Category: Garden

Keeping your head down – 18 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

It’s amazing the things you see if you keep your head down.

Today I was out for a walk in the afternoon, heading to the shops to get a variety of veg to make dinner. If I hadn’t had my head to the ground I would never have noticed the burned off rusted pipe on the pavement. Inside the pipe, dirt and stones had collected over time. Some seeds had landed in the old pipe too and some of them had germinated. Add a little sunlight and a plentiful amount of rain and there you have the beginnings of a miniature garden. If I’d just been striding out, or if I’d been thinking about that dinner I was going to make, I’d have missed this little garden in the street. If you don’t look, you’ll never see what’s in front of you. But be careful, watch out for busses as well as little round gardens.

You can find my garden on Flickr. The round garden didn’t quite make PoD. That award went to a White Tailed Bee feeding on a Marsh Cinquefoil flower. Much prettier, but I still like that round garden. It’s the second one I’ve found. Must go back through Flickr to find it.

Scamp was out in the afternoon to meet up with the rest of the Witches, while I was shopping. I’d half intended to drive up to Fannyside to get some landscape photos. Unfortunately the sun didn’t want to play ball today and so instead I searched out a recipe I could use for dinner tonight. I’d seen one on the BBC page and it looked simple enough for me. Actually it was fairly simple and that’s what we had tonight. It was listed as Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, but in reality it was “What have we got in the fridge”. It served the purpose and it tasted reasonable. May make it again.

The dull weather that prevented me from going to Fannyside lasted for the remainder of the day. Dull and with the threat of rain sort of summed it up. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Scamp is intending to meet Isobel tomorrow and I’m hoping to meet Alex for a photowalk.

My turn to cook – 17 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

It was my turn to cook today and I thought I’d made a mess of it, but surprisingly it all worked out well.

It was a dull, grey day. I don’t think either of us really wanted to do much of anything. I had finished my book and started another. I don’t know where it came from on the Kindle, but it didn’t last long there. It’s now in the Kindle Bin. An hour or so’s research and a couple of quid brought me another book, much more interesting, at least that’s what I’m hoping it will be. By the way Hazy, did you know that Stone and Sky, the new Rivers of London book, set in SCOTLAND! comes out in a couple of weeks? You probably knew that and you probably told me and I probably forgot about it. Too many wee ‘nories’ in my head, that’s what my mum would have said.

Scamp was in a redesigning mood today. Plants in their pots were needing moved and I could see where she was going with this rebuild. Too many pots containing greenery and not enough with some brighter colours. Admittedly she has some beautiful roses growing in the front garden, in pots, of course, but she needs some spots of colour too. Today was a test to see what she could create from what she already had in the garden. I was the pot lifter for the day and I agreed with her changes.

However, I did want to get a bit of photography done and once I was sure she wouldn’t strain her back humphing the pots around, I took the chance of a walk over to St Mo’s where I found a Common Blue Damselfly that was willing to be a model for me. Also a pretty pink wildflower growing beside the boardwalk. It took me a bit of research to find out that it was Valerian. I remembered the name from last year. Last, but not least was was a side view of a white wild rose, fully open and welcoming any passing bees. All are to be seen on Flickr, but the PoD was the Valerian.

Like I said at the start, it was my turn to cook today. It was Mushroom Risotto and I still think I got some of my quantities wrong, but the result worked well. It’s 20 minutes of standing by the cooker feeding the mushroom, onion, garlic, butter and rice mixture with ladles full of rehydrated mushroom flavoured liquid, meanwhile stirring almost constantly for those 20 minutes. Scamp had poached a chicken breast earlier and I added it to the mixture. I’m glad it all worked. I would have hated to have gone to all that effort for it to be a failure.

Tomorrow Scamp is hoping to meet the Witches for a blether and I may go looking for dragonflies, out in the country.

Just a Monday – 16 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A day to refill the fridge and the freezer and also the cupboards. Nothing fancy here, just replenishing, yes, that’s it. Replenishing!

But first we had the Canadian GP to watch. It was a bit of a procession until Lando Norris rammed Piastri in the dying minutes of the race and turned everything on its head. Too many hot heads in this GP world.

