Category: Garden

Dancin’ – 1 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

On the first day of August

It was a busy morning with traffic on the road, probably from folk coming home from holiday and others on their way out. Once we got past Glasgow airport the traffic reduced. Today we were back in Brookfield and dancing old dances. Some were more successful than others. People, including us, were still having problems with Rona’s Rumba. Jane was making changes to the routine but, as someone said, there are too many turns both clockwise and anticlockwise. I can understand that Jane has devised the dance for a friend who passed away, but you sometimes have to stand back and look at the routine. That’s all I’ll say.

It wasn’t my best day. I was complaining about everything. I have no excuse for it, just one of those dance days when things get under my skin and I can’t do anything right. We danced quite a few routines that, normally we’d work our way through without any problems, but today they just didn’t work. Most of it was my fault. Probably best to forget today and come back fresh for the next dance.

For once we drove home over the Kingston Bridge and kept the wheels turning all the time. It’s not often I’ll say that. The weather was variable today. Cloudy one minute and in sunshine the next. Not to be trusted, though because Scamp was complaining about little showers of rain when she was working in the garden later. We both worked on an old tree that’s been growing next to the wall in the back garden and between us I think we’ve given it a good short back and sides today. Our ‘Brown Bin’, the garden waste bin was almost full with one bushy tree.

We had three butterflies changing places round the Buddleia bush in the garden. One of them, a Red Admiral, finally settled on a plant pot and I managed one photo of it before it flew off. That photo made PoD.

I spent some time rearranging my Lightroom catalog, something I’ve been meaning to do for months now. Hopefully it will be a more logical way of working this year.

Dinner tonight was Mac ’n’ Cheese and although it was a bit salty, it tasted great. Scamp was cooking, of course!

No plans for tomorrow so far.

Raining – 28 July 2026

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I know this will break the hearts of my readers “Dahn Sarf”, especially with another heat wave heading their way, but we had rain almost all day today. Sometimes heavy rain sometimes light, but always there. Hopefully those in the south of England will get their fair share of it too in the coming weeks and months.

I’m afraid there wasn’t much to report today. I walked down to the shops in the afternoon to get some ‘messages’, but other than that I hardly moved from the house.

I was duty chef today and I was making Carrot & Lentil Curry. It’s so long since I last made it, I completely forgot what the ingredients were. Then I remembered that the original was sealed into a double sided, clear plastic sheet. Find that and you find the recipe, and Scamp knew where the plastic sheet was. We almost had all the makings of the curry, but the local shops didn’t sell canned Pimentos. However, our version of it was good enough for today. Tomorrow I may drive to Tesco to get a new jar. Scamp says she was delighted with the cut down version. Happy Wife, Happy Life!

We thought we’d lost the chance to see who won Bakeoff The Professionals because, for some reason ITV were showing it on the wrong day, but Scamp managed to find it somewhere on ITV. I chose the wrong pair, but Scamp got it right. Brilliant program.

PoD went to a branch of Rowan berries from the back garden. They look like plump little oranges!

No plans for tomorrow, but it looks like the weather may improve. Probably not what you were wanting to hear if you live down south!

Back to normal – 27 July 2026

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After the faded glamour and glitz of The Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the fun of Glasgow Merchant City Festival, today it was back to reality with a bump. Monday is ‘Messages’ day. A trip to Tesco was as far as we got.

After we emptied the car and put all the ‘messages’ away, we had lunch. Then Scamp decided she was going out to make some changes to the back garden. I let her get on with it and settled down to write some of the blog and put the rest of it back into the places it should have been in yesterday. Then Scamp explained what she wanted to change in the garden and where things were going to go.

Thankfully, it was around that time that Hazy phoned to see if we were busy. We talked about Blackpool and dancing and and dentists. Also, how the hats got on people. If that makes no sense, don’t worry. Books, as usual, were topics for discussion too. Good to hear that Neil is enjoying his school holidays.

After we had said our goodbyes, it was back to the back garden for more of Scamp’s ideas for its alterations. Actually it looks as if it will work quite well, but it will need quite a lot of changes.

