Category: Flowers

Wheels within wheels – 7 May 2020

Posted on by Zogman

It’s just a wheel after all, what can be difficult.

I’ll tell you what can be difficult. Finding a spanner that actually fits the locknut on the wheel axle. That’s number 1. Finally solved that one by using a shifting spanner. Next problem was finding a spanner that would fit the inner, possibly cone nut. Not only fit, but also be thin enough to slip into the gap between the locknut and the wheel hub. It was at that point that I gave up on repairing the front wheel of the bike. I could find a spanner that fitted in the slot and seemed to be the right size. Unfortunately the nut is 13mm and the only spanner I had that was thin enough was 14mm. Sometimes you just have to take heed of these warnings and say let’s go and look at how much I’d have to pay to Halfords for a new wheel. The answer was that prices start at £65!! For a piece of Halfords trash? I’d hope not. The fact that it’s also a disk brake wheel would inevitably increase that price. I put back the rubber gaiter and the spindle and went to see if Wheelcraft were still in business. No answer on the phone. Likewise the bike shop in Cumbersheugh village. I’ll try again tomorrow. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll order a cone spanner from Halfords and use that to strip the wheel down. At least then I’ll know if its ball bearings that’s inside or a cassette.

Halfway through the wheel struggle, I took some time out to help Scamp with manoeuvring the plant pots back into place in the front garden. She did the hard work of cutting and trimming the grass, I cleaned the mower. Gave it a spray with WD40 too to hopefully prevent more grass from sticking to the underneath. I planted the peas that I’d been growing in a plug rack, so now I have one full row of little green heads poking through the soil of the raised bed. Tomorrow I’m intending planting another rack of them. Kale will soon be ready for thinning out. Dug up the last of the black kale I planted last year. Green kale still looks good, so it will get a week or so of growing before it too is removed.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk down to the shops to get some ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner. On the way home I saw one of those three wheeler Ski Scooters that you wiggle your way along on and wondered how difficult it would be to ride that home. It was a bit rusty, but I could clean it up. Might be worth a try. Then again, I don’t know who was the last person to use it and if they had washed their hands before they were last playing with it. Probably better not. However, if it’s still there tomorrow …

Didn’t have a PoD, so had a look in the garden, but nothing really inspired me. Finally settled on a wizened tulip that was dropping its petals. It took a bit of delicate balancing to get the two final petals to stay put long enough to get the photos taken. Quite happy with the result. Reminded me of a flamenco dancer. Beautiful colours.

No plans for tomorrow. Scamp booked another slot for Click & Collect at Tesco for the 18th which is just a nice time giving a bit of space from next Monday’s delivery. Never used Click & Collect at Tesco. It will be an adventure, and a short run for the Juke. Must keep the wheels turning.

Hot Stuff – 4 May 2020

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Up at 4.30am for a cooling glass of OJ.

It did the trick, but it took me ages to get back to sleep again. It was, in the words of the song “Too … Damn … Hot!” I finally broke surface just before 8.30, but still felt tired. We both agreed that we need to change the duvet cover to our cheapo IKEA low tog one. That was one job added to the to-do list.

Scamp was delighted to hear that while we were struggling with heat, the grass was getting a good soaking from the rain. That meant we didn’t have to water the combined weedkiller, mosskiller, lawn feed into the roots of the front grass again. We didn’t bother to spread any on the back grass, because if all the weeds and moss was killed off, there wouldn’t be much else there, except about a dozen blades of grass.

Last night I’d been on the point of removing myself from Every Day in May on Facebook.  Today I did it. EDiM is a private group for sketchers to share and discuss our interpretation of a daily prompt. It’s a great idea and one I’ve taken to in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, a change in Admins has meant a change in the rules. I’m in agreement with some, but felt the need to complain about some that have been slipped in quietly in the dead of night. Now a member can’t post a drawing/sketch in their own page and then link it to EDiM. The Admin gave a somewhat contorted reasoning for this new rule. I disagreed. Today I received a reply to my criticism which basically explained how to post the pic twice, once to my page and then once to EDiM page. Now I know the difference between condensation and condescension and I hate being talked down to. That is why my response was “Wrong Answer.” Left the message a couple of hours to be read by anyone passing by and then left the group. I know the words “Toys” and “Pram” may be in your mind, but I don’t like to be told how to do something the awkward way when there are already routes in the software to do it much more neatly. Too many leaders in that group now, I believe. Too many rules.

