Category: Flowers

Was that summer? – 13 May 2023

Posted on by Zogman

A quite beautiful day of sunshine.

We drove to Brookside in the morning through the 40mph zone that wasn’t quite as bad as last week, although some folk were mistaking 40mph with 20mph, it seemed. We got to the class just in time. Just four couples including a decidedly pregnant Jasmine who, with her partner made light work of just about everything.

Started off with a couple of Mayfair Quickstep tracks to warm us up. The hall had a curtained off section today for some undisclosed reason, so we were dancing on what was virtually a square. After that, and after an explanation for those who hadn’t been there last week, the teachers launched into Joy’s Waltz. I thought we’d found a sneaky shortcut to get us through the Overturned Spin Turn, but was quickly shot down in flames by Jane who explained that although it did speed up the OST, it meant that when we came out of it we’d find our feet were tangled. Back to the drawing board then! I still can’t get the hang of the OST and I think I’ll resort to Scamp’s suggestion that we just fake that step and concentrate on getting the rest working.

Next we did the Sweetheart Cha-Cha with a few new adaptations just to make it more difficult, I think. Most of that went quite smoothly, even the new steps that they’d squeezed in. Thankfully Jasmine had filmed the new improved Sweetheart Cha-Cha and posted it to the group tonight.

Final dance steps were the Jive with American Spins, Alternative Stop & Go and Cha-Cha Walks. These words mean very little to me and will be forgotten by the time I finish the blog!

One last wee sequence dance, Rumba One to finish and that was us released to face the traffic going home. Overall, it was a good class, although the lady that Scamp has named Mrs Posh was being a bit of a know-all.

The drive home was easier than I expected, possibly because everyone was going to the seaside today to make the most of the sunshine. We just drove home and after lunch we worked in the garden. Scamp was chopping up a dying azalea and I was concentrating on potting up my sunflower seedlings and the wee rosemary bush we bought about a month ago.

I’d just finished doing my gardening and was putting the compost away when I felt a familiar sting on the back of my leg. I’d picked up a tick somewhere, possibly yesterday. First this year. Let’s hope it’s the last.

Dinner was a roast chicken and salad with a bottle of Prosecco to brighten it up even more.

PoD went to a purple aquilegia flower in the front garden.

Today’s prompt was An Elephant.
We don’t get many elephants roaming the hills in Scotland, and the only ones I’d photographed were either made from cast iron or paintings on billboards. However, Mr Google kindly supplied me with a model that fitted neatly on my A5 page.

I think the sky is clouding over as I write this and we’re expecting rain tomorrow. Let’s hope today wasn’t Summer! The weather will determine what we do tomorrow.

Driving the 40mph motorway – 6 May 2023

Posted on by Zogman

That motorway is the M8. No sooner is one set of repairs finished than another set are announced. It seems that we drive more miles at 40mph than we drive at 70mph. PITA.

Yes, we were off to Brookfield this morning for the first dance class after a three week lie up. I thought the Charnwood Cha-Cha would be the end of me. It’s not good to spring things like that on us without warning, or access to a defibrillator. The only thing I can say is WOW, that was hard work. Thankfully we knew all of the steps and I had a rough idea of the order they should be danced in.

Next was a new one, a waltz this time and we both think we were guinea pigs here to see how quickly we’d pick it up. Not that easy was my answer. Thankfully we both filmed it so we could watch it at home and work out what was being described in the walk-through. The Charnwood was a workout for the body. Joy’s Waltz (named for a friend of Jane’s who died in January) was a workout for the brain. Eventually we got the hang of the first three sequences and after watching the videos this afternoon we’ve got an even better idea of the bits we’ve never done before.

The final workout was another quite fast one, a Jive routine this time. It had a few routines we have picked up along the way in the last few years from different teachers, so it wasn’t totally alien to us, and not so fast that we were too exhausted to fit in the final sequence dance of the hour and a half, a Mayfair Quickstep. Just a fairly easy dance to ease us down to drive through the 40mph zones again on the other side of the road.

