Category: Garden

The postman knocks – 17 June 2020

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Well, not actually the postman, it was the Amazon man and he brought a parcel!

This was the first part of this week’s order. It turned out to be a bottle of Smidge, insect repellant and very good stuff I may add. Thank you Sim for recommending it – a year ago almost to the day! Also in the parcel was a pack of ten refillable fountain pen reservoirs. I only ordered one, but that gives me nine spares!

Drove down to the village after lunch to visit Isobel. We had a wander round her garden then we sat in the sun on her drying green, or drying asphalt as it actually was. She got us up to date on all that was happening in the village, in the garden and in the family. Then she kept us amused with tales of her life when she was a wee girl during the second world war. A very entertaining afternoon. Unfortunately there wasn’t much shade from the sun, and Scamp hadn’t put on sun block this morning, so we had to give our apologies and make tracks for home.

We’d watched a gang of four guys stripping the roof of one of the nearby houses in the morning. By the time we got home the entire roof had been cleared, including the sarking, back to bare rafters. New sarking had been nailed on and that was covered with roofing felt with strips laid for the new roof tiles which were neatly stacked on their slightly dodgy scaffolding. Maybe cowboys, but hard working ones

We’d stopped at M&S on the way home to get provisions for tonight’s dinner which was a fancy version of spaghetti with prawns. About half an hour after we got back, the Tesco order got delivered. Dumped it in the kitchen and Scamp told me to leave the rest to her and sent me out to get photos. The best one I got was of the butterfly. Still to ID it, but I remember taking photos of its aunt or uncle last year, so it will be in Flickr somewhere.

Today’s topic was Draw a Power Plug. Not riveting, but worth doing just to check your observation skills. It’s things we see every day that are the hardest to draw because we tend to draw what we think we see, not what we are observing.

Big day tomorrow, because we’ll find out what Lockdown Release part 2 brings us. Other than being glued to the TV for that, we have no plans.

Another dull day to start with – 14 June 2020

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We’d hoped for a brighter start, but the weather fairies told us to wait and all would be sunshine an light.

Dull milky white sky, but Scamp got an email that put a smile on her face. It seemed that her new tablet case would be delivered today. We waited for a while and still the white cloud persisted. Finally after lunch the parcel arrived and so did the sunshine. Once again the weather fairies had proved that all those expensive computers were worthwhile and that we should have patience and wait for the good weather to appear.

After lunch and after watching Andrew Marr try to antagonise Rishi Sunak without success (He actually answered every question Marr fired at him) we decided what to do with what remained of the day. The walk or cycle debate was solved by me saying I’d take the sunshine as a sign that it would be a good day to cycle. Scamp did some dinner preparation and then relaxed in the garden after some ‘essential gardening’. Rearranged pots to her satisfaction. I went in search of something worth photographing using the Teazer 90. I couldn’t find it to start with, but after searching all the likely places, stated looking in the unlikely, but possible places. Finally found it in a Bergy jacket in a cupboard. Not only that, I thought I’d found my glasses that I’d lost a week ago in the same jacket. That didn’t seem likely, because the jacket had been in that cupboard for at least a month. It appears that I’ve found a pair of glasses that I thought I’d lost around Christmas last year. Still haven’t found their replacement. If its taken me six months to find one pair, and I lost the replacement pair a week ago, does that mean I’ll find them (the replacement pair) somewhere around Christmas 2020? Time scale seems to work, not sure the logic does. Personally I blame the Hortus gin!

Cycled to the waste ground near Drumgrew bridge and watched the bees gathering nectar from the flowers. Found a conducive Small Heath butterfly which sat on a Marguerite flower for enough time for me to focus and grab a few shots of it. Its wings were a bit battered and bruised, but I’m happy that my ID is correct

Back home we had some time sitting in the sun and drinking non-alcoholic Lime cordial and water while the sun slipped down the slope of the afternoon. Dinner was fillet steak from Lidl for me and salmon for Scamp with Jersey Royal potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. Coffee in the garden afterwards. Tried Amoretto coffee for the first (and last) time. One of Scamp’s favourites. It tastes like I’d imagine liquid marzipan would. Such a waste of good coffee.