Apart from the GP, was a dull old day again. Nothing much to see, nowhere interesting to go, unless you consider Tesco to be interesting. It’s more a necessity to us. If M&S doesn’t have it, then surely Tesco will. A trolley was half filled from the list Scamp gave me and then it was added to when she returned from another shop and used her memory cells to recall the little bits and pieces she’d forgotten to tell me to find.

Back home we were unpacking the car and finding places to put all the things we’d bought. I do hope I’ve put them all in the right places or I’ll be getting my knuckles rapped for not paying attention to my wife!

In the afternoon Scamp did some planning of the garden, moving things around to create more space or to mix the colours of the flowers better. I can see what she was attempting to achieve, and it’s working. The colour combinations definitely brighten the borders.

For me, I took a camera over to St Mo’s to see what I could find. What I found was a newly hatched group of Shield Bugs. All of them wandering around the boardwalk and it was one of those bugs that got the PoD when it appears to wander into the jungle. I won’t go in to that in any detail. It’s nothing like what I was intending, but it worked, and that’s the important thing.

We went dancing in Kirsty’s class in the late afternoon / early evening. It was a reprise of the Waltz Nioli we’d started last week. Eventually we got it working properly, or as near as I could make it. Now we have three weeks off her class and another week or two off Stewart & Jane’s. I’m sure I’ll forget everything I’ve learned and I’m also sure I won’t be the only one.

Watched the final two episodes of GOLD and we’re still puzzling about what actually happened in it. It might be based on a true story, but it was confusing as I suppose all true stories are.

We have no plans for tomorrow.

Thunder, and torrential rain – 14 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Of course it was! It was summer in Scotland! What else did you expect?

We had been well warned by the Met Office and they got it right. During last night we got heavy, thumping rain, but thankfully no thunder or lightning. The rain tapered off during the day, but we weren’t going out, we’ve been caught like the before and got a soaking. Instead we stayed at home and read for a while, just because we could. No dancing class today, because the teachers were off on a Mediterranean cruise. They call it working, but we know better.

The day just sort of dragged its feet all afternoon and then late in the afternoon we heard the first rumbles of thunder in the distance. The rumbles got closer accompanied by a couple of louder bangs, then only rain to remind us that it wasn’t quite finished with us yet.

Dinner tonight was divided between two eateries. Scamp wanted a small fish supper with pickled onions. I chose chicken chop suey with fried rice. Each were produced from two different shops and both were deemed delicious. On the walk home I did catch a few heavy drops of rain, but it didn’t come to much.

The PoD came from a short dry spell in the garden and is a Polemonium Scamp recently purchased. I like the shape of the flowers which remind me of Aquilegia flowers, and the little yellow stamens catch the eye of passing insects.

Watched another episode of ‘GOLD’ on iPlayer. Quite an intriguing story although, how true to life it is, I wouldn’t like to say.

Hoping for a drier day tomorrow, or at least a less wet one.

Another hot day – 11 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Hardly any wind today to ruffle the leaves on the trees, but plenty of sun. Making the most of it, because it looks like it will be all change by the weekend.

Scamp was out in the morning tweaking this and pruning that in the garden. She was just making sure that all the flowers she’d planted yesterday were sitting up straight and looking happy.

We sat and solved our usual puzzles and then had lunch. It wasn’t a day to go our anywhere in a hurry, so we walked down to the shops to get the ingredients to make a stir-fry and then sat in the garden reading until I decided I’d go ‘beastie’ hunting. Scamp’s description of insects, arachnids and things that crawl and sometimes bite.

I managed to get a decent photo of a Four Spotted Chaser dragonfly at St Mo’s pond. Didn’t quite capture a Common Blue damselfly, there have been very few of them in and around the ponds this year. Further on I got a shot of a Yellow Iris with one flower beginning to go over and another just about to unfurl. That was about all the exercise I got today.

Back home we both read for a while in the back garden with a Pimms at hand. Later, Scamp turned the mixed veg we’d bought earlier into a well filled stir-fry for dinner.

That was about all the excitement we could take for one day.

We may go dancing tomorrow.

It’s been a long time – 10 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today we had agreed to visit the Kelpies. It’s been a long time since we last went to see the big horses.

Today we woke to sunshine and blue skies. That made a nice change from the grey skies and rain we’ve been looking at for the last few weeks. Scamp was looking for more flowers for the garden too, so that gave us two places to visit.