Back home we had lunch and watched the pageantry unfold in London. I took myself off for most of it as I’d a sketch to complete for EDiM. I was doodling a sketch on a bit of backing paper and the picture came to me. It was a highland cow, but there was too much rubbish on the paper and I knew I’d need to redraw it, so I left the rough there and went to get a photo for today. As I was walking over towards Condorrat, I noticed a snail tucked into a corner of a fence and knew that was the PoD. Of the three photos I took, the one you see here is my favourite. I also got a shot of the inside of a dandelion puff ball. It’s like the highland cow in that it’s not the finished article, but it’s worth another try, possibly in an inside setting with a camera on a tripod. We’ll see.

When I got home, Scamp was whizzing through the recording of the actual Coronation. It is one mighty big and complex piece of organisation. How they worked out how to get all those people into the cathedral and how they covered the lawn of the palace with the thousands of army, navy, airforce personnel from almost every country was astounding. I wasn’t really all that interested in it, I was waiting for Zadok The Priest to be sung. When it was, it was a little disappointing. Scamp said it was too fast and I thought it was lacking in power. Had we been conducting, heads would have rolled.

Dinner was from Golden Bowl. Scamp had her usual Chicken Chop Suey with Fried Rice. I had a treat that I knew I’d suffer for later and had Sweet and Sour Pork Balls and Fried Rice. I did suffer for it, but it was worth it. Pure decadence.

I redrew the Highland Cow and it does look better than the original. I’m happy with it and Scamp laughed out loud when she saw it. That was enough of a stamp of approval for me.

We have no plans as yet for tomorrow and there have been no street parties in and around Cumbersheugh, I’m glad to say, so not many sore heads tomorrow morning. Well no more than usual!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Posted on by Zogman

For the parcel to appear.

The parcel was for Scamp and it was being delivered by Royal Mail. According to Royal Mail it would be delivered yesterday, and I quote: “Thursday 4th May 2023 by 3pm*” note the asterisk! The parcel didn’t appear. Today I got a message from Royal Mail to say: Your parcel will be delivered Today, Friday, 5 May 2023* Between 12:07pm and 2:07pm*. Again, note the asterisks. If you read the very small print on the email you discover a footnote that says: *Please be aware any time or date shown is not a guarantee. This is their Get Out Of Jail Free card. The parcel didn’t arrive until 3.15pm. Why bother to give an exact time slot when you can’t keep to it. This new time slot thing is something they’ve pinched from DPD and others, but the difference is that, at least in my experience, DPD stick to their time slots. For Royal Mail it’s just a fantasy.

Right, I’m glad I got that off my chest. At least the parcel did arrive. We’d decided on risotto for dinner, real risotto for a change, made in a pot with a lot of stirring with the fancy risotto paddle. Scamp plumped for Mushroom Risotto and we didn’t have any mushrooms, so I loaded a camera and a couple of lenses into the bag and walked down to the shops to get some. As usual I came back with more than I set out to get, but at least I did get mushrooms. I won’t list all the other things I got, because you’d only get jealous! On the way there I found a clump of daisies and grabbed some photos of them. On processing the shots, I wasn’t impressed, so went out again with the LensBaby Sweet 50 and a +1 diopter Close Up lens (Don’t worry Jamie – that information is for me in case I need it sometime). The resulting photos were much better with a lot of swirly distortion round a sharp central flower. In fact one of them became PoD.

It’s ages since I’ve had to hand make the risotto and it was a bit of a chore, but the finished article, while looking a bit like lumpy porridge, tasted fine.

Today’s prompt was for a Traffic Sign. Mine is one of those old signs that don’t get used much and therefore don’t get updated. It’s actually a warning sign (triangle) for a level crossing without a gate or barrier sign. It’s a bit confusing because it looks like warning, steam trains ahead.

I spoke to Val this morning.  He’s not in a very good way, physically and is considering getting a motorized wheelchair.  He’s having difficulty standing and can hardly walk unassisted.  Having said that, he’s cheerful enough and we had a good blether this morning.  I must go and see him soon.  He was asking after Alex because he’s still interested in radio and so is Alex. It’s just a reminder that we’re all getting older and less mobile than we used to be.