It was a cool afternoon with the threat of rain always just there in the wind and very little sign of blue skies. I didn’t really want to go out to take photos, but I did get some photos of the bees on the Buddleja bush in the garden. They were Bombus pascuorum (Carder Bees). One of the shots made PoD.

It looks like we are going to have more rain tomorrow. That will be good for the garden. We’ve had a few showers, but we still need more to keep the plants healthy.

No plans for tomorrow.

A change in the weather – 24 July 2026

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Much cooler today and it rained overnight. That will save us lugging watering cans around the garden! More forecast for tomorrow.

Scamp was out in the morning for coffee with Shona. I stayed home trying to make some sort of organisation into Lightroom Classic. It seems that as the catalog gets busier and busier, more errors creep in to Lightroom. Yes, it’s a really clever application, but it can be a pain in the backside sometimes. Probably a lot of the problems are human error, but not all.

While I was walking round the garden looking for some subjects to photograph I caught a glimpse of something zipping past the Buddleia bush. It stopped once and I realised it was a Humming Bird Hawk Moth. I’ve never, and I mean NEVER seen one in Scotland. My daughter in law got some photos of one in deepest England a year or so ago, but I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d see one in Scotland. By the time I got my phone camera out of my pocket it was gone. Amazing! I’ll be watching that bush for the next month until I get another chance like that!

When Scamp returned and I told her about the amazing visitor, I don’t think she believed me at first. Then when I laid siege to the buddleia bush she knew I wasn’t joking.

Not a lot other than that to speak of. Dinner was Fish ’n’ Chips from the chippy. PoD was a Japanese Anemone and I did eventually manage to get Lightroom Classic to do what it was meant to do.

I think an early bed tonight will be good. I’ve not been sleeping well, and maybe I just need an early night for once.

Just a bit cooler today – 23 July 2026

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I think the days of the hot heat are numbered. It does feel a little bit cooler today.

I think I might have had too much of that hot Paisley sun yesterday. While Scamp wandered round the back garden rearranging things, I went to my bed for an hour or so in the afternoon. I felt a lot better when I woke up. Not entirely sure what caused it, but Alex and I had been walking around Paisley for a while, yesterday. It might have been that.

After I woke, I took a camera out for a walk in St Mo’s and almost immediately a Common Darter dragonfly flew over my shoulder and landed neatly right in front of me. I got that ‘dragonfly feeling’ again. The feeling that the insect was watching me even more intently than I was watching it. We both stayed in that pose, each one of us keeping a weather eye on the other and neither wanting to be the one who made the first move. It was a bit like an old spaghetti western. Eventually I blinked and walked past the insect. I’m sure it sniggered as I walked round the pond.

After the impasse I walked down to the shops and brought back some strawberries, some raspberries and a melon. The fruit was for tonight’s dinner once it was mixed with chopped up baby potatoes and little gem lettuce, beetroot and a boiled egg with some mozzarella and a few other veg. It turned into a filling meal.

Scamp and I had watered the dry looking plants in the garden with a watering can when I came back from St Mo’s and we gave it another sprinkle tonight because a lot of the plants were looking quite dry, especially the ones that are clipped to the top of our fence (not the new one). The wind tends to dry these poor plants.

Tomorrow, Scamp is intending to meet Shona for coffee and a blether. I’ve got other things to do. The dragonfly got PoD.

 

Paisley in the sun – 22 July 2026

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I met Alex at Buchanan Street bus station today and we went for a coffee to give us a chance to say where we wanted to go today.

Alex chose Paisley and I said ok, as long as we didn’t have to go to the Ugly Duck. The service in The Duck is really slow and the food is just ok. I suggested to Alex that we look at Pendulum. Scamp and I have been there and the food was really good. Alex agreed and we got the train to Paisley.

