Category: photography

Out for a walk – 3 April 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We said it it was a good day, we’d go for a walk and we did.

I’d like to say that we were up early and out walking, but in reality it was nearer 11am before we got on the road. We drove to Chatelherault just outside Hamilton and left for a walk to the Green Bridge. It’s still a bridge, but as I’ve mentioned before in these pages, it’s not been green for a long time. We started off looking over the Duke’s Bridge to Cadzow Castle where some of the trees have been chopped down and the view of the castle is improved, even if there is only part of one wall remaining intact. There were actually people working on the site which was good to see, but I’ve no idea what they were doing. “Making it safe” was Scamp’s guess and that could be the case. We walked over the Duke’s Bridge that crosses the Avon water and then the climb started.

We took the easier route round the south side of the castle but the workmen had disappeared for their lunch. We headed left after the initial climb and walked past the ancient Cadzow Oaks which probably date from the 1400s. They are absolutely huge chunks of wood and could have been where Tolkien got the idea for Ents if he’d ever been to Scotland.

Further on, with blue sky above us, birds singing in the trees and the occasional fluffy cloud passing overhead it was an ideal day for a walk in the countryside. Newborn baby lambs in the field beside the path added to the picture, but oh, we’re not as fit as we used to be and after an hour and a bit of following the wandering path we were beginning to tire of the up hill and down dale route of the path. After we checked our progress on the phone and found that we weren’t even near the half way point, we decided to cut our losses and head back the way we had come. There wasn’t another path anyway! Next time we’ll walk the route in a clockwise direction, with options for alternative shortcuts back. Next time! There will be a next time.

But this time we still had to navigate the up hill and down dale switchback path. Although we had the benefit of being almost at the path’s highest point when we turned back, so we were heading downhill all the way to the Visitor Centre.

The information page on Chatelherault says the Oaks Café has “healthy snacks and tasty treats on the menu suit all culinary requirements.” I don’t think the person who wrote that had been in the Oaks Café. I asked for Peppermint tea for Scamp, but after having a look at the packets the server’s reply was a Larky “Nane!” So it was a latte then. My Americano was perfect, I have no complaints there, but I looked in vain for the “tasty treats” Instead there were anaemic sponge cakes with white icing, and various dull looking slabs of pastry. Maybe the “tasty treats” had all been sold or maybe there were “Nane”. At least the coffee was good.

We drove back home and Scamp went out to work in the garden in the sunshine. I dumped the photos on the computer and found that half of them were out of focus. Of the ones that were left, I chose a view of Cadzow Castle to be PoD.

It was a good day. We both really need to get up and go out earlier and more often to get back into shape, especially if dancing is going to be limited for the next month.

Tomorrow Scamp is booked for lunch with Mags and I’m at a loose end. I’ll find something to do, I’m sure

Today the clocks went forward – 26 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

So it must be summer.

It was actually a nice sunny day in the morning and it stayed like that for most of the day. Friday was frantic. Saturday was exhausting. Sunday was going to be relaxing … if we could manage that.

It looked a nice sunny, but the weather app told a different story. Temperature started at 5.3ºc at 9am and didn’t rise much throughout the day.

After our normal Sunday fry-up I took the A7 with the long 105mm macro lens and the strange looking LensBaby. My idea was to go for my normal walk, only using the macro lens. Then change lenses and on the walk back I’d use the macro. As it happened, both lenses worked well with different subjects. PoD went to some wild cherry blossoms that only appeared a day or two ago. It was taken with the LensBaby. The lens has a built in distortion element which creates the swirly pattern round the sharp central area. There, I knew you were dying to know how it was done!

When I came home we shared the last scone with jam and clotted cream. Absolutely delicious, but it’s giving me heartburn now. If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll buy another bottle of Gaviscon!

Dinner tonight was yesterday’s cooked chicken marinated in its own juices and added to a Tarka Daal from theSpice Tailor range. It wasn’t very filling and it just didn’t work. I don’t think we’ll have it again. We will, however have more scones with jam and clotted cream! Thank you Canute.

Tomorrow we might have to go shopping.

 

Up in the sky – 20 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We didn’t quite make it up above the clouds where there is always a blue sky, but we were close.

Today we were going for lunch in Glasgow. We walked to Condorrat to get the bus, because drink would be taken.

It was good to get someone else to do the driving, even if it was a ramshackle bus we were on. Every few stops it would give itself a shrug and I was wondering if it would get going again, but it did and it got us in to town a lot quicker than the sluggish X3 would.

It was a dismal day and we were heading out to alongside the River Clyde on an X19. Another case of the “X” not meaning eXpress, but it was an interesting journey, especially when the bus changed lanes going over the “Squinty Bridge”. Oh, it was strange to be driving on the right hand lane and then crossing back to the left lane when we were across. It was also a pain, because we’d missed our stop and had to walk back of the Squinty Bridge in the rain to find our destination. Thankfully we didn’t have to change lanes.

We walked straight in to the Red elevator of the Radisson Red boutique hotel and took it up to the 9th floor and got a table. It wasn’t right at the window, but we still had a decent view. Scamp had booked it a few weeks ago and we were both impressed with the food and drink, although I only had a beer. Scamp had Strawberry Fields Forever which was a take on a Strawberry Daiquiri. Maybe just a bit too sweet. For food we shared Salmon Teriyaki, Spicy Chicken Bao Buns and Cauliflower Pakora which had the strangest sour coriander dip. Strange but absolutely lovely. I didn’t like the salmon, but that’s just me. Scamp said the spicy chicken was too strong for her taste, but we both agreed the cauliflower pakora was excellent. The view was great, but it would have been so much better if the drizzle hadn’t dulled everything down. There was no attempt to rush us through our lunch and we both had coffee afterwards. It was a lovely lunch and I think we’ll be back, but only if it’s another “buy one, get one free” offer.