Well, it looks like the holiday is over. Tomorrow we may be heading for an hour and a half lesson on Charnwood Cha-Cha, a new Waltz and the Jive routine we started before the Teachers’ holiday. Back in the old routine as they say!

A dull day with bright intervals – 3 May 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Not all days are filled with sunshine.  A little goes a long way.

The weather fairies got it right for once. They predicted a dull day with occasional showers, and that’s what we got.

We had half intended to visit the Japanese garden today, but the weather kind of put paid to that idea. It was just dull and dreary. But it did brighten up by midday and the clouds seemed to hold the heat in, so I gave the Skye chilli plant an afternoon in the garden where it could soak up the warmth, if not the sun.

Scamp was determined to give the grass a second cut and with the mower this time, unlike yesterday’s strim of the back grass. That necessitated moving all the pots onto the paths, cutting the grass and then moving them all back again. Of course, as chief pot shifter I managed to put them back in the wrong places and that would never do now, would it. Scamp followed me round putting them and me in our place. We had just finished cleaning the mower when the rain started. A few minutes earlier and it would have been a rush to get everything in before the mini deluge.

The next task was to drive to Tesco to post a parcel and get one or two things we needed for lunch and dinner. Those “one or two things” filled a trolley by the time we were finished and cost a lot more than we’d intended.

After lunch, the rain went off and the sun shone. Today’s prompt was for Dandelions or whatever was in bloom. I thought I’d take a walk in St Mo’s and grab some photos of likely candidates for the Dandelion painting you can see here. There were quite a few as you can imagine and I soon had enough material to work with. None of the dandelion photos were really any use for Flickr photos, but I found a little fern ‘crozier’ that looked interesting and a branch of Hawthorn flower buds just ready to open. Both of them found their way into Flickr and PoD went to the hawthorn buds.

Dinner was a Tesco stir-fry. If you ever get the chance of one, don’t take it. Old tough cabbage and a handful of bean sprouts and carrots do not a stir-fry make. I’ll stick to M&S in future. Cheap sometimes is nasty.

Tomorrow I’ve the dentist in the morning, but the rest of the day is free … so far.

Rain – 30 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

It was hard to decide if it was just starting to rain, or just finishing a spell of raining when we woke. In actual fact it was just trying out the different textures of rain to see which it liked the best. That too was a difficult decision for the weather, and one it toyed with for a good few hours before finally choosing to stay dry and allow the sun to shine.

There were things to do today. There was milk to buy and a sensible plain loaf, a cake wouldn’t go amiss either, cakes never do. There were people to bump into. People I hadn’t spoken to for years. The people, or person in question was Mary Jane Hunter, ex of Cumby High. She and Scamp had a lot in common apart from height. They had both had cataracts removed and corrective lenses inserted that took away their shortsightedness and gave them a totally new view on life. It’s nice to meet folk you got on with years ago and who you still admire.

Back home Scamp had covered the draining board in the kitchen with an off cut from a waterproof table cover and was potting up her ten Cerinthe seedlings to separate them and to give them a chance to develop better roots. I liked the idea and planted out some Acer seeds my brother had given me last autumn. They had been in plastic bags in the little greenhouse to keep them dry while they ‘conditioned’. Apparently the exposure to sub zero temperatures is needed for them to germinate once they are planted out in soil.

Dinner tonight was Potatoes with Carrot and Onion Mash. Protein was Hoggit Shoulder Steak for me, bought at the farmers market in Embra yesterday and Salmon for Scamp. Unfortunately for her, the salmon just didn’t taste ‘right’. So it was a vegetarian dinner for her. My hoggit was excellent soft and delicious. (2mins 30seconds per side and 5mins resting time). I couldn’t eat it all, so I’ve about a third of it sitting in the fridge for tomorrow or Tuesday. Bananas fried in Rum was requested was requested for pudding. It was excellent too. Hot, sweet, sticky orange flavoured rum coating bananas sliced long ways. Sounds messy and it was, also sounds a bit sickly and it was, but we both enjoyed it. Can’t remember exactly where I first saw it being made, but I think it was on a cruise, years ago.