We went to find some flowers first and our destination was Klondyke garden centre near Grangemouth. They always have a good selection of plants, possibly too many, because there is limited space in the boot of the Blue car. I can’t really complain, though, because I got a couple of flowers too. Scamp found one of the grasses she’d been looking for. Its proper name is Stipa tenuissima or Pony Tails grass. It’s to be a memorial to June. A nice idea to remember her. She says that June will be able to wave to her in the morning.

After we’d paid for the plants, we headed to Helix Park, home of the Kelpies – The Big Horses. The Kelpies were looking magnificent today, shining brightly in the sunshine. Such a pity they built the Helix Park beside a sewage works. The stink today was awful. It’s the first time I’ve noticed it, but you could hardly ignore it.

We had a coffee in the restaurant. I was supposed to get scones to go with the coffee, but I decided to share a sandwich instead. Scamp was not amused. To make it up to her, I bought us both a ’99’ ice cream cone. That seemed to do the trick.

We drove home after admiring the Kelpies and getting a few new views of them. PoD went to two ladies discussing what was going on inside the great beasts.

Scamp set to and got most of the flowers and plants into their place later in the afternoon, but I’m sure there might still be time to shuffle them around later in the week.

We have no plans for tomorrow, but we do need to take some stuff to the tip. Not very interesting, but it needs to be done.

It’s raining again – 8 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Us humans are never truly happy. Last month we were complaining about the heat and the likelihood of their being a drought. This week we’re complaining because it’s raining.

Today I was waiting for another pair of dance trainers. I ordered a pair just over a week ago and they arrived last week, but were the wrong size when they arrived. Yesterday I found a pair online that were the recommended size (one half size larger than normal) and promptly ordered them, expecting to wait another week before they would be delivered, but no, they would be delivered today! Hooray!

It was one of those days when the sun shines in the morning, but before afternoon there is a gradual darkening of the sky and then the rain comes thumping down, only for the sun to come out later and the cycle to begin again.

Scamp took advantage of a dry spell to cut the grass in the back garden, or to be more exact, to strim the grass in the back garden. Strimming the grass is quite a lot quicker than using the lawn mower, and, as Scamp will tell you, cleaning a strimmer is much quicker than cleaning a mower. Once she was finished, we went for a walk round the front garden and Scamp laid out her plans for removing the plants that have passed flowering and also for what will replace them. Just as we were finishing, the Amazon man handed me a big brown paper box, quite like a shoe box actually!

In trepidation, I tried the trainers and although they might be a little bit big, they will work perfectly well. Light as a feather and worth every penny. I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to wear them tomorrow to Monday dance class.

I went for a walk around St Mo’s and almost got it dry all the way. Just a ten minute shelter under some trees when the rain came on, but otherwise ok. A little branch with some Hawthorn leaves and berries looking like a miniature Bonsai got PoD.

After a lot of disagreements, we settled on Sea Bass and potatoes for Scamp’s dinner and Lamb Burgers and potatoes for mine. Dessert was meringue nests with strawberries, raspberries and cream. Lovely.

Spoke to Jamie and told him all about Scamp’s scan. Then we heard all about their 80 visitors to the Open Garden project. They also took part in a Bake Off game where they had to bake a cake and also amongst other things, a batch of macarons. I wonder what Jamie’s gran would have thought of that!

Tomorrow I think we may be going to look at a couple of horses.

A bit of a wasted day – 6 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A day when the cloud cover hinted at rain in the wind, but the deluge never really got going.

Scamp went out to FitSteps in the morning and I’d intended spending the morning clearing up my expenses, but instead I used up most of my free hour reading.

We were supposed to have an Amazon parcel delivered in the early afternoon, but for whatever reason, by the delivery time had disappeared, I had a message to say it wouldn’t be delivered until late afternoon. That sort of spoiled our day, but Scamp took it as a challenge to haul out the strimmer and tidy up the edges of the front garden. Not to be outdone, I dug out spades full of compost from the bottom of the back garden compost bin to fill up the potato bags and pail. Most of the compost was very well rotted and simply crumbled through my hands. I dug out enough of the compost to fill two potato bags and one potato bucket. That should help to produce a decent crop of potatoes later in the year.

I had a few spaces in the raised bed, so rather that leave it barren, I planted out some leeks. I’d planted some about a month ago and they were looking quite good considering they had been in the ground all through those hot days of May. I’m hoping the new planting will also begin to show in a week or two.