Not a bad Sunday after all, especially given the poor start. Tomorrow we have no plans, as yet.

Another gardening day – 9 June 2020

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For Scamp it was. I was only the labourer.

Scamp set out in the morning with her tool belt on ready to do battle with the Pieris and the Rhododendron. She worked like a trojan scraping away the moss and compacted top soil on both, then pruned the pieris then together we hauled it around until it was sitting in a better position. My job for the day was to repot the Rosemary which had been stuck in a rather small pot for quite some time now and we’d been promising it a new pot with fresh compost for a while now. Today was the day. Again, it was moved to a sunnier spot in the garden, although there wasn’t a lot of sun for it to sit in today. It was all a bit dull and grey.

After lunch we walked to the shops to get tortilla wraps, broccoli and smoked salmon for tonight’s dinner which was to be quick quiche. Found the recipe in an old newspaper where they used a tortilla wrap instead of shortcrust pastry for the base and sides of the quiche. What a difference it makes. Done in half the time with no faffing around chilling the pastry or blind baking.

Walked back and it felt like there was just the hint of rain in the wind. I decided to ignore it and go for a walk in St Mo’s just to make sure I had a photo for today. I saw a bloke fly fishing in the pond. I’ve heard of Fly Fishing in Yemen, but this must be the first time I’ve seen anyone fly fishing in the pond at St Mo’s. I suppose it’s possible to catch perch or maybe even a small pike with a fly, but usually it’s blokes with umbrellas, gigantic bait boxes and a six pack of Tennents or the sneaky little bottle of Bucky who sit there all day. This bloke was standing and moving. He was doing some nifty casts too. It might take you some time to see him, he’s well camouflaged! That photo got PoD. Those eagle eyed out there might have noticed in the photo that there were a lot of rain splashes in the water. I decided to cut short my walk and head for home, only having a hoodie as rain protection.

The quiche was lovely. Broccoli and smoked salmon. Something Jackie taught me up in Skye. It’s a very good combination. Scamp made another quiche, a Quiche Lorraine, but the flavours weren’t as strong as the first one.

Target for today was to Draw Something Huge. After a great deal of thought, I decided on the head-up kelpie. I can’t remember if he is Duke or Baron, all I know is that the head-down kelpie likes to be called Harry the Happy Kelpie, but that’s something he told me and it’s supposed to be a secret, so don’t go blabbing it. Pencil rough then Lamy ABC kids fountain pen (great for sketching), then a gentle water wash to give some light shadows. Always difficult to sketch such an icon, but I think I got away with it.

Tomorrow it looks wet for most of the afternoon. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong. I hope I am.

On gardening leave – 7 June 2020

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This was going to be a day in the garden.

After lunch, Scamp was out first potting up her lavender and a lemon balm using the new potting tray. I was sitting in the sun, sketching cars to catch up with yesterday’s prompt. Today’s prompt wasn’t going to be possible because it was ‘Something Architectural’ and architecture is not a strong point in Cumbersheugh, but I knew I’d think up something.

Later in the afternoon it was my turn to use the new tray. It’s really just a big bit of grey plastic with a short lip on three sides and a bigger lip at the back. However it does a great job of keeping the place tidy. I used it to mix up some potting compost from some John Innes compost and some sharp sand, then I repotted almost all of the chilli plants. Some were really needing a bit more root room and some just looked a bit under the weather, so some fresh compost will hopefully help both lots. Also planted two rows of carrots. One row of normal carrots and one of stump roots. Also planted out some leeks we’d bought last week and kale that I’d grown from seed. Scamp planted the chard we got last week in a pot. I think the raised bed is full now with peas, carrots, leeks and kale. Put down some slug prevention wool pellets too.

