Category: Flowers

An afternoon to myself – 16 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It’s not often I get an afternoon to myself, but I had one today.

Scamp was off to lunch with the rest of the Witches. Two or three hours of blethering seemed to fit the bill for them. I read for a while, a new book for me, Deception by Alan Parks. So far it’s a good read.

Other than reading and struggling my way through Wordle (I scraped a poor 6 today), I didn’t do much, although I did go for Scamp’s meds and watched the clouds rolling over the Campsies. Every time I thought I’d go out for a walk, the rain would threaten and although I’ve been pretty lucky with the wet stuff, I didn’t want to push my luck too far.

I did have a look at getting a new roller cabin case, because the old one I’m using now, the one I took to Hazy’s, is just about falling apart. I’ve had it for about 12 years now and it really needs replaced. The problem is that I really want to have a look and a feel at the case, because, as Scamp will tell you, I’m not all that careful with these things. I might have a look later in the week.

Today’s PoD went to a couple of wee daisy-like flowers that grow quite happily beside the step in the back garden. One is white and the other is pink. I’ve always called them daisies, but I’m told their proper name is Erigeron. They looked quite happy in their place beside the steps.

Tomorrow we may go dancing if the weather fairies are correct. For once I’m quite looking forward to it.

 

Dancin’ – 12 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Back in the old routine.

Today started with a drive through the rain to Brookfield. One of those strange days when the weather couldn’t quite agree whether it wanted rain or sun and in the ended opted for both … at the same time. Heavy rain showers and rainbows at the same time. But we weren’t there to gaze at the weather variations. Oh no, the teachers had a new ‘dance’ for us Rhumbumbumba! A silly name for an equally silly piece of nonsense. We danced it twice an by the end of the second repeat, I was lost. I’ve a feeling the teachers are going to push this piece of nonsense for all it’s worth. Not impressed!

The next dance was the Butterfly Jive. No butterflies were injured in the making of the dance, but it was much more sedate than the Rhumb…. We did kind of remember it, Scamp says it’s been around since 2024 when we last attempted it. I vaguely remember it and had a go at it with Scamp leading.

Next up were variations on the Quickstep. I don’t claim to be able to do it, but at least I can place my feet in roughly the correct places for the music without tripping over myself … well, almost. By the end of the session I was beginning to understand how the figures went together.

Stewart and Jane were determined to get us up on our feet again for yet another session of Rhumb… etc, but I sat that one out. If you want to involve yourself in a line dance, search YouTube for Rhumbumbumba. It appears to be all the rage! Good Luck.

Drove home in the rain but made good time for a change, taking almost the same time getting home compared to the time we took to get to Brookfield. Forty five minutes each way.

Back home I made a watered down espresso coffee for Scamp. She wasn’t impressed, but said it was much better with Drinking Chocolate added to it. I’ll take her word for it. I think I’m coming to terms with the new machine and getting good results from it.

Today’s PoD is a wee flower from the garden a blue flowered Polenium.

No plans for tomorrow.

Bad Hair Day – 11 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

I found this guy, above, yesterday, but kept him just in case I’d need a quick photo.

As it turned out I did need a bit of a fall back and Boris, because that’s his name, fitted the bill perfectly.

I thought we were going to find a cruise or a mixture of cruise and stay, today, but it didn’t work out like that. Scamp delved into quite a few different cruises, but very few had balcony cabins and we both love our balconies. That was a disappointment, but we felt we could probably work round it. Then I messed things up by suggesting we might not be able to get insurance because Scamp was still waiting for a procedure. This was something we hadn’t thought of. In the end we decided it would be better to leave the cruise until next year and have a few mini breaks up to Christmas instead. Not what we’d intended, but maybe a few days in Jersey would be just as good. Also, we’d thought of taking a few days in Newcastle.That would mean we could take our time selecting a cruise that we both really wanted.

In the afternoon we started work in the garden. The Buddleia bush was really needing cut back and Scamp had a box of Pansies that should have been planted weeks ago. So while I chopped the buddleia, Scamp planted out the remaining flowers. The buddleia now looks very sparse, and like Boris, it was having a Bad Hair Day. It still looks a bit rough and ready, but I’m sure it will grow back fairly quickly.

Dinner tonight was yesterday’s chicken made into a semi-salad. Another of Scamp’s suggestions that worked well. A “What have we got in the fridge” meal, that just worked.

It looks like dance class will be a going concern tomorrow. The teachers arrived home from a week’s holiday in Tenerife and there were enough folk ready and willing to be taught. So despite my best efforts, we’re going to Brookfield in the morning.

Boris made PoD. I’d found him hiding in behind the vegetable trolley on Wednesday and I thought he fitted the bill perfectly.

Other than dancing, no plans for tomorrow.

Crocosmia and Coffee – 6 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not a very promising day for weather.

It felt like the rain was ready to start at any minute. I didn’t have much hope of getting out, but as usual, I live in hope.