We went for a wander around the town for a while and then we had a look at the menu in Pendulum. We got a seat without a problem. I chose Fish ’n’ Chips and Alex chose Deluxe Burger. When the order came, the batter on my fish was very oily and the fish was just a little thin. Not a great deal of taste in the fish or the batter. Wished I’d got Alex’s burger which he said was great, instead. All I can say is that the last time Scamp and I were there everything was fine. Maybe it was just a bad day for Pendulum, but one bad meal can be a restaurant’s downfall. One strange thing about Pendulum is that they don’t allow those who serve the meals to accept tips. Neither of us had heard of such a thing before.

After lunch we went for a walk round the town. I especially wanted a few photos of the church on the steep cobbled hill. Now remember that today was hot, not just warm, but hot. We climbed the hill and the gates were locked, but Alex had remembered there was a road that took you round the back of the church. We followed the road round and walked round the church. I got a few photos, but I’m a bit edgy about taking photos in a churchyard, so I looked, but didn’t photograph anything apart from the church itself.

We walked further along the road and found the path that would take us down to street level. Paisley has lots of wee vennels and narrow cobbled streets and we both agreed they were good subjects for photos. We walked back to the main area of the town and watched a boy dressed in strange gear feeding the pigeons in a park. He was standing with both arms outstretched and encouraging the birds to sit on his arms. Maybe it’s just Paisley folk that are strange.

We got the train back to Glasgow and went in to a Nero for a coffee before Alex got his bus and I saw mine just leaving the stance. Just not my lucky day today!

Back home, it looks like the fence between us and next door is finished. I’m sure they will be pleased to see it in place.

PoD went to a man taking in some rays, with a glass of beer on his table. How I envied him.

No plans for tomorrow yet.

Dancin’ – 18 July 2026

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It’s Saturday and that means we were dancing in Brookfield. It was another warm day, but with a lot of clouds hiding the sun.

Quite a full dance floor. We started with the Electric Slide. Just a repetitive piece of nonsense. Next was the American Smooth Waltz. It’s beginning to fit into place, but not as fast as Scamp would like. That took up about a third of today’s lesson.
For a break we danced the Sally Ann Cha-Cha. Also a bit of fun, but much more interesting that the electric slide.
Jane’s favourite, Rona’s Rumba was next. It was to commemorate a dancer called Rona who passed away a couple of years ago. It’s probably a lovely dance, but I’ve now heard a few of the old hands saying it has too many turns and it doesn’t flow well. They could be right. I just find it hard to dance. That was another third or more of the lessons gone.
Two more sequence dances, The Mayfair Quickstep and the Melody Foxtrot finished the class.

We drove home through very light traffic and were home in no time at all. Unfortunately I didn’t time it this time.

I didn’t want to go walking in St Mo’s again after yesterday’s disappointing walk. Instead I helped Danny, the bloke next door, to rip out the old wire fence that separates our two gardens. He’s determined to get a fence up to allow his grandkids to play in the garden. It was a tough job, but I got the remains of the old Blackcurrant bush removed and a lot of weeds and invasive flowers removed. It’s half past nine just now and he’s still working away at it. Not me. I’ve had enough for one day.

We’re hoping to go to Isobel’s 90th birthday party tomorrow. I’m intending taking my camera to record the event, although I’m sure Isobel will complain bitterly!

PoD went to a Calendula flower from the garden.

Yet another hot day – 17 July 2026

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The highlight of my day was driving to Kenilworth to get the results of my blood test. It was that kind of day! I’m glad to say that I passed the test and was so excited, I booked an appointment for my annual checkup.

After lunch Scamp suggested we should strim the grass, front and back. Between us we hauled out the strimmer and while we were there, we brought out the grass cutter too. I didn’t do any of the cutting myself, I left the technical stuff to Scamp. I just moved the pots of flowers out on to the path to allow Scamp to mow everything more quickly. She seemed to be on a mission today, because even the daisies were having a short back and sides and the recalcitrant ones were beheaded on the spot.

When the rough cutting was finished Scamp suggested we move some of the flowerpots about. I did the rough positioning and Scamp made the fine adjustments. With everything back in the correct place I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Scamp relaxed in the garden.

