterstones, then went for lunch (fish ’n’ chips for two) in Wetherspoons. One of the few Wetherspoons that doesn’t have a sticky carpet on the floor. Then we wandered through the town. It’s really very run down, but we were heading for the park and that’s the interesting part of the town.

I found a lot of exotic flowers to photograph in the heated glasshouse before we went for a walk around the well manicured gardens. Not a lot to see yet, but it is only the first month of spring. PoD was from the glasshouse and is what I think is a Canna paniculata. A flower that’s native to Costa Rica and Mexico.

From there we headed homeward, but stopped at Fairley Garden Centre in Cairneyhill and Scamp was off, wandering around the plants looking for something new to brighten the garden. She came out of there with a smile on her face, and three new plants.

That was about it for the day. Just a walk in the park and a spot of lunch. Hopefully we’ll get out again tomorrow, but the weather fairies disagree. Rain predicted.

A morning in bed – 23 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Sometimes it works for me. Today it didn’t.

I woke with the same stinker of a cold that Scamp had last week. Usually I just have the morning in bed and when I get up in the early afternoon everything fits back into place again. Unfortunately that didn’t work today. I got up and just mooched around the house. Scamp went out to get me some more Benylin and a big packet of Paracetamol plus a strange looking Sea Salt Spray which the pharmacist recommended. Then she fed me the pills and a spoonful of Benylin and I squirted the salt spray up my nostrils. It was a strange feeling but it did seem to clear my nasal passages. I’ll try it again tonight before I go to bed.
The combination of Benylin and Paracetamol seem to be doing what they were designed for.

Scamp suggested that we cancel the trip to Oban we’d planned for Tuesday. I agreed, because I didn’t fancy getting the train to Oban if this cold/flu was hanging over me. Luck was on our side for once and I cancelled the hotel booking without having to pay out a penalty. Scamp managed to cancel the rail tickets with only £5 admin costs. I felt a fair bit relieved that we weren’t asked to pay to cancel the hotel and the train. We’re intending to re-schedule the Oban trip later in the year.

We watched a fairly lacklustre Chinese F1 GP in the afternoon. Just as I said before, it was only cars going round in circles … fast!

I went for a quick walk over St Mo’s and got some photos of apple blossom on one of the trees. That got PoD.

Scamp made dinner tonight. It was chicken soup made from two chicken thighs, pulled apart after they’d been boiled to make the soup, then chopped veg to fill it out a bit. The main course was three roasted chicken wings with potatoes, and broccoli. A variation on my chicken thighs, leeks and peas.

Spoke to Jamie and heard that they are getting some decent weather to go for a walk, even if Vixen wasn’t invited and heard about a forthcoming visit to London to a team building course. It might be fun.

Well, I’ve doped my self up with Paracetamol and Benylin and I’m looking forward to squirting some salt water up my nose! 😝

No plans for tomorrow. It depends on how “the Heid is”.

 

Just the two of us – 22 March 2025

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Today was Saturday which usually means we are on our way to Brookfield for dance class, but not today.

In the morning, Scamp’s sister was getting a taxi to Glasgow to catch the bus back home to Skye. About a six hour journey. We said goodbye to her and thanked her for coming, then it was just the two of us. The house seemed awfully empty after she had gone.

Not long after she left, a knock at the door signalled the postman bringing a parcel addressed to Scamp. A parcel that mysteriously disappeared almost as it left the postman’s hands. That’s a clever trick, I thought! Not long afterwards, the same postman returned with a long cardboard box, also addressed to Scamp. This one didn’t perform the previous trick. It was a box of flowers for Scamp. She unpacked it carefully and put them in water in a vase in the living room. Some flowers from my brother and his wife for us with a note. Thank you, Alex and Carol. That was very thoughtful.

I went out for a walk later just to clear my head and maybe get some photos. Some workmen had cut up the fallen trees from about a month ago an cleared a path round the pond. That made access a lot easier. I got a PoD almost right away. It’s a Flowering Currant. Its deep pink flowers are another sign of spring.

I was feeling a bit more human today. Not coughing quite as much, but just feeling drained. In the afternoon we watched the Chinese F1 GP, but I wasn’t really interested in it. Just cars going round in circles, really.

Scamp encouraged me to go out for a walk to the shops with her later and although I wasn’t feeling like another walk, I did agree to go, but grumpily. But only as I’m writing this did I realise I’d forgotten to get the crunchy peanut butter for my porridge. I must remember to get some tomorrow. I’m addicted to it now!

We got some rain today. It must be almost a month since the last time it rained. Such a strange thing to say in Scotland. The garden definitely needed it. I think we’re due some more for the rest of the week. That will please Scamp!