Because of the rain, I couldn’t be bothered wandering around St Mo’s, getting wet and not finding anything worth photographing, so today’s PoD came from the garden. It’s an Aquilegia playing host to a family of greenfly. I think I might have to evict them soon. As usual with macros, I didn’t see the greenfly until the images had been loaded into the computer.

Spoke to Jamie and Scamp was delighted to hear that he has taken her advice and cleaned all the glazing panels in his greenhouse. They have had a few days of good weather and have almost all the flowers planted now.

We have no plans for tomorrow, and it looks like more rain.

More driving, fewer photos – 26 April 2023

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Scamp was off today for lunch with the Witches. I was messing about with computers again.

She got picked up by Jeanette just before midday. That left me with a few hours to myself. Never a good thing. Usually I fritter those hours away doing ‘something on the computer’.

I have a 2TB (1TB=1000GB) external drive that was intended to hold just photos, but over the years, I’ve dumped other stuff in it too. I’ve a few 1TB external drives that could be cleared out to make room for the ’non-photos’ on the bigger drive. That would give me enough space to allow me to expand the photos on the 2TB to the most up to date version of Lightroom. It’s a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the long run. Today was the dummy run to see just how much ‘non-photo’ data was clogging the drive. I struggled with it for a while, but eventually decided I was wasting a good photography day, plus I’d another plan in my head.

Originally I’d thought I might go for a run to Milarrochy Bay on Loch Lomond, to photograph the famous tree that stands in the water, but the weather wasn’t looking great for that. Instead, I thought I’d go looking for Busy Lizzies to replace the ones that the frost got to a couple of nights ago and I drove over to Dobbies in Milngavie, but there were no Busy Lizzies, to be found, not even Lazy Lizzies. So I drove back almost to find somewhere photogenic.

My best guess for a decent spot was at The Stables which is a pub/restaurant on the banks of the Forth & Clyde canal. Parked at the restaurant and went for a walk west along the towpath and grabbed a few photos and watched the double decker Airbus A380 flying serenely overhead before banking into final to Glasgow Airport. I didn’t take any photos of it. Sometimes it’s better just to watch.
I wasn’t totally satisfied with the shots I had and walked east to see if there was any more interesting views. Bumped into a couple about our age on what looked like brand new Raleigh eBikes. The bloke was at pains to say that they weren’t total electric powered bikes, you had to pedal too, but the battery kicks in then and helps you. I could see how that would be a great benefit if you were climbing hills, but they were cycling on a flat tow path. Not much of a challenge. However, I wished them well on their travels and they did offer to pose for a photo, but I passed on that.

When I walked back to get the car, I saw my PoD. The Gipsy Princess was docked on the far side of the canal and it made my photo of the day. As I was taking the shot, I thought “GIPSY Princess? Is that PC?” Maybe not, but I’m not exactly PC either.

On the way home I stopped at Calders garden centre. It used to have a host of plants, but today it was looking a bit tired, even if the shop and the teashop were doing a roaring trade. No Busy Lizzies here either. I drove home.

It was a venison burger with potatoes and broccoli for dinner. Although she had already had lunch in the middle of the day, Scamp helped me to scoff the remainder of the veg.

One thing that annoys me about the Blue car is the overspeed warning beeps it screams when it feels justified in complaining that you are going too fast, even when the road signs don’t warrant it. In the two and a half years I’ve had the car, it’s been one of the biggest annoyances in it. Today I found out how to silence it. It’s not easy to find, but it is there, hidden under two layers of menu in the Settings part of the display. Silence is golden!

Tomorrow I’m intending to meet up with Alex to visit the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. Rain is predicted.

Warm sun, Cold wind – 19 April 2023

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The wind was gusty today and from the east. Never a good combination.

We’d considered going out for a run today, somewhere scenic, but the temperature was just 8.5ºc when we woke and it was taking quite a long time to rise. We sat for a while enjoying the warmth of sun shining in the window while knowing it would be much cooler outside.

After lunch we went for a walk round Broadwood Loch. Unfortunately they are still working on the forest section. Re-laying paths and improving the drainage, apparently. We did see one bloke driving a small dump truck. I’m beginning to think he’s the only one working on this project which started in February and doesn’t seem to have an end date, at least not one that’s been made public. Still the dump truck drives around and it’s keeping someone in a job.