Shona was staying with us for the weekend and it felt like she really needed the rest. While Scamp and I were up fairly early, she took almost the whole morning to break surface. We were agreed that she probably needed the rest.

I turned on the new coffee machine later in the morning and it performed exactly as Scamp and the bloke from JL had described it. In no time at all I was holding a full coffee cup of the dark strong flavoured liquid. Maybe just a little bit too strong flavoured if I’m being honest, but a few drops of water soon reduced the strength enough to give it a more pleasant taste. As Jamie says, it takes time to get it tasting the way you want it.

Later in the day and once Shona had returned from the Land of Nod, I went for a walk over to St Mo’s, still being careful not to wander into the greenery or the possibility of more biting insects. On the way back, I found another Painted Lady butterfly feeding on flowers in our garden. There had been a couple of cold snaps recently and I felt sure the delicate butterflies would have taken shelter, but there it was feeding on our flowers. A quick check with Google confirmed it was indeed a Painted Lady.

The butterfly didn’t stay long and was soon off on the wing again, but by then I had a new PoD and it was a Crocosmia flower growing against a wooden fence and showing off its orange and copper colours to all and sundry. That became PoD.

After Shona had left to go home, we spoke to Jamie and I thanked him for his helping me work out how to adjust the grind setting for the coffee I was using. Who knew how difficult it was to make delicate adjustments to coffee grinders. Good to know that someone is there at the other end of the phone to explain what went wrong a day or so ago. I’ve just opened a new bag of coffee which will need a different set of tweaks to get it to deliver the same taste and strength as the one I’ve just finished. It’s all highly technical, or maybe it’s just me who is a tech freak!

Hopefully we will be on our travels again next week sometime.

Freesia – 2 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was wet today.

Sometimes drizzle, sometimes heavy rain, but always wet. I couldn’t find a suitable subject, so instead I took a shot of these Freesia flowers with an out of focus background. It seemed to brighten up the day.

We drove to in the morning to find a new pair of dance shoes for Scamp. Actually she got two pairs. One pair sparkly silver and one pair bright red. I couldn’t find a pair for myself. The only pair I liked the look of were too narrow and I knew I’d end up going over on my ankle, so it looks as if I’ll have to resort to polishing up my Black ’n’ Whites for any ballroom dances. The lady in the shop told me she was expecting a new delivery of gents dance shoes later in September. I’ll see what she digs up. She is usually good at choosing mens shoes.

We drove home and I started looking at ‘New Toys’. One was on my list, but wasn’t available anywhere near me. I’ll keep looking just in case there are some cut price goodies near me to whet my appetite.

Dinner tonight was Fish Risotto and although I thought it was a bit wet, Scamp seemed to think it was excellent. I think she is just buttering me up because there may be another pair of dance shoes she has her eye on.

We watched “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” after dinner. We had seen it before, but it was just as good the second time around. The only problem with it was the amount of adverts that cut across the storyline and broke our concentration.

I’m supposed to be going out with Alex tomorrow because we thought Thursday was going to be the best day of the week. It doesn’t look much like it now, especially after a really heavy rain shower earlier in the evening. We’ll just have to grin and bear it tomorrow and maybe find somewhere interesting to go for lunch.

So, hopefully a run in the country for us. Not quite sure what Scamp is doing.

Flowers in the rain – 1 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was one of those days when it rains almost all day.

Last night Scamp admitted that she’d been having toothache. It was coming from a big molar. She’d had pain from it before, but this time it was more severe and it wasn’t going away. She had taken Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Both worked to a degree, but when the pain returned this morning she phoned the dentist who very kindly fitted her in to her busy schedule in the afternoon. I drove her over to the the dentist, dropped her off and waited. That’s when the rain started. Some torrential rain and some, just wet and noisy, rattling on the car’s roof. Just over half an hour later she got her wish and the big old molar was gone. She seems ok now. The pain has gone and the swelling has gone too. I hope the fairies leave her a present for being a brave girl.

Afterwards, I was making a late lunch in the afternoon. Scamp didn’t really want anything to eat, but then she decided that she could manage a mashed up banana because it was soft and easily swallowed. That seemed to help settle things too.

The post came late today and the postman brought the details for our visit to Dundee along with his usual collection of junk mail. So now we can see where we are going and who we’re going to see. We still don’t know how long we’re going to be there, but hopefully we’ll have more information once we’ve spoken to the doctor and the surgeon.

Today’s PoD was twin Japanese Anemone flowers taken in a grab shot in one of the dry spells in the garden.

It’s been a busy and exciting day, all things considered. Hopefully things will calm down for a bit now.

The Butterflies Return – 31 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was a blustery and breezy day today, but it didn’t dissuade the butterflies or the bees.

Our Buddleia bush has lost all its flowers this month. Not surprising really, given the number of bees and butterflies that have visited it. I thought they were gone for good, but then this morning, not one, but two butterflies were visiting our smaller white buddleia. One was a Small Tortoiseshell and the other was a Peacock. They stayed for most of the day and the gusty breeze didn’t seem to upset them.