We went for a walk, our daily exercise to St Mo’s. When we were walking there, we both spotted a bunch of daisies sprouting from a crack in the mortar of a wall. They became the PoD. Scallywag Daisies.

Scamp was baking today while I was working in the painting room. She made a Banana Cake which we haven’t tasted yet and also a Fruit Loaf which was very nice, especially spread with butter and with a cup of tea to wash it down. Tomorrow, hopefully we will get to taste the Banana Cake.

That was about it for the day. The rain cleared up halfway through the morning and the sun shone which was probably what enticed us out to St Mo’s. Weather seems set to improve in the next few days, but tales from the weather fairies of “Wintry Showers!!!” at the weekend. I don’t like the sound of that!

May need to go out for milk tomorrow, but just down to the local shops.

Oh, yes, and May The Fourth Be With You.

Painting without a brush – 3 May 2020

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Scary business slashing away at a painting with a knife.

For some unexplained reason, I got up this morning and started cleaning up the back room. Scamp thought I was doing it to provide me with a spare bed in the event that someone was disturbing my sleep by snoring. Unlikely. Or did I mishear her, did she say that I was disturbing someone’s sleep by snoring? More likely. If it was either of those reasons, then the prompt was subliminal, I didn’t generate it knowingly. Luckily around 11am it was time to turn on the coffee machine and I gave up on the pointless exercise to return to reality, and coffee.

It looked like another beautiful day had dawned. It had taken a few hours for the weather to get its ducks in order, but now the sky looked set fair for a few hours. I took some of my plants out of the little greenhouse and set them on the grass to harden off a bit. The garden is beginning to look a lot more active with the sun last week warming up the ground and the rain at the end of the week giving some much needed moisture. I even have a pea pushing its little green head above the soil of the raised bed. One pea of the dozen or so I planted in double rows. Well, perhaps it’s one of many to come. It looks like the peas I planted in the little plug pots are beginning to show signs of growth, even a couple of the ones I held back from last years harvest and carefully dried over the winter have sprouted. The James Grieve apple tree has its first flowers and hopefully the Russet beside it will come to flower this week. My biggest surprise is the return of the American Cowslip “Shooting Star”. I’d thought it was dead and was really pleased to see some green shoots coming from it in April. Today it has three flower stalks and two flowers in bloom. I just checked and it was flowering last year on 2nd May. Just one day behind this year isn’t bad.

After lunch I got started painting. I took a photo out of the painting room window and used that as a prompt. A few heavy clouds and some blue sky over the Campsie Fells. It took about an hour and a half to get the first likeness, and another hour after that to get the details. It was all done with a painting knife or two painting knives to be precise, no brush was used. I finished it (for today) just before Scamp called me down for dinner.

Dinner tonight was Bruschetta with a base of home made bread, then a rub with garlic and topped with little vine tomatoes, basil and olive oil. Lovely starter. Main was sea bass with Jersey Royal potatoes and broccoli, washed down with Rosé D’ Anjou. Pudding was our own stewed rhubarb and custard. Quite delicious because Scamp was cooking and I volunteered to be pot washer.

Spoke to JIC and were updated on all things gardening down south and also how to deal with money grabbing cruise companies like, say P&O who withhold the deposit you’ve paid even when the cruise you booked on isn’t going to sail due to government restrictions. We may try some of his suggestions.

PoD was the apple blossom, but the Shooting Star gave it a run for its money.

With the tree lights shining multicolouredly (if that’s not a word, then it should be), that brings us to the end of another blog. Hope you enjoyed it.

Mobile again on four wheels – 2 May 2020

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Driving again, but still the queues persist.

Tasks for the day:

  • Get some plywood to make painting boards
  • Fix up the sparkly new lights
  • Decide on dinner

Just to get it done, I fixed up the solar cell and then the two of us got the new lights fitted round the tree. It looks a bit untidy, but I think the effect will work when it gets dark. I still believe a rethink may be necessary, but they are unwound and in place for now.

After lunch we drove to B&Q to get the plywood. Saw the length of the queue to get in and drove back home. Got into our parking space again. Battery seems to be charging ok. No plywood, so instead I used a mini roller to put gesso on a couple of boards I’d found. Old Dalerboards that were probably meant for oil painting only, so I don’t know if the acrylic gesso will stick to them. I’m sure I’ll find out tonight or tomorrow.

