Category: Flowers

The day that the rains came – 22 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We asked for it yesterday and today it arrived.

It actually arrived overnight, the rain, that is. Varying from light showers to heavy thumping down torrents. All of it very welcome. Every time the rain halted for a few minutes, Scamp was out moving pots and making sure everything got its share. Me? I was doing Wordle, although I did go out once in my bare feet, and in the rain, to right a pot that had fallen on its side. Quite breezy today too.

I think the worst of the rain (or the best, it depends on your point of view) is now past and we have a bit of sun shining on us for a while, but the temperature is a much more sensible 17ºc, warm enough without going crazy.

I couldn’t be bothered with going out for a walk today, so instead I worked inside clearing out some stuff (very little) and reorganising others. In the end I still had the same amount of stuff, but felt better because I’d done something constructive. If questioned about it, I’d argue that it was all down to the rain.

Dinner was potatoes and ratatouille for Scamp and potatoes with mince for me. A sensible and enjoyable dinner, especially when I knew there was a coffee cake that Scamp had made for dessert.

We spoke to Jamie and Sim in the evening and discussed the final details for an upcoming visit. It will be good to see them both again. It’s about six months since we last saw them.

PoD was a view of the Campanula that dangles from a hanging basket all year round. Such pretty wildflowers.

Tomorrow I think we may be going shopping.

Soaking up the heat – 20 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

25º+ today and we’re promised more tomorrow.

How much more can this old planet take before we all just melt in the sunshine. I must say that I enjoyed most of it, but towards the middle of the day I was beginning to fade a little. Too much heat, not enough water and definitely not nearly enough alcohol!

Scamp was out in the morning to Fit Steps. I don’t know where she gets all the energy from. I stayed home and read for most of the hour she was sweating (Perspiring – Ladies don’t sweat, they perspire). When she got home and after a coffee, we went out looking for some bright shining plants to add to our garden. I say ‘our garden’ but you know Scamp does most of the work in the front and back gardens. I’d like to say that I’m the brains of the operation, but you know me too well to let me away with that! This time we went to Torwood for the plants and we were more restrained than we usually are. I picked two that I liked – don’t ask me what their names were. Scamp chose three. Five is a favourite number in the house.

We had lunch in Torwood. Usually a cosy, comfortable cafe, but today the Toasties were over toasted. Red Hot some would say. Almost got blisters on our lips – that’s how hot it was.

While Scamp was planting out two or three of the new plants, I was preparing for a walk over to St Mo’s. I’d sunscreen on and a coating of insect repellant on top, just to be sure. I also had a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, and a skipped cap. The cap was to keep the sun out of my eyes, but in retrospect, a sun hat would have been better and more sensible.

While I was out, Scamp had dragged out her seat and was reading in the garden. When I got home I realised just how dehydrated I was, but two glasses of water later I was back on an even keel. The next time I’m out in the sun, I’ll wear my sunhat DV and carry some water. We Scots are not built for the high 20ºs centigrade. Roll on the end of June when we return to cold rain.

Later in the evening we eventually dragged our seats back in to the house, ready for another hot day tomorrow if the weather fairies are to be believed.

PoD today went to a field of Eryngium Planum in Torwood, which Scamp managed to avoid bringing home. I’d definitely have had the lot in the car if I could!

We’re intending going over to Larky to see Crawford & Nanacy for tea.

Keeping your head down – 18 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

It’s amazing the things you see if you keep your head down.

Today I was out for a walk in the afternoon, heading to the shops to get a variety of veg to make dinner. If I hadn’t had my head to the ground I would never have noticed the burned off rusted pipe on the pavement. Inside the pipe, dirt and stones had collected over time. Some seeds had landed in the old pipe too and some of them had germinated. Add a little sunlight and a plentiful amount of rain and there you have the beginnings of a miniature garden. If I’d just been striding out, or if I’d been thinking about that dinner I was going to make, I’d have missed this little garden in the street. If you don’t look, you’ll never see what’s in front of you. But be careful, watch out for busses as well as little round gardens.

You can find my garden on Flickr. The round garden didn’t quite make PoD. That award went to a White Tailed Bee feeding on a Marsh Cinquefoil flower. Much prettier, but I still like that round garden. It’s the second one I’ve found. Must go back through Flickr to find it.

Scamp was out in the afternoon to meet up with the rest of the Witches, while I was shopping. I’d half intended to drive up to Fannyside to get some landscape photos. Unfortunately the sun didn’t want to play ball today and so instead I searched out a recipe I could use for dinner tonight. I’d seen one on the BBC page and it looked simple enough for me. Actually it was fairly simple and that’s what we had tonight. It was listed as Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, but in reality it was “What have we got in the fridge”. It served the purpose and it tasted reasonable. May make it again.

The dull weather that prevented me from going to Fannyside lasted for the remainder of the day. Dull and with the threat of rain sort of summed it up. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Scamp is intending to meet Isobel tomorrow and I’m hoping to meet Alex for a photowalk.

