Category: Garden

Tidying up – 25 May 2016

Posted on by Zogman

25 May bA day to get things sorted out.  Not actual tidying up, no, this was tidying up loose ends in my life

This morning I had my test results from the doc, well, the sister actually.  All was good.  In particular she was impressed with my weight loss.  After that I got some financial stuff sorted out.  It should have been done in February, but today it was sorted.  In the afternoon, I had my checkup with the dentist and that also went well.

In between, we had lunch which was a duck egg each, courtesy of one of JIC’s friends.  I’d forgotten just how good duck eggs are and these ones were really, really good.  Thanks Ali and thank you ducks!

I didn’t have any PoD, so I went out for a drive later, but couldn’t settle on anything in particular, so I did what I usually do and took some flower shots in the wild.  That’s the one on the left.  I wasn’t all that happy with that, so managed to get some shots of the garden aquilegia then cropped four wee sharp pieces from them and then assembled the four in Potatoshop.  I’m better pleased with that, but it was a fair bit of work.

Dinner was some of the meat from Baldock, but no dinosaur bone yet, I’m keeping that for the weekend.

A lot done today, but still a lot to do.  Hopefully tonight will see the blog up to date.  Another loose end tidied.

Moves Like Jagger – 16 May 2016

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combo bWent to give my blood donation for testing for diabetes and lots of other things. Came home and enjoyed a plate of porridge by which time the cloudy skies were breaking up and blue sky was shining through again. Later, after lunch I went to the gym, the first time in weeks, and it felt like it. I really must get into a more realistic regime to utilise this fitness resource. I don’t think once a month is going to be good enough. While I was on the torture bike, the video for ‘Moves like Jagger’ was on the screen. I don’t usually watch or listen to the music videos that play in the gym, but I did in this case.

After returning from the gym and without a photo, I grabbed a few shots of flowers in the garden. Scamp had just given them a drink with the hose and the water beads made them a bit more interesting. White pasta for dinner AKA Spaghetti Carbonara. We ate it watching Pointless, a must watch in out house. One of the questions was about ‘Moves like Jagger’. Now there’s a coincidence.

For a wee bit extra exercise tonight, I drove in to Glasgow on a lovely balmy evening for an hour of salsa and an hour of bachata afterwards. During the bachata we were practising a move called Elvis Presley and the teacher said “I don’t have any Elvis tracks, but I’ve got the next best thing. You guessed it, ‘Moves like Jagger’. I think it’s following me.

Of Books and Bookshops – 11 May 2016

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comboA few years ago I bought a Kindle. Scamp thought I was mad. Then I bought her a Kindle and she realised the potential of this little slab of plastic and ‘tronics. Since then we’ve both had an on/off relationship with e-readers. Mostly on. I like the instant result from downloading a book. I like being able to carry a dozen books around with me on my slate. I like being able to read late at night by my illuminated screen without disturbing anyone. I like the novelty of having an on-board dictionary where I can discover, not only the meaning of a word, but also its derivation. We don’t have a bookshop in the town and I have to travel in to Glasgow or Stirling to peruse bookshelves. I could go to the library, but somehow that’s not as satisfying as handling and owning a new book, maybe it’s the owning part that’s the most important. If I didn’t have the money, I’d have to rely on our local library and maybe I should use it more, because if I don’t use it I could lose it, but mostly I’m sold on digital downloads.

Sometimes I deliberately buy a book, a physical book, just because I like the weight of it in my hand, or the tactile feel of turning a paper page, rather than the pretence of stroking a screen. Or sometimes, especially with a newly published book it’s actually cheaper to buy a book than a digital download. I have on occasion bought a non-fiction download, but I’ve never been totally satisfied with them even if I can search through them much more easily than with the printed article. There’s a place for books and equally there’s a place for Kindles.

I was thinking about this today when we were in Waterstones in Glasgow. I saw their Book of the Month and thought it looked interesting, then said to myself “I’ll add that to my Book LIst”. However, although I added it to the list I’ve got on my phone, I mentally added it to a paper book list, not an e-book list or just a must read list. Maybe some books are better read in printed form rather than electronically. For my birthday, Hazy gave me two paperback books and Scamp gave me a book token. Maybe that’s what’s reawakened my interest in printed media. I know I’ll probably take my Kindle on holiday with me, but I might just take a book too.

After we came back from Glasgow Scamp got settled in her chair at the front door. I took the shot of the disintegrating tulip. Tulips have no shame. They quite blatantly display their naughty parts for public gaze. With at least one decent photo in the bag, I got the bike rack out and took the bike down to Auchinstarry then cycled along the canal to Kirkintilloch. The only real reason anyone would go to Kirky is for the exercise of cycling along the canal tow path. Other than that, it has little to recommend it. On the way I saw the little pink blossom with its translucent green leaves beside the canal.  Also, saw my first damselfly of the year.  Not the best photo, but it was down in an overflow channel from the canal and I wasn’t going to go down to get a better shot. Turned at Kirky and came back, knowing that I’d be heading into that same east wind from yesterday and the day before. It was heavy going for a while, but quite exhilarating too. Got back and joined Scamp for a relaxing hour in the sun before dinner.

Another beautiful day. More of the same tomorrow? Yes please!

Pimms Time – 10 May 2016

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ComboScamp had an appointment with the osteopath this morning, so I took the opportunity to grab some shots of the foliage and flowers in the back garden.  As the sun was good and warm, I scouted round to find a sheltered spot for a seat in the sun because you have to make the most of these sunny days.  The back garden wasn’t an option as there was a strong wind blowing along all the gardens in the block, so I parked myself at the front door and got stuck into my latest book – The Bone Clocks.