Sat in the garden for a while afterwards just to take in some rays and plan our next moves in the tiny green space we call a garden. It also gave us a chance to appraise our successes and discuss our failures, few though they are. Then the clouds gathered and we went inside to make the dinner.

I make it sound as if I was a participant in preparing dinner, but really it was Scamp who did all the work. She had also made Poached Pears with Yoghurt Icecream which was our pudding. Main for her was Salmon with the usual veg and I had a Beef, Cheese and Garlic Truffle, a bit like a posh burger, but much, much tastier. Got it from the local butcher and I will certainly go back for more to be put in the freezer. Pudding was just as good as it usually is. This must be one of Scamp’s signature dishes, to use the phrase of the moment. I baked some bread, but we are still to taste it. Will report back tomorrow if I remember.

Spoke to JIC later and discussed the lockdown from his point of view, the problem of squirrels in his garden and Covid-19.

PoD was my meconopsis which has just flowered properly with a few buds in reserve for later in the week perhaps. You might be able to see today’s sketches on Instagram later, but they won’t be available here, or on Flickr. Not that good I’m afraid.

Weather looks like it will be warm again before it deteriorates later in the week.

Up early again for the last day in May – 31 May 2020

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That didn’t mean that we were doing much more than getting up, but it was a start.

We finally chose to go for a walk after Scamp had spoken to her wee sister and told her she’s been talking to her big sister yesterday. Also after I’d hung out most of the washing. It was much cooler and much breezier than yesterday with the wind coming from the east. We walked round St Mo’s and then paused for fifteen to twenty minutes watching half a dozen dragonflies, not damselflies, big dragonflies clattering about the wee pond. Some were obviously females, busy egg laying and some were males chasing off the competition, but they all combined to show off their aerial skills as they flew round and between the various obstructions in their path, which included us. Utterly fascinating and perfect for taking you out of yourself and the problems of this new world we are living in.

Back home and time for a Sunday lunch of eggs, black pudding, beef-ham, sausage and tattie scones, all fried. It’s ok to eat healthy six days of the week but on the seventh you can fry your food.

We knew the good weather wasn’t going to last, so Scamp made the most of it. She slapped on the Factor 50 and took herself and her book out into the garden to soak up some rays. I adjourned to the ‘Painting Room’ to sketch today’s drawing which was ‘A Phone’. My choice was an old black bakelite rotary dial phone. They have so much more soul than the black glass slabs we use for everything from sending messages to photographing everything and occasionally even speaking to people. The old black bakelite phones were used for speaking to people and nothing else. I got the basic shape drawn and photographed, then put some black watercolour on it to give some tonal gradation. Happy with the result, I went out for a walk with the ‘big dog’ to see if the dragons had calmed down.

Thankfully they had calmed down and I did get a handful of decent shots, but only after rejecting a bucket load of junk. Today’s PoD was one of the best. It’s a Four Spotted Chaser and it was resting after a strenuous morning.

Got back just in time for dinner to be served. It was Neil-D’s lovely summer style rice and chicken with a variety of veg and condiments. Avocado as starter and Churros as a dessert. A nice bottle of Malbec to wash it down and then a seat outside to watch the sun go down. That’s what the last day of metrological spring is made for.

I watered the back garden afterwards while Scamp fed the front garden plants with some seaweed fertiliser. Coffee to finish off, with a drop of alcohol to take the edge off it.

Not a bad day, all in all. Hopefully we’ll manage one more day of this early heat before the rain comes in the middle of the week. May go and see a man about a bike wheel tomorrow.

Lockdown release begins – 29 May 2020

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It was true, we were allowed to go out today. Nominally 5 miles, but who was counting.