Broadwood is a big featureless walk if you exclude the forest section. Unlike Drumpellier, it doesn’t have any side paths to explore. Today with the bright sun in our faces going down one side of the loch and the east wind in our faces going down the other, it was a bit of a trudge. Thankfully Scamp suggested we cut it short and miss out the walk past the exercise machines and I was happy to agree. 2.7miles we walked and I got two decent photos from it. PoD became a picture of some blossom. Scamp held the branch for me to keep it steady in the gusts. Broadwood is not the most scenic of walks, but I think that’s what I said at the start of the paragraph.

Maybe my exertions from yesterday’s labouring were beginning to take their toll on me today. I just didn’t feel as fit as I should be. Maybe I need to get out more. Two shorter walks a day rather than one long one might be a solution.

Tomorrow we are going to Margie’s funeral. She died on the 8th of April. It will be a long day.

Labourers – 18 April 2023

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I felt better when I woke this morning.

Neither of us had anything much on our to-do lists, so we had quite a lazy start to the day. We completed Wordle and Spelling Bee and watched Scott, who lives at the corner, barrowing sand to his back garden. It must be a nice change for him to be transporting sand rather than the hardcore he’s been ferrying for the last week. I think the idea of having an easy maintenance garden with artificial grass was a good one, but he may have blinded himself to the amount of work it takes to set the whole thing up.

Scamp went for the messages later in the morning and we also settled on Cod & Prawns with Fennel & White Wine for dinner. It sounds terribly posh, but it’s one of the easiest recipes I’ve got, and a one-pan recipe to boot.

Just after lunch we noticed two of Scott’s neighbours carrying some wooden planks round to the garden and we decided if we helped out, the job would be done in half the time. Scamp and I carried two 3m heavy plastic panels between us. We’re still not sure what they are, but by the look of them they were decking panels. They were awkward things to manoeuvre round the corners of the narrow public path, but we managed about six of them in total, then we switched to carrying two 3m lengths of 3” square timber instead (note the seamless switch between metric and imperial there ????).

I thought we’d done enough labouring for one day, but Scamp had more tasks in store. She is rearranging the pots in the back garden and using some of them to create a border at the front of the front garden, to prevent unwanted dogs from crapping on our grass. If that doesn’t work, pepper might be the solution! Allied to this is the fact that the peony rose needs to go in to a more suitable container that will give it some room to stretch its roots. With that in mind, we mixed up two lots of compost and added some perlite, then planted the peony. It’s now in its allotted place under the front window where it will get the sun from morning until late afternoon.

Now we really were finished for the day and we could enjoy a beer. A Broadside Shandy for Scamp and the rest of the bottle for me. The sun was tempting me out, so I added my +1 diopter close-up lens to the 35mm LensBaby and went off to find a subject in St Mo’s. Came home with a few catkin shots, but PoD went to an experimental distorted image from this morning when the sun began to cut through the clouds. It was that same setup of the LensBaby with the +1 diopter. I just liked all the out of focus highlights.

According to the weather fairies, it’s to be a good day tomorrow again. We might go out for a run somewhere. No labouring, I hope.

A decision made – 14 April 2023

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Scamp was going out for coffee with her friend from work. I was driving to Larky after I’d had my PSA test done at the health centre.

I’d already made the decision to buy a new lens from a company I’ve used many times in the past, MPB in Brighton. Not a brand new lens, second hand. I’d made the decision the day before, but the day before was the 13th and I thought it would be unlucky to buy it on the 13th, so had left the actual purchase until today.

I’d put the lens in my ‘basket’ on the website, filled in my details and had just completed my two part verification when I got a message to say that the lens had gone! Someone had beaten me to it. I admit, I panicked, thinking I’d been the subject of a scam. How could two people have put the same lens into the basket at the same time? I’d never heard of such a thing. Scamp reminded me that time was ticking away and I’d miss my appointment if I wasn’t careful. Before I went, I checked with the bank to make sure my payment hadn’t gone through. It hadn’t. Slightly relieved, I drove to the health centre.