Apart from peanut butter, nothing planned for tomorrow!

I think that was summer! – 19 March 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A beautiful morning with sun streaming in the window.

It did just entice me to get up, but one look out the window confirmed my suspicion that there was ice on the birdbath. Too cold for an early morning walk. I keep thinking I should get up early and go for a walk, an take some photos, but I never really get round to it.

After breakfast I drove Scamp and Jackie over to The Fort and set them loose on that big avenue of retail therapy. I drove home. I thought I might drive up to Fannyside to get some landscapes, but instead, I dug out Scamp’s kneeling device and tried to make myself comfortable, stuck between the bins, but couldn’t settle. So it was back to the old trusted fold down canvas seat.

Strangely, tucked between the bins, I was almost invisible to folk passing by. I sat there for almost an hour with my new book “Paperboy”, written in broad Glaswegian. After that I made myself a cup of coffee and returned to the bins … and the book.

Eventually I had to stretch my legs and go for a walk into St Mo’s. Only managed one decent photo, but I liked it. A Coltsfoot Daisy. That was my dad’s favourite wild flower.

When Scamp and Jackie returned, I volunteered to walk over to Golden Bowl for tonight’s dinner Chicken Chow Mein for two and Chicken Chop Suey with fried rice for Scamp.

Tomorrow there may not be a blog post. We’ll see how things work out.

 

A walk in the park – 11 March 2025

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The furthest we went today was a walk to the shops.

Another bright sunny day to start with, then the sun disappeared for a while and it looked like it would rain. However, the rain didn’t arrive and the sun shone again. All the time the cold north wind was chilling us. That was the end of the weather forecast.

We did go for a walk to the shops looking for something for dinner. Actually, we’d already agreed on fish risotto for dinner it was just the need for some spinach, blueberries and creme fraiche that brought us out of the house and down to the shops.

Halfway home, as is usual now, I went for a walk round the pond while Scamp took the messages home. Not a lot to report on the wildfowl though. A few Tufted Ducks and the usual hoards of Mallards. There had been a few Canada Geese last week, but they had just been passing the time on their way north again. Even the frogs and toads had left. I found some Coltsfoot Daisies, but none of the images were worth keeping. In the morning I photographed a vase of cut flowers backlit with the sunlight streaming in the window. That nearly got PoD, but was pipped at the post by a photo of a Horse Chestnut bud just about ready to burst free from the sticky scales that protect them from insect attack.

The Fish Risotto was a bit of a disappointment, I felt. Too much full fat milk in the mix, I think. It was still edible, but not as good as I’d have liked.

That was about it for the day, except Scamp has booked us for a run down south later in the year.  Let’s hope LNER are better resourced than they were at Christmas.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to meet Alex for the first photo walk in ages. No idea where we’ll go.

A walk in the park – 6 March 2025

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We woke to a misty, almost foggy day.

Jackie was travelling up to Skye on the morning bus. We waved her off as she got in the taxi that would take her to Glasgow on the first leg of the journey. The second leg was a six or seven hour journey on the bus from Glasgow to Portree on Skye where Murdo would be waiting to take her on the last leg to Staffin. A few days later she was intending to do the whole thing again in reverse to return to Cumbersheugh.

With a morning and part of an afternoon to fill, I was pleasantly surprised when Scamp suggested we go over to Kilsyth for a walk in the sunshine that had appeared just as Jackie was getting in the taxi. We drove over to Colzium estate and that’s where I saw a single white crocus flower among the miniature daffodils. Just one, though, but it was shining brightly in the sun. That became PoD. We walked our usual path round what had been the driveway to the “Big House”, and then onward into the trees. This was the first time we’d walked in Colzium and there were a lot of torn up trees courtesy of the storms last month, or was it two? Anyway, a shorter than normal circuit took us to the coffee shop that, conveniently, was just opening. After coffee we walked back to the car and drove home.

Just enough time for a quick spot of lunch and then we had to get a bit better dressed for a meeting with the Co-op funeral office where we had a meeting with a funeral director. Paul, Margaret, Shona, Scamp and I were present at a rather disjointed meeting where it appeared the lady who was dealing with us had to also speak to a constant stream of other customers. Not the most professional way to treat people who are already stressed and upset. However, I was not running this show and had little to do, but on two separate occasions we had a thirty minute hiatus while someone somewhere talked to someone else.

The upshot was that a firm date for the funeral was agreed and all the papers were duly signed by Paul who was the senior member of the family today. We left after about two hours and went for a quick coffee and a discussion with tasks being allocated to willing parties.

Drove home and dropped people off as we went. Finally got home and parked. Dinner was Paella and it was a good one this time. It isn’t always so good.

Tomorrow we’re hoping for a more restful day.