We walked back to the bus stop and got an X19 back into town. Scamp and I both had things we were looking for. I was looking for water soluble graphite pencils to try on watercolour paper. Scamp was buying prezzies.

We got the X3 back home because although it’s slow, we don’t have to walk too far to get home.

PoD was a two frame panorama created in Lightroom and tweaked in Photoshop.

We had a really good day. Good food, interesting food too and great company. It will be better in the summer I’m sure.

We have no plans as yet for tomorrow.

Mum’s Day – 19 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

I really should have brought Scamp her breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day, but it was her turn to do breakfast.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and heard how the two of them are coping with Covid. It seems that neither of them are too bothered about it. Of course this was a Mother’s Day call, so I gave them both space.

We returned to a traditional Sunday fry-up breakfast. We’ve been eating healthy and alternative for a couple of weeks now, but today was back to sausage, egg and bacon with half a slice of dumpling to offset the protein. Scamp was more veggy with mushrooms, tomatoes, egg and the other half of the dumpling. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling (pun intended).

We discussed a few options for dinner and eventually settled on a posh fish finger thingy which Scamp thought would be just the thing. That meant we needed some ingredients from ‘the shops’. So we booted up and dressed for the day and walked down to M&S to get the fish and some herbs. Then we walked home and as so often, I took a detour to St Mo’s. The frogs were having a day off. I suppose it’s allowed, because they’ve been ‘working’ hard for the last few days. So it was a wee weed that got PoD after it had been washed clean in a bucket of ON1 and dried off in Lightroom so that it was shiny and clean and also because I liked it.

Spoke to Jamie later and heard about their trip to Trinidad. Such a hard job to have to go to the beach every second day or something like it. You both deserved a bit of ‘Me’ time. Glad you enjoyed it.

I thought the posh fish finger thingy was spicy hot but just not too much. Scamp thought it needed more salt. Foodies, they’re never satisfied.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go to Glasgow.

Perth – 15 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We’d decided on two possible destination for today if the weather was decent and one if it was raining.

The weather seemed set fine, so we drove up to Perth for the day. It suited Scamp and Jackie because there were lots of shops to investigate and it suited me because I could buy some decent tea and coffee.

Lovely run up with the sun shining on and off on the snowy hills. Midweek is definitely the time to go because apart from the lines of artics, the traffic is light. We parked in a new to us parking place just behind the Salutation Hotel. At least you can still use cash to park and not have to rely on a dodgy app that everyone seems to despise, but which the councils seem to love. Money is changing hands there I presume. After we parked we went our different ways. The ladies went clothes shopping and I went to get some much needed tea and coffee. Unfortunately The Bean Shop didn’t have any Cuban coffee, so I had to make do with Dominican which is almost as good.

We’d agreed to meet at Nero at 12.30pm and we did, for once. Real Nero coffee, not like the brown water I was subjected to last week. The roll ’n’ sausage was a different matter. It may have been veggie sausages pretending they were real ones, or they may have actually been stuffed with sawdust. It made no difference. They were almost inedible. But the coffee WAS good.

Once lunch was over we split up again because I told Scamp how to find Bon Marché and that needed some serious investigation. This time we agreed to meet back at the car. I went to take some photos and my prime target was the modern sculpture of two bloke leaning on a massive ring. It stand in the middle of the High Street. I’d already taken a couple of shots of padlocks hanging on a railing, but I reckoned the sculpture was better. A quick look in the Oxfam book shop and a visit to the health shop for a 200g bag of Coltsfoot rock and I met up with the happy shoppers.

Drove home through fairly light traffic. Thankful that we’d been limited to three hours parking because we didn’t have any more loose change. That meant we were hitting all the traffic hot spots well before they got too busy.

Dinner tonight was paella and it tasted good. I wasn’t too happy with the last paella I’d made, but this one was almost perfect. A glass of wine with it and a G&T for the ladies and a whisky for me afterwards sealed a good day out.

The statues did in fact get PoD but one of the padlock shots got a good second place.

Jackie goes home tomorrow. We don’t have any plans as yet.

A less hectic day – 13 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

With a carton of milk waiting on the step for us when we woke.

Our first milk delivery in who knows how many years. A 2 litre carton of semi skimmed.

Hazy phoned in the morning and we had a good half hour blether about what was happening in Epsom and here. She also told me about a TV adaptation of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I must look for that.

We went for the messages in the morning. Off to Tesco in the rain that followed us everywhere we went today. Came home with three big bags of essentials and by the time we’d put it all away, it was time for lunch. Sandwiches today, filled with Dairylea and Tomatoes for Scamp and Corned Beef for me. My what an exciting life we lead. While Jamie and Sim go to the beach, we get a shopping trip to Tesco.

I had decided not to take a camera for a walk in the rain, at least, not a long walk. Instead I cut a hole in a plastic bag, just big enough to poke a lens through and did some photography in the garden in the rain. The PoD turned out to be a Lupin leaf with a few water drops sitting on it. You can see how the shape of the leaf tends to hold some of the rainwater and channel it down to the roots, rather than allowing it to drip off the ends of the leaves, although some generally does that too.

Scamp was monitoring her sister’s progress down from Skye to Glasgow and we picked her up at the Concert Hall and drove home.

Lots to talk about and lots of question from both sisters as they caught up with what was happening in both families. I tried to keep out of it most of the time and made dinner which was Pasta Amatriciana, pasta with tomatoes, basil and bacon