The nurse who did the blood letting was careful and quick, even better, later when I removed the plaster she’d put on the tiny wee scratch the needle made there was almost nothing to see. Probably the best experience I’ve had, getting my bloods taken, and maybe that calmed me down as much as anything.

When I got back I tried to phone MPB, but the help line wasn’t open on Fridays! I did get through to a European site and the girl I spoke to confirmed that the lens had indeed gone, but seemed as surprised as I was that two people could be trying to buy an article at the same time. Scamp left me to it and went to meet her friend. I checked the website one more time and that particular lens had gone, however there was an almost exactly the same one for a few quid less. With fingers crossed I went through the entire procedure again and it all worked perfectly, just as it had in the past. I was relieved when I got an email from the carrier saying the lens would be delivered the next day. However, I think that may be my last purchase from MPB.

After all that I drove to Larky and picked up my new reading glasses, then drove back home again after buying a four cheeses loaf for Scamp at the Co-op. A 50 mile round trip might seem a long way for a pair of glasses, but we both trust Simpson to look after our eyes, and Scamp will be next to get an appointment.

Scamp was home by the time I came back and I explained what I’d done and that it was all resolved.

A walk in St Mo’s to stretch my legs and calm my nerves and PoD went to a bunch of Cowslips. Another sign that Spring is here.

A wee glass of wine later to celebrate? Maybe that’s not the correct word for drawing a line under a difficult day.

Tomorrow I’ll be waiting for the email from DPD to say when the lens will come.

Family Lunch – 9 April 2023

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Lots of things going on today, because Neil and Hazy were joining us for Sunday lunch.

Jamie and Simonne were organising the food, of course after Simonne returned from church, and today it was going to be Roast Leg of Lamb for the carnivores and Seabass from Aldeburgh for Scamp, the solitary pescatarian.

I did my best to keep out of the way while this was going on and went for a walk along the fields behind the church. Since this was Easter Sunday, I decided to walk through the village cemetery and on to the path from there, lest I might be drawn into the church by an overenthusiastic clergyman. I walked down to, but didn’t cross, the bridge over the stream (English don’t have ‘burns’ they have ‘streams’). Instead, I turned right and walked along the edge of the field where corn was just starting to sprout. I did eventually come to another bridge across the stream and crossed over there. I walked on for a fair stretch, but decided that I’d better not walk too far and risk not being there when N&H arrived. This time I walked up past the church and out by the main gate. I’d been taking photos all the way along, trying to get a good view of the church, but it didn’t work because it was shielded by the trees that grow all round it. I got some photos of wild flowers as I walked back to the house.

It was another beautiful day with clear blue skies, although the wind was cold. I sat on an old wooden lichen covered seat at the gable of the house and in the lee of the wind. It was so quiet. Not in the sense of no sound, because there were rooks in the big conifers cawing away loudly and there were smaller birds calling from the bushes, there were bees and ladybirds and maybe a hoverfly or two, but there was almost no mechanical noise. A very few cars. No aircraft and no people making noise. Peaceful rather than quiet, perhaps.

I shot off a few more images of the garden, but my favourite, and PoD was a little Celandine growing out of a crack in the paving stones of the patio.

Neil and Hazy arrived right on time, as I’d expect from Neil. Jamie and Scamp gave them a conducted tour of the house and the garden then we had lunch. There was much discussion between Jamie and Simonne as to whether the lamb was overcooked or not. I thought it was just right. Any less and it would probably have been oily, and it wasn’t that, nor was it too dry. A ‘Goldilocks’ lamb. It was served with Hasselback Potatoes and Asparagus. Hazy had provided the dessert which was Gü puddings. Quite delicious. We also had wine recommended by Simonne’s uncle Yves, a Côtes du Rhône and very nice it was too.

All too soon it was time for the Epsom folk to hit the road again, but it was great having them and getting to talk face to face with everyone again. We must do it again some time soon.

We watched another two episodes of the strange South African film. Leaving the final episode for tomorrow.

It had been a long day and it looks like it may be wet tomorrow morning at least. Maybe a lazy day.