I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be good if our esteemed leaders could behave like the butterflies and just simply get on with things instead of all the posturing and back biting they usually exhibit.

Other than photographing the butterflies, I didn’t do much. I did take a camera for a walk over to the shops, but couldn’t find what I was looking for and came home empty handed.

Scamp used the day to thin out some of the compost we’ve gathered this summer. It will stand us in good stead for winter planting once it dries out, all being well.

I worked in the morning to clear out some of the unmarked photos from August and hopefully tomorrow I’ll dispose of the ones that failed to get a Red or Yellow marker. That should clear out some of the ‘dead wood’.

August is a month I’ll be glad to see the back of. So many mistakes and problems with fitting the subjects and details into the catalogs. I think I need to use a much clearer way of organising the photos.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp may be looking for an appointment at the dentist to have a look at a tooth that’s become painful, just recently.

Dancin’ – 14 August 2026

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Today was the first tea dance day in ages, and it showed.

First, though I went to get some fruit in Tesco. That gave me a chance to stretch my legs. A ‘piece’ on banana was my lunch, then it was time to get ready for today’s tea dance.

We started by driving to Glenburn, only to find a Road Closed sign stopping us. Thankfully, after checking our direction on the screen and after working out what direction we should be heading in, we managed to plan the best route through the streets on the edge of Paisley, and it worked. We weren’t the only ones who were caught out by this last minute decision to close the road. There were a few puzzled looks from cars in front of us. In the end, we were only a few minutes late.

My dancing was poor today. I’ll admit it. I just couldn’t put a foot right. It’s a wonder Scamp didn’t disown me, the number of times I was wrong footed. I think the reason was that today was the 13th of August. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

My dancing ability improved a bit later in the day, once I’d had a cup of tea and a blether to Barry & Cath. Also, the dances were a lot easier in the second half. Almost all were sequence dances, with the occasional simple Waltz or Rumba.

Drove home through fairly heavy traffic, but by using the M74/M73 we got there in a decent time.

I was stuck for a PoD until I found a bunch of little purple flowers in the garden with the sun shining through the fenceposts. That won the day.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to have Crawford & Nancy for dinner, so that means we’ve got a lot of work to do.

Looking for insects – 11 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was another hot day. Not as hot as it was in the south of England, but certainly warm enough for us in Scotland.

The only thing we did today was to go for a walk to the shops. Well, to be honest, Scamp went for a walk to the shops, but I cut the walk short and went down to St Mo’s. Behind St Mo’s is what is usually a boggy area which is usually wet in all weathers. Of course, today it was almost bone dry. I was looking for the seed pods from the Flag Iris plants that grow there, but I realise now after some research that I have to wait until about November to get the distorted seed pods that grow down there! I’ll try to be patient.

On my walk back, I spotted a little Hover Fly sitting and probably feeding on a pink Knapweed flower. It took a few shots to get what I wanted from the wee fly, but in the end I had a PoD.

Back home it was my turn to cook and Scamp requested Pasta Puttanesca. That’s another recipe from a long while ago. I eventually found what I was looking for and Scamp said it tasted just right. I wasn’t too sure, but I’ll stand by her decision.

TV schedules were all over the place tonight which meant that the Sewing Bee hadn’t recorded on our dodgy Virgin device. It seems that every week we find another failure from this recorder. I thInk it may be time to move away from Virgin and get a more trustworthy recorder.

That was about it for today. Sat in the garden for a while soaking up the sun. Hoping to meet Alex tomorrow for a walk. I might even get back in time to watch the partial eclipse.

More butterflies – 9 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

I don’t think you can ever have enough photos of butterflies.

I don’t want to rub it in, but we had rain again this morning. Not a lot of rain, but enough to let us know that it’s still around, just waiting for a chance to drop on us.

The rain came and went for most of the morning and a bit of the afternoon, but didn’t bother us. Scamp and I did some pruning of the Buddleia bushes later in the afternoon and by then the butterflies were returning to the bushes. I think the rain in the morning dampened the flowers down and maybe that accounts for the limited amount of interest from the butterflies but the bees are much hardier. In the evening all the butterflies returned, circling the buddleia plants again. I got a few photos of a Red Admiral that became PoD.

Scamp and I emptied the last of the potato bags and collected quite a few potatoes. Almost all of them were in good condition, but a lot of the soil was dry, probably from being under the Rowan tree for too long. A few of them were the size of marbles and we used a tip we’d seen on Gardeners World. We replanted two of the potato shaws that still had smaller potatoes attached. Then we filled up the pot they had been in and watered them in well. Hopefully that will produce some more potatoes, but even if they fail, we won’t have lost anything.

Dinner tonight was Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce for Scamp and Stew and Kidney for me. Dessert for both of us was Rhubarb and Strawberries a strange mixture, but really good. We only tried it because our strawberries were starting to go over. We both agreed we’d do it again. Your rhubarb was mixed with our thinner rhubarb, but both worked together, Jamie.

Tomorrow Scamp and Shona are intending to go out for the day, somewhere nice! That’s all I know.