There was little to see today in St Mo’s today. No dragonflies, a few damselflies and no sign of any other creatures. In the distance I could hear some fanatics playing basketball in the school grounds. Other than that, I hardly met a soul.

Back home we watered the garden. Thankfully there are no water restrictions in Scotland, at least not for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come.

PoD went to a Greenbottle, not a Bluebottle sitting on a Cowparsley flowerhead. Apparently, according to Google bluebottles and greenbottles are different species. It’s amazing what you find out.

I think we may be going to dance class tomorrow. Hope Brookfield have their air-con working. Ha ha, fat chance of that!

An invitation to dinner – 16 July 2026

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Another really hot day. I was glad that we had managed to get the front garden watered last night.

This morning, Wordle on the iPhone kept shutting down. I tried all the usual remedies without much success. Then I tried switching to the MBP and it worked ok, but still had the same problem on the iMac. I left it for a while and later in the morning I not only had the iPhone version working, but also managed to get the right letters in the right order … with a little bit of cheating! I’ll see how the system works tomorrow.

Scamp was pruning the bushes again and in the late afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s with the old 55-210mm Sony. The quality is reasonable, but really it’s the portability that I like it for. An APS-C camera is more than good enough to get decent photos. That’s the story I tell myself, but I still prefer the full frame camera/lens combo, even if it’s much heavier.

In the late afternoon we headed over to Shona’s house. We’d been invited over to have dinner with her. Her suggestion.

We had Melon for starter, followed by Chicken with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes and a Parsley Sauce. A lovely summer afternoon meal. Dessert was Strawberry Cream Sponge. We even had a bottle of Nosecco to go with it. Shona can make dinner for us anytime!

We sat and talked for a couple of hours, watching the clouds gather above us, then dissipate again later. Drove home and got parked in the same space we’d come out of.

Watched Mastermind to finish of this week’s first trilogy and then watched the first Sewing Bee. Too hard to say who the front runners are going to be this year.

PoD was a couple of wild raspberries I saw on today’s walk around St Mo’s.

 

Sun Catchers – 15 July 2026

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I think it was the angle I used that made it look like the wild geranium flowers were all pointed at the same spot.

We drove out to Larky today because Scamp needed to have a checkup at the optician. It also gave me the opportunity to get a new pair of glasses to replace the one’s that had disappeared when we came back from Skye. Different glasses from the last ones, just for fun. And because I was replacing a pair I’d lost recently, I got the new ones for half price.

Once all of that was organised and Scamp was having her eyes checked I drove up through Larky and found a petrol station that I’d forgotten was there. Put some fuel into the tank before the beepy noise told me I was running low. I drove further up the road and remembered that there was a Lidl at the top of the hill and Lidl sell a lovely, cheap bottle of gin. Two birds, one stone!

As I was driving out of Lidl with my bottle, I got a message from Scamp to tell me she was sorted and ready to be driven to Brookside cafe and garden centre. It’s an old fashioned cafe that’s been there for years, but one that sells Rolls ’n’ Flat Sausage and also Rolls ’n’ Scrambled Eggs with cups of real coffee. None of your fancy ground beans, but real coffee, out of a jar I think. While we were there Scamp found a perfect present for one of her friends, so we bought it on the spot and then drove home before she could find anything else to purchase.

Back home I changed into Shorts and Tee Shirt and while Scamp sunbathed with lots of sun cream in the garden, I walked over to St Mo’s to get some photos. There wasn’t much to shoot today. The swans were hiding in the bushes from the sun and there was only one dragonfly in the whole of the pond that I could see. The PoD I chose was a bunch of wild geraniums, they looked like scanners pointed in the sky searching for signs of rain that didn’t come.

Annette came for dinner. I was chef for the day and Scamp had chosen Fish Risotto. Easy to make and the oven does most of the work. Good conversation with a good friend.

Later in the evening, Scamp found the ‘lost’ glasses. Oh well, another pair of driving glasses won’t go amiss!

Hoping to dine with Shona tomorrow.