I took the mandatory trip over to St Mo’s for today’s photo. PoD turned out to be of a spider apparently levitating in front of some whin bushes. I don’t know what happened to the GX 80 I was using, but every shot turned out with the whin flowers looking golden rather than the more acid yellow they really are. Something went wrong somewhere with its colour balance. However, that’s what we have Lightroom for. A little bit of sliding the sliders and all was well again. PoD nearly went to a photo of a girl bunny (not a bunny girl!) wearing sunglasses. I hope whoever lost it, finds it again.

Hearty Miso Ginger Chicken Soup was our dinner tonight and we both agreed it sort of worked, but not quite. Neither of us were all that keen on the miso soup, so we’d probably replace that with chicken stock. The chicken was fine. Cut into thin strips it cooks really quickly. We both liked the Pak Choi, but would reduce the amount of ginger as it seemed to take over. Not a complete rewrite of the recipe which stayed substantially the same, just tweaking. The one thing that worked for us was the bread. A dark mix of three types of flour, so I won’t be able to make that one again!

Well, it took a while for it to get dark enough for the lights to come on round the tree, but they are sparkling brightly now so Scamp’s happy with them.

Nothing planned for tomorrow, although it seems to be a little cooler than today.

Not a hive of activity today – 26 April 2020

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Weather had turned. Wind from the west and far too many clouds for comfortable lounging about outside.

Hardly past the door today. Even PoD was a bit of a struggle and almost too late. It’s a view into the inside of a tulip. I liked the glorious colour of the tulip. It just summed up summer, except that west wind was just a tad cool for comfort.

A very lazy day. Good to look out at, but it didn’t entice me to go out and experience its full flavour. I was quite happy, for once to be a viewer, not a participant. I did make dinner, which started out as a veg curry and turned out as a quite spicy vegetable stew. Too hot and even with the addition of some cooling coconut milk, it was still a bit fiery. The good thing about it is there’s plenty for tomorrow. The down side is that it will, in the way of curries, be even hotter tomorrow.

Spoke to JIC to garner his opinion on coffee makers in general and makes he’d recommend. Still trying to work out what would be the best option as the Gaggia is still not at its best. I think I’m down to two models now, both by different makers. Pity you can only see them in photos. It’s always more reassuring to have seen them with your own eyes. Maybe Nick the Chick will have sorted the Lockdown Release by the end of the week and JL will re-open its revolving doors to the coffee machine buying public, i.e. me. Realistically, that might just happen for the Christmas rush.

Tomorrow will be a better day and although the curry will be very hot, the predictions are that the weather won’t be.

The supervisor – 22 April 2020

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Who would have thought that towards the end of April Showers month we’d have to get the hose out and water the garden?

Gardening today. First I offered to strim the back grass. There is really no point in hauling out the grass cutter and doing a proper cut, because of the lumps and bumps and paving slabs that make it almost impossible to get an even cut. I chose instead to use the strimmer, but only after moving all the plant pots to give myself a fairly easy run at it. Then the pots had to be put back again and we couldn’t be sure exactly where they went. Finally Scamp declared that they were near enough right. I photographed the layout so we’d know next time.  I also took the opportunity to photograph her blue Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) and Chionodoxa luciliae (Glory of the Snow). Muscari made it to Flickr (G o t S didn’t).

The next gardening task was to fit the hose to the tap and spend a fairly pleasant half hour hosing down the back garden. I’d already soaked my sprouting peas in the bird bath to make sure they continued to sprout. Like I said, it was a fairly pleasant half hour, but not for Scamp who was leaning out the back bedroom window apparently “Just supervising.” A quick flick of the spray controller to “Full Firefighter Force” and an accurately directed jet caught her unawares and put an end to her supervision. Of course, I got pelters for that afterwards. As an act of atonement I washed all the back windows and squeegee’d them clean. I even did the awkward back door.