My turn to cook – 17 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

It was my turn to cook today and I thought I’d made a mess of it, but surprisingly it all worked out well.

It was a dull, grey day. I don’t think either of us really wanted to do much of anything. I had finished my book and started another. I don’t know where it came from on the Kindle, but it didn’t last long there. It’s now in the Kindle Bin. An hour or so’s research and a couple of quid brought me another book, much more interesting, at least that’s what I’m hoping it will be. By the way Hazy, did you know that Stone and Sky, the new Rivers of London book, set in SCOTLAND! comes out in a couple of weeks? You probably knew that and you probably told me and I probably forgot about it. Too many wee ‘nories’ in my head, that’s what my mum would have said.

Scamp was in a redesigning mood today. Plants in their pots were needing moved and I could see where she was going with this rebuild. Too many pots containing greenery and not enough with some brighter colours. Admittedly she has some beautiful roses growing in the front garden, in pots, of course, but she needs some spots of colour too. Today was a test to see what she could create from what she already had in the garden. I was the pot lifter for the day and I agreed with her changes.

However, I did want to get a bit of photography done and once I was sure she wouldn’t strain her back humphing the pots around, I took the chance of a walk over to St Mo’s where I found a Common Blue Damselfly that was willing to be a model for me. Also a pretty pink wildflower growing beside the boardwalk. It took me a bit of research to find out that it was Valerian. I remembered the name from last year. Last, but not least was was a side view of a white wild rose, fully open and welcoming any passing bees. All are to be seen on Flickr, but the PoD was the Valerian.

Like I said at the start, it was my turn to cook today. It was Mushroom Risotto and I still think I got some of my quantities wrong, but the result worked well. It’s 20 minutes of standing by the cooker feeding the mushroom, onion, garlic, butter and rice mixture with ladles full of rehydrated mushroom flavoured liquid, meanwhile stirring almost constantly for those 20 minutes. Scamp had poached a chicken breast earlier and I added it to the mixture. I’m glad it all worked. I would have hated to have gone to all that effort for it to be a failure.

Tomorrow Scamp is hoping to meet the Witches for a blether and I may go looking for dragonflies, out in the country.

Thunder, and torrential rain – 14 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Of course it was! It was summer in Scotland! What else did you expect?

We had been well warned by the Met Office and they got it right. During last night we got heavy, thumping rain, but thankfully no thunder or lightning. The rain tapered off during the day, but we weren’t going out, we’ve been caught like the before and got a soaking. Instead we stayed at home and read for a while, just because we could. No dancing class today, because the teachers were off on a Mediterranean cruise. They call it working, but we know better.

The day just sort of dragged its feet all afternoon and then late in the afternoon we heard the first rumbles of thunder in the distance. The rumbles got closer accompanied by a couple of louder bangs, then only rain to remind us that it wasn’t quite finished with us yet.

Dinner tonight was divided between two eateries. Scamp wanted a small fish supper with pickled onions. I chose chicken chop suey with fried rice. Each were produced from two different shops and both were deemed delicious. On the walk home I did catch a few heavy drops of rain, but it didn’t come to much.

The PoD came from a short dry spell in the garden and is a Polemonium Scamp recently purchased. I like the shape of the flowers which remind me of Aquilegia flowers, and the little yellow stamens catch the eye of passing insects.

Watched another episode of ‘GOLD’ on iPlayer. Quite an intriguing story although, how true to life it is, I wouldn’t like to say.

Hoping for a drier day tomorrow, or at least a less wet one.

A warm, clammy, overcast day – 13 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp was out early as usual to go to FitSteps. I read for a while.

It was one of those days when the weather can’t decide what it’s going to do. Will it rain? Will the clouds break and give us sunshine? Will it be a mixture of the two? In the end it was a combination of all those things, but nothing stayed for any length of time. I read a few more chapters of my book.

Scamp arrived home early because a woman in the class fainted and of course the rest of class was cancelled until someone came to take her home.

After lunch we browsed a food magazine for some suggestions for food for dinner. Eventually Scamp pulled a host of recipe cards from one of the kitchen shelves and we made a shortlist of possibles. We eventually settled on Tomatoey Baked Eggs with Feta. It sounds a bit naff, but actually it turned out well. We added half a focaccia that we’d picked up at a grocery stall at Klondyke. The bread was a bit dried out, but after we’d pierced a few holes in the top and fed some good olive oil into it, then gently warmed it in the oven it was fine and great for dunking in the tomato sauce. That’s another keeper for the kitchen shelf.

I went out later to St Mo’s and after catching a few gentle showers, found a photo in a bunch of Speedwell wildflowers, growing through the grass.

Warnings of heavy rain and thunderstorms for tomorrow.

Dancin’ – 12 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A lazy day that started well, but ended with rain.

After a quick lunch we were off to Glenburn for a Tea Dance. Only a few of the usual dancers at the dance, but we did take to the floor and danced a couple of Waltz Nioli (badly in my case) and a load of sequence dances too. Carol (one of the dancers) was walking with a stick after damaging her Meniscus, so Scamp offered to dance with David, so he wasn’t sitting around doing nothing, which I think is his preferred place! After reading about what and where the meniscus was, I sympathise with Carol.