When Scamp came back she announced that we should go to Dobbies to use up her birthday cream tea voucher.  There was a sting in the tail of course.  She wanted ‘somebody’ to haul a bag of potting compost into the boot of her car.  I didn’t mind, and the cream teas were lovely.

When we got back, I planted out some Tesco mint that was getting a bit pale and leggy on the kitchen windowsill and also sowed some basil seeds I’d got at Dobbies.

Basically that’s all the work I did today, apart from driving a staple into my thumb as I was fixing the lining to Scamp’s sweet pea box.  Later in the afternoon, Scamp declared that it was Pimms O’ Clock.  Me?  I had mint tea – a mix of peppermint and spearmint, fresh from the garden.

I got an email from Alex tonight reminding me that it was 16 years yesterday since Susan died and so today was my dad’s anniversary.  Where did all those years go?

Flooers – 3 May 2016

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combo bFlooers is a sign that I didn’t find my muse today.

The morning was a bit frantic waiting for the lady to come to give us a quote for a new boiler.  The final figure was a bit more than Scamp or I had anticipated, but we knew it was going to be the most expensive.  We were quite intrigued with the amount that heating technology has advanced in the fifteen odd years since we had our present boiler installed.  Then, smart phones were an inventor’s dream.  Today you can control your boiler remotely from anywhere in the world with a smart phone.  Whether we can do that control, in fact whether we will need to perform that degree of control will depend on the final cost.  Another quote coming tomorrow.

I finished an acrylic painting today.  Not finished to my satisfaction, but like Whistler allegedly said, “I intend to do no more to it.”  I think it’s already about an inch thick in paint in some places.  Later, after dinner, I did a few wee delicate (for me) watercolours, teeny wee things, but I like them.  Something I saw in a gallery in Stirling.

Photographs were hard to come by today, or to be more exact, subjects were.  I’ve watched Scamp’s Forest Flame gaining in colour day by day and now the flowers are out, they’ve almost reached their maximum colour intensity.  The flowers are quite insignificant compared to the bright red of the sprouting leaves.  Dandelions are a favourite of mine.  I like the ragged looking yellow head and when the time comes, I love the dandelion clock with the little ‘ballerinas’.

Early rise tomorrow to take Scamp’s car in for MOT, then more technology overload with another quote for a new boiler.  Oh what fun!

Dickheads, Dobbies and Dough – 15 April 2016

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comboToday was compressed into the afternoon.  We didn’t do much in the morning, but after lunch we went to the pool to test our theory that Friday afternoons are the best for swimming.

It would have been apart from a family of dickheads (isn’t it nice to be able to say what you feel without some censor redacting part of your prose).  The Dickhead family seemed to think that they owned the pool and freely ignored the signs that said ‘No Jumping’ and ‘No Diving’.  Still, the pool was big enough to accommodate us all, especially after I ‘accidentally’ swam right into Dickhead Junior when he stood right in front of me.  I could have avoided him, but why bother.  That’s what he expected me to do.  You must expect the unexpected.  I did smile and say “sorry”.  After that the Dickheads were no more trouble.

Went to Dobbies for a coffee and a browse round.  Scamp wanted compost and some more pots for hers and stuff.  We had our coffee and after discussion, decided that it was too wet to get the compost, better to wait for a dry day.  The pots were no use without the compost, so we crossed them off the list too.  Did get some seed potatoes and nasturtium seeds.  Plenty of time for compost since low temperatures are predicted for the weekend and I don’t think we’d be planting anything out in cold weather

Made some dough for pizzas for dinner and went for a walk to St Mo’s while the dough proved (rising process).  Got there and found I’d brought the wrong lens.  Not to worry, I’d just use what I had and change my subjects accordingly.  What I got were more shots of the leaves on 13th April which I now think are Dogwood leaves, thanks to The Beechgrove Garden. The other shots are of blackened rosehips and green shaving brushes from Larch trees.

After a miserable day with on and off rain, the sky cleared when I got back and blue sky moved in.  To be expected really as the forecast is for frost and ice overnight and a clear sky would pave the way for that.

Green Fingers – 14 April 2016

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CROWN- flickr--105Turned to my gardening side today and planted onions and peas, two rows of each. That and a coffee with Fred was my lot for today. Another uninspiring day that started well, then fell away.

Today’s photo kind of sums up the day, uninspired. I decided to use Comic Life to add some text to the Weemen picture. I’d forgotten just how awkward this app is to use. Clumsy isn’t the word for it, it’s just a nightmare. I got mine for free from work, but I see it’s on the App Store for £22.99. For £2.99 it might be worth the money, but it’s not worth any more than that. Version 1 was good, but version 2 became unwieldy and simply too much trouble for what it produces. I think it goes back in the box again and I’ll forget it for another year or so.

Brightest lights today were a phone call from Hazy, coffee with Fred and dinner from Sheila. Even today’s sudoku was a nightmare. Tomorrow will be better.

Galloping Gertie – 29 January 2016

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combo bStorm Gertrude gave us a glancing blow last night and early this morning.  Gusts approaching 80mph apparently and around 6.00 this morning it certainly felt like it.

The worst of the wind had abated by lunchtime and we went for a swim.  There wasn’t much pleasure in driving and with all the travel restrictions due to the wind, so a swim gave us a short run and a wee bit of gentle exercise too.

After we came back, I was tempted to go out and take some photos, but the wind was still there and it was pretty cold.  I decided to take some shots in the garden instead.  The viola is a pretty wee thing and is flowering well, even in this cold weather.  The birds were photographed through the kitchen window and turned out better than I expected.

Snow and more high winds predicted for tonight and most of tomorrow.  Should be interesting.