After lunch, when we were speaking again, Scamp went out to the front with her book and read for a while in the sun.  It was warmer today, because the wind was a bit less boisterous than it has been of late . I should have been painting, but instead I went for a walk to St Mo’s. Before I went, I took some macro shots of a pair of yellow tulips. One of them made it to PoD. The only half decent shot I got in St Mo’s was one of a mummy Mallard with her brood of ducklings. Pity they were so far across the pond to be almost invisible in the ripples. I saw and captured one other interesting sign of the times. I’ve seen artists on FB painting messages on stones and leaving them for someone to find. Today I found, not one, but two on a seat in the park. It’s a nice thought that took very little time to do, but might give someone some much needed support. I hope so.

Didn’t get a painting done today, so maybe I’ll manage to play catch-up tomorrow. Hoping for a veg box delivery some time tomorrow. It’s amazing the silver linings that are appearing from these dark clouds.

East wind, Cold wind – 17 April 2020

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It was a bit dull dreich looking out at it today. Outside it was quite cold too.

It didn’t feel like a day for venturing far. In the afternoon the sun did try to get through, but without much success. I finished off the trees painting and it’s hanging in Instagram as I write. It’s number five in an as yet undisclosed number of sketches loosely linked by the title Lockdown Library. I’ve now decided that they will all be square format to fit in with the original Instagram ideal. How long it lasts and what the medium is each day is, shall we say, loose at present.

I did encourage myself to go out to St Mo’s in the afternoon to get some photos and some exercise. It’s so easy on these dull days to just sit there on the sofa while the day drifts by. The prospect of getting some photos to brighten up the blog and to add to the 366 encourages me to go out. All you youngsters who are now furloughed (if that is even a word), and all of you who are working from home, use these home-days as a taste of how life might be when you’re retired (if that is even a word when you reach 65, 70, 75 …).

There wasn’t much to photograph today. I did see a deer, but it saw and heard me too and was off. He/she needn’t have bothered. I was only armed with the E-M1 and a 30mm lens. The deer would have had to have been inside the social distancing limit for me to get a photo. What I did get was the cheery couple of Wood Anemones you see here. I also took inspiration from Ruth Spigelman on Flickr and attempted a ‘Fly Day Friday’. There were some flies around and the one I chose was black and looked a bit like a flying ant. I expect that come next Friday I’ll have forgotten all about Fly Day Friday. Not many people walking round St Mo’s today, but a constant stream combining their exercise walk with a shopping for essentials down at the new shops. We may go there tomorrow after our delivery from Tesco which is scheduled for between 12noon and 1pm.

Watched the second episode of Quiz. Yes, Hazy we can see how this is quite intriguing. Earlier we went through the four ballroom dances we (kind of) know, this time dancing them to music.

Possibly shopping tomorrow and finding places for all the groceries from Tesco.

Out walking – 16 April 2020

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Firstly for food and later for exercise. Are you allowed to say “for enjoyment’? Or is that forbidden in this strange new world?

Went out this morning to go to the butcher’s and passed a line of Wild Cherry trees, Gean, we call them. Thin, almost bare branched with a bunch of fluffy white flowers on the end. They never cease to cheer me up, even on a dull day. Today was a dull day and with a cold wind too! Walking back I decided I had to have a photo of them and this was the best one. I’ve been photographing these trees for years now. Not every year, but almost. The first camera I remember using to photograph them was an Olympus C2000z back around the year 2000. Twenty years ago! I must dig out those photos if they’re still around. Anyway, that first walk was for essential provisions, which is perfectly legal.

The second walk was in the afternoon. Twice round St Mo’s pond and a chance for more photography. If asked why we were walking round a pond twice I’d have to say that it was for exercise. No officer we did not gain any enjoyment out of the walk at all it was a route march over hills and through woods, purely to breath fresh air into our lungs. There is a theory that walking in pine woods is good for the respiratory system. I read that once officer. Luckily no officers were there to interrogate us on the reasons we were out of our house. It seems that some of our constabulary are taking the new powers a bit seriously and laying down the letter of the law, rather than its spirit.  We’ve not been bothered, but some people have.

Dinner tonight was an attempt at a chicken stir fry and although neither of us was one hundred percent happy with the result, it was worth trying again and another recipe that needs just a bit of gentle tweaking.

Spoke to Hazy tonight and she pointed us in the direction of Quiz which is a dramatised version of the attempt to cheat at Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Watched episode 1 on the Amazon Fire Stick. Much quicker than trying to get the TV/Tivo combination to connect to it. Quite enjoyed it.