We were late leaving the tea dance and that meant we were caught up in the homeward bound traffic. I chose the M74/M73 route as although it’s a bit longer, it’s definitely quicker, especially if the Kingston Bridge has become a carpark as it turned out it was today.

I walked down to the shops later on a very close, clammy afternoon. On the way back I got some photos of a common Dog Rose and that became PoD.

Watched the semi-final of Glow Up. Just a bunch of posers, posing.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go to FitSteps, although torrential rain is prodicted. We’ll have to wait and see if it comes.

Another hot day – 11 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Hardly any wind today to ruffle the leaves on the trees, but plenty of sun. Making the most of it, because it looks like it will be all change by the weekend.

Scamp was out in the morning tweaking this and pruning that in the garden. She was just making sure that all the flowers she’d planted yesterday were sitting up straight and looking happy.

We sat and solved our usual puzzles and then had lunch. It wasn’t a day to go our anywhere in a hurry, so we walked down to the shops to get the ingredients to make a stir-fry and then sat in the garden reading until I decided I’d go ‘beastie’ hunting. Scamp’s description of insects, arachnids and things that crawl and sometimes bite.

I managed to get a decent photo of a Four Spotted Chaser dragonfly at St Mo’s pond. Didn’t quite capture a Common Blue damselfly, there have been very few of them in and around the ponds this year. Further on I got a shot of a Yellow Iris with one flower beginning to go over and another just about to unfurl. That was about all the exercise I got today.

Back home we both read for a while in the back garden with a Pimms at hand. Later, Scamp turned the mixed veg we’d bought earlier into a well filled stir-fry for dinner.

That was about all the excitement we could take for one day.

We may go dancing tomorrow.

It’s been a long time – 10 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today we had agreed to visit the Kelpies. It’s been a long time since we last went to see the big horses.

Today we woke to sunshine and blue skies. That made a nice change from the grey skies and rain we’ve been looking at for the last few weeks. Scamp was looking for more flowers for the garden too, so that gave us two places to visit.

We went to find some flowers first and our destination was Klondyke garden centre near Grangemouth. They always have a good selection of plants, possibly too many, because there is limited space in the boot of the Blue car. I can’t really complain, though, because I got a couple of flowers too. Scamp found one of the grasses she’d been looking for. Its proper name is Stipa tenuissima or Pony Tails grass. It’s to be a memorial to June. A nice idea to remember her. She says that June will be able to wave to her in the morning.

After we’d paid for the plants, we headed to Helix Park, home of the Kelpies – The Big Horses. The Kelpies were looking magnificent today, shining brightly in the sunshine. Such a pity they built the Helix Park beside a sewage works. The stink today was awful. It’s the first time I’ve noticed it, but you could hardly ignore it.

We had a coffee in the restaurant. I was supposed to get scones to go with the coffee, but I decided to share a sandwich instead. Scamp was not amused. To make it up to her, I bought us both a ’99’ ice cream cone. That seemed to do the trick.

We drove home after admiring the Kelpies and getting a few new views of them. PoD went to two ladies discussing what was going on inside the great beasts.

Scamp set to and got most of the flowers and plants into their place later in the afternoon, but I’m sure there might still be time to shuffle them around later in the week.

We have no plans for tomorrow, but we do need to take some stuff to the tip. Not very interesting, but it needs to be done.

Another damp, dismal, day – 9 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

More or less what we expected after reading the weather report and checking online. It’s a Monday. Mondays are often dull. We had to cancel the visit to the Kelpies. I don’t think they’d be coming out anyway today.

With a lot of help from Scamp, I parcelled up my unwanted, too narrow and too short, dance sneakers, then drove over to UPS and gave the box and the proof of posting to the lady there and she said everything was in order. It’s up to UPS and Amazon now to do the rest of the business.

Next was a trip to Tesco for the usual lunch requirements. I did think about going for a walk in St Mo’s, but the constant showers didn’t encourage me to go walking in the rain. Instead I read a few more pages in my latest book, Murder Mindfully. It’s described as a the darkly comic bestselling thriller. I don’t know about the best seller, but it’s certainly very dark and at times funny. About a third through it now and I’m still not sure what’s going on or where it’s going!

I took some photos of the next batch of partly dried flowers that landed on the mat a couple of days ago. Then it was time to get ready to go to Kirsty’s class. Tonight we were reprising Waltz Nioli. I’d forgotten just how much I had forgotten. This was the dance class wearing my new dance sneakers and I must say they were very comfortable. I’d been told by a lot of folk that they make you think you have nothing on your feet and now I see exactly what they mean. Lovely, light trainers.

Drove home through more rain and around 7pm we had our dinner which was Giovanni Rana Tortelloni pasta and yesterday’s refried baby potatoes. Very nice and filling too.

After dinner I took some more photos of the flowers, but it was one of the earlier ones that got PoD.

Tomorrow we may have another chance to see the big horses, if they’re not too rusty.