We were very cool about it to start with, as you sometimes are when you’re desperate to do something, but don’t want to show it. Scamp did some washing and hung it out. I started my Sudoku and made some coffee. We watched a rather boring webinar from our man in Falkirk. We had a spot of lunch too. Moved stuff around the garden and planned some repotting. Eventually we just decided we had to go out. Somewhere … ANYWHERE!

Scamp suggested Fannyside, but we though we’d do a drive past the garden centre anyway. Again, playing it cool and saying that we’d maybe go there during the week. We drove up to B&Q, but the queue there was looooong, so we turned around and drove up the long way to Fannyside, up past Arns forest and round the top of the road. Stopped at the draw in by a stand of Scots Pines and just listened to the silence. Hardly a sound, hardly a breath of wind. We heard a cuckoo. First time I’ve heard one this year. It was miles away, but it was a measure of the lack of noise that its call came over so clearly from its perch about a mile away. Got today’s PoD which just had to be a landscape. I’ve taken so few over the last couple of months that had become a thing to savour. Got a little macro of one of a trio of flies that had socially distanced themselves on a fence post.

Drove back by the moor road and then the unspoken agreement was that we were going to Calders garden centre. Scamp wanted pots and I wanted seeds and then it seemed churlish not to buy a couple trays of cheerful red flowers. Smiles on faces all around. Not all the shelves are full and the variety of plants is still a bit poor, but it was good to be able to browse around outside without a mask. Yes, we used them inside, but for a while, outside we felt like the world was returning to normal, the old normal.

Back home I grabbed two carrots, three tomatoes an onion and half a head of broccoli, arranged them tastefully on my painting table and produced today’s sketch ‘Vegetables’. I was quite pleased with it. Really need to have a look at what paints I need as a lot of them are going down quite quickly. I should be able to get them from some online art shops.

Later it was dinner in the garden and a glass of wine to wash it down. Couple next door were having a noisy dinner with some of their relatives, but although I moaned about the noise, it was just ordinary folk letting off some of the steam they’ve been bottling up for the past couple of months.

We had our first taste of Scamp’s “Westfield Gin Company”distillation. It was very nice. Reminiscent of Elderflower Gin. We only had a small sample, then we had to try it against a commercial variety just for comparison purposes!

All in all, a good day for what might be the beginning of the end of Lockdown and a really hot one. Tomorrow is to be slightly cooler which will be a good thing.

Another day, another walk – 26 May 2020

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Today I thought it was Sunday all day long. No reason why, except for Cabin Fever.

Phoned the bike shop in the morning (once I’d established that it was Tuesday and not Sunday) and got a promise the bike wheel would be finished by the end of the week. I sincerely hope that Big Al was not suffering from the same day-dislodgement that had overcome me.

After lunch we went for a walk more or less the same one as yesterday but in a slightly different direction. By the time we got home the sun was warming the place up nicely and we took the chairs out to the garden Scamp with a Pimms and me with a beer. Read for a while then got a surprise.

The girl next door, Lucy gave us a couple of facemasks she had made for us. We both thought that was very kind of her. They were much simpler than my pattern and much more effective I’d think. Curved to fit the face. She said she’d been making them for her gran and grandpa and thought we might appreciate one each too. Like I said we thought that was good of her, but then I thought, does that make us the old people next door? Scamp said “Yes, probably”. Doesn’t matter I liked the thought and because she’s just finished a fashion design course in London, the stitching was so much better than mine!

Dinner was Sea Bass with Potatoes, Broccoli and Cauliflower. Delicious! Scamp was chef tonight.

PoD went to a photo I took earlier in the day of a winged aphid on a rosebud. Scamp appreciated the detail in the picture, but wants rid of the beasties before they damage her roses.

Today’s topic was ‘A Pasta Dish’. I think by this time the setters were becoming tired with the whole EDiM thing and just throwing words and phrases at the list. This is my response to the prompt. There is a dish and there are two pieces of pasta, but really it’s a vehicle to practise drawing cutlery.