Dinner tonight, we agreed, would be fish and chips from the Condorrat chip shop. I walked there and on the way remembered I was going to photograph a lovely big rhododendron bush that was growing wild beside the path. I even managed to get a bee’s bum sticking out of one of the florets! PoD sorted. The fish ’n’ chips were good, but not the best I’ve ever tasted. Could do better IMO Condorrat.

My parcel from Amazon which held a pair of dance trainers arrived as we were starting our fish and chips, and after that wait, they were just slightly too short. I’ll send them back tomorrow.

Tomorrow we’re intending to go to Saturday dance class but without my new dance trainers. 🙁

The weather fairies get it wrong – 5 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

The weather fairies predicted that today would be worse than yesterday with 100% chance of rain. It was cold, but it was dry almost all day. Sometimes even the weather fairies get it wrong.

We went out to meet Isobel for coffee and a blether in Costa. It was a cold wind blowing across the car park, but for once it was warm in Costa. Scamp spent the first half hour showing Isobel the photos from our visit to Hazel & Neil. I just sat there and added the occasional comment. Then Scamp explained the scan process to Isobel and answered all her questions. When both of them were talked out, Isobel went off to the bank and then went shopping.

We drove to our nearest Tesco and collected a trolley full of provisions for the coming week, or at least part of it. Back home it was lunch time. After that, Scamp started pruning some of the straggling branches from bushes and fading flowers, while I put new batteries in the string of lights round the rowan tree. I think it’s wrapped up in enough tape to make the battery box watertight, at least I hope it is. I’ll do the switch on later in the evening.

While Scamp was starting a new jigsaw, I took the A7iii out for a walk in St Mo’s and got a few decent photos of a bright green Cucumber Spider. Hadn’t seen one last year, but at least I got one today. I was quite pleased with that. While I was out I wandered down to the shops and bought some chocolate for Scamp and a cake each for us.

Dinner tonight was an absolutely delightful Prawn & Pea Risotto that Scamp made. It was light with creamy rice that was just al dente and no more flavoured with lemon and mint. I could never achieve that level of delicacy.

PoD went to that Cucumber Spider.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go to FitSteps. I’m intending doing some banking!  Pocket money banking.

A late rise – 3 June 2025

Posted on by Zogman

One of those days when we never heard the alarm clock go off.

Maybe that was because we didn’t set the alarm clock in the first place. In fact, I’m not sure we still have an alarm clock, but if we did have, we wouldn’t have heard it this morning.

After breakfast, and after Wordle et al, we drove over to Go Outdoors in Coatbridge, to search for a pair of trainers, nice cheap(ish) ones, like the ones I’d tried on and rejected in the same chain, in Kingston. It took a bit of searching, but I eventually found what I was looking for and this time I didn’t reject them. They seemed to fit perfectly for a change.

When we got back in the car I tried to set our next destination on the sat nav, which was Currys for a new tablet for Scamp. That was when the sat nav went bonkers. It decided that we were actually in France and then somewhere down Africa way. I tried switching the engine off, counting to ten and trying again, with the same result. Eventually I gave in and drove to the Currys by memory. Switched the engine off and locked the car.

We found the tablet Scamp had sourced on the internet and bought it in Currys. Then we did some shopping for something that would work for tonight’s dinner across the car park in Tesco. That should give the car and sat nav enough time to cool its wheels and settle down to work. It did. It gave us the correct directions to take us home. I’ve not got a clue what caused that mishap. It’s the first time I’ve experienced it.

I drove to Tesco in the town centre for petrol and Scamp searched unsuccessfully for a new dress, then we went home. Just got stopped and parked at the house when the skies opened and we were in the middle of a downpour. Nearly got soaked walking from the car to the house. That was the first of many such downpours today, in fact, as I’m writing this, another one is starting. Such strange weather.

Quite a fiery chicken curry for dinner that was cooled down with an ice lolly as a dessert.

PoD was a photo of a Lupin plant in the garden. I always liked the strong colours of lupins. If you find the photo on Flickr and can go back one step, you’ll find a photo of one of the London Parakeets that fly in gangs around the city.

Tomorrow Scamp and I are intending to drive to Glasgow for her scan, and after dropping her off, I’m hoping to meet Alex.