The other thing I watched was another instalment of Watercolour Artist on Sky Arts. I’d watched one episode before and it was fairly staid and “British”. That’s not a compliment. The second one was set near Edinburgh and involved three artists painting the Forth Bridges … two of them. Where was the other one, the Queensferry Crossing, the newest one? It wasn’t on any of the camera shots. Only at the end did it become clear. The film was made in 1999!! That’s even before my Oly C2000z! I believe “Scraping the bottom of the barrel” is the expression I’m looking for. That’s another thing about the Lockdown. There is a dearth of new drama, documentary (except Covid-19 related) and soaps. Once we return to ‘normal’ whatever normal will be then, there will probably be a hiatus while the filming backlog is filled in. And then there will be Brexit …

Tomorrow we have no plans. Maybe more walks and maybe some dance practise.

Early Start – 14 April 2020

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Good heavens, I was up before 8am today!

Haven’t been able to say that since, ooh, a long, long time ago.

The reason we were up so early, was to get the delivery from Reykjavík or to be more precise, Iceland. It actually arrived just after 9am right in the middle of the stated delivery window. Lots of bags of food and stuff, but mainly food and this time there were only three missing items. Wonderful, although not so wonderful for Scamp because two of them were her’s.

After lunch (leek and potato soup) I was tempted to go for a walk to take some more photos with the Nikon, but a walk to inspect the growth in the front garden was enough to tell me that although the sun was warm coming in through the front window, the cold north east wind was stealing all that heat away, outside. Back inside I sketched the second of the Lockdown Library for Instagram. A set of sketches that will hopefully see out April and prepare me for EDiM which is only a couple of weeks away. Today’s painting was the orange bowl. It’s a lovely shape and a sturdy piece of ceramic. Bought for a fiver at an art class sale in Glasgow a few years ago. A bargain at the price and worth an awful lot more. As often happens with sketches, the ‘rough’ was so much better than the redrawn and recoloured ‘finished’ painting. However, it’s done and posted and available for perusal on Instagram. Text me if you want my Instagram name, but I’m sure a few of you can guess it.

I finally settled on a photo of the wilting miniature daffodils that have been gracing the front step. I tried an outside one, but the wind was causing havoc with them and I finally attempted a ’studio’ shot inside. The Nikon just wouldn’t play the game and finally I gave up and went back to the E-M1 which produced the goods again. I think it may be time to part company with the Nikon soon. Don’t know if it will be replaced or not.

Well, that was a lazy day, despite being up early. Tomorrow the only thing we have planned is a bit of jive practise some time during the day and maybe a walk as the weather is to be a bit milder, so they say.

Another beautiful day in the sun – 11 April 2020

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Woke to grey skies and the threat of rain, but then the sun came out.

Lunch today was a reheat of yesterday’s Saag Aloo toned down a bit with some extra cream and a little water to reduce the effect of the salt and also to cool the chilli! Like most curries, it improved with age.

We needed milk today and it was my turn to go for the messages. I thought I could link it in with a walk in the park, but then decided it would be better for my step count if I did two separate walks. First one was to M&S for the essentials: Milk, cheese and tomatoes. Dumped the messages in the kitchen and took my camera for a walk in St Mo’s.

Beautiful day, bright sunshine and warm if you were out of the wind, which I made sure I was for most of the walk. Definitely saw few hoverflies and another couple of peacock butterflies. Didn’t get many photos, the spotted a couple walking along the boardwalk and grabbed the shot. I liked the way it was framed. Back home, Scamp was going out to sit in the back garden, so I joined her with a glass each of red wine. It was comfortably warm with just a little cooling breeze blowing in from the west, but the temperature was certainly high teens. It’s going to be much cooler (colder!) tomorrow with the wind swinging to the north. We stayed in the garden discussing possible rearrangements of plants and planting. Took a few shots of one of Scamp’s Christmas Rose plants. I used the Nikon with the 105mm macro lens and it did a really good job of the close up. That became PoD. Did a bit of gentle pruning and retired to the house when the sun went down. Take the chance of a seat in the sun while you can.

Scamp had found a YouTube channel with a full length stage version of JC Superstar filmed in Manchester arena. That was tonight’s entertainment. Very good interpretation of one of our favourite films. We’d actually intended watching the DVD of the film tomorrow night. Maybe we still will, or we may leave it until Monday.

It looks like the weather’s changing overnight, so we may not be sunning ourselves tomorrow!