Tomorrow we are booked for an ASDA delivery in the afternoon, so any walks will have to be in the morning.

Rained again last night – 21 May 2020

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Woke up this morning to wet pavements and just the hint of rain in the air. Scamp was delighted. The garden needs the rain.

By the time we were up, Scamp got a text to say her prescription was ready to pick up from the chemist, so off she went to collect it. I stayed home and flew a plane from Glasgow to Prestwick and tried to remember how to land it using ILS (Instrument Landing System). All the different planes I’ve got in my virtual hanger use different autopilots and trying to keep track of them all is difficult to say the least. Pilots may get exorbitant wages, but they certainly work for their money. It wasn’t the glorious success I hoped it would be. I also messed around with some oranges trying to get a suitable setup for Lockdown Library No 39 today, again with very little success.

Scamp arrived home with another clinking bag, but I forgave her, because there was beer in it this time as well as a bottle or two of wine. She asked me to bring down the last bag, and could I please see if the car, which was up the top of the road, would fit into a space she wasn’t confident in driving in to. It would, and I did and in the boot as a thank-you there were two new folding garden chairs. We’ve only had one chair for ages and have been talking about getting another. She had managed to get two new ones for a knock down price. Delighted!

After lunch I walked down to the shops and came home with a lavender plant for Scamp, a bee hotel for, well, for bees – obviously! Also an assortment of sweets because … well, do I need an excuse? If I do, then it was because it was a beautiful sunny day and tomorrow is looking like it will not be beautiful or sunny. Lashing rain and strong winds forecast. I got changed into a pair of shorts a tee shirt and a shirt and went off in search of photos. I got today’s PoD which was a little tree growing up through the leaf litter in the woods of St Mo’s. Caught a fleeting glimpse of a deer, but too fast and too far away for me to catch.

Came home and enjoyed a beer in the garden, then we had dinner in the garden too. Scamp had Cauliflower Cheese with Jersey Royal Potatoes. I added some grilled bacon to mine. Very nice sitting on our new chairs in the sun having dinner. Very civilised.

When it got too cool we went inside. While I was drawing and painting today’s topic which was Fruits, we watched ‘Glow Up’ on iPlayer. If you haven’t watched it, it’s a must see. It must be one of the most cringeworthy programs on TV. It’s a well tried format:

  1. Take a team of “I Want To Be On A Show” people
  2. Give them three tasks an episode
  3. Dump the weakest
  4. Repeat.

The ‘contestants’ are wannabe make-up artists and each one is more outrageous than the last. The “Judges” equally so. It’s a hoot! I recommend it to you.

That was about it. The “Fruit” turned out to be chopped up pieces of orange and I was fairly happy with the result. Viewable on Instagram or FB.

Title of today’s blog is the first line of the Tom Paxton song “The Things I Notice Now”. What do you mean “Who’s Tom Paxton?”

Tomorrow, as I mentioned, it looks like rain and gale force winds.

Working with the gardener – 20 May 2020

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The day began at about 6am with a blackbird singing its story … loudly.

Maybe it’s something to do with these strange days, but for the first time I actually listened to the song of the blackbird. It seems to sing a story, almost as if it’s reading the news, a topic at a time. Listen to it the next time you get a chance. This isn’t a mating call, nor is it the “Dik! Did!” alarm call. This song doesn’t repeat like most birdsongs seem to. It’s a story. A story only other birds, or maybe even only other blackbirds can understand. Maybe this is all in my imagination, but I don’t think so.  I eventually had to close the window and thank the genius who invented double glazing.

I got an email from Hazy with a link to an incredible Sudoku solution for a grid with only two numbers in it. It wasn’t a normal Sudoku puzzle though. It was chess sudoku with additional rules based on the King’s move and the Knight’s move in chess. However the solution was fascinating to watch.

https://youtu.be/yKf9aUIxdb4

We walked down to the shops in the late morning to get some of the raw materials for tonight’s dinner and also something for lunch. Shops were incredibly quiet, even Aldi which is usually mobbed had no queue. For the first time this year, I think I went out without a jacket or hoodie of some description and the light bouncing off the new paving slabs at the shops was quite blinding. A warm day was on the cards.

Scamp cut the front grass and then after lunch we sat at the front for a while, soaking up the rays. Scamp had her factor 50 on just to be sure. I have to apply it to her back and the back of her neck and that’s why my hands are always white. They don’t get the chance to get a tan!

After a while Scamp disappeared for a while. I eventually found her in the back garden, gardening. The usual things. Cutting some stuff, pruning others, weeding and transplanting things. In her element. I finally agreed to be roped in and cleaned out some of the old strawberry hanging basket. Together we repotted the Skimmia into what had been the Chrysanthemum pot. Then she went and split up the Eryngium that was growing quite happily in a pot at the front. Massive big tap root on both the plants. Eventually I gave up on this gardening lark and went inside to draw today’s sketch which was on the topic of Shoes. My slipper/clogs were the model and I was fairly happy with the result. Pencil sketch only this time. By that time the gardener was finished and it was time to make the dinner. Another tray of chicken with roasted veg. Tasted quite good, but needed more salt. We’re working our way through a cookery magazine, by the way. A strange cherry flavoured jelly for dessert. Interesting, but not something I’d actually go looking for again.

PoD was a lovely delicate blue Anemone Coronaria Royale.

Too warm for central heating tonight, but I think we might need it tomorrow. It’s going to get cooler, wetter and windier as we get closer to the weekend. Oh, yes, and happy birthday to Murdo in Skye!

Tomorrow we may need to collect Scamp’s prescription so someone will be driving.

Getting things done – 19 May 2020

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Some days it pays to have a plan and stick to it. Some days not.

Today was in the latter category, but still fulfilled the title of the blog. I lay a little longer than I should have, just to finish City With Windows. A good book that I’d recommend to you, especially if you like American crime novels. After I rose and had my shower I started on today’s drawing. Today’s topic was A Pillow and that was right in front of me, so I did a quick sketch to see how it looked. It worked, but the paper I was using wasn’t conducive to watercolour, so I redrew it on my standard 160gms Seawhite sketchbook. It looked fine, but would probably look even better with a watercolour wash. However, I’ve been caught before and this time I took a quick snap with my phone to make sure I had a copy of the pencil sketch incase I screwed up the watercolour. I didn’t screw up for once and the pillow looked better with the part watercolour, part pencil sketch. At least, that’s what I think.

By the time I was finished, Scamp had been on the phone to the doc to get her reflux medication changed to one that would actually work. After Ranitidine had been recalled she was on a couple of meds that didn’t work or weren’t as good as it. Since it doesn’t look as if it will return in the near future, having been found to be a probable human carcinogen, she needed to find a replacement. I hope she’s found it this time.

After lunch I wrote to Alex sharing photographic experiences and some photos. It’s been too long since I took the time to write to him. We used to converse with emails passing between us every fortnight, now it’s every month and sometimes longer. Must make the effort to close the gap.

Later in the afternoon, when the rain that had threatened all day finally arrived, I took some photos of the Rhododendron and Geum in the garden. With the warmth last week and the rain this week the garden is starting to take off. Of course the rain didn’t last and the sun broke through. When it shone on the rhododendron, the pieris and the American cowslip they really shone and I realised, not for the first time that all the work Scamp puts into the garden isn’t a waste of time. The sun didn’t last long, because the rain returned. One of the shots of the rhododendron got PoD.

I’m writing this at just after 9.30pm and once it’s posted I’ll have completed almost everything I’ve been intending to do for a long time.

Tomorrow we may have to visit the pharmacy to pick up Scamp’s meds. Other than that, no plans. But sometime you still get more things done when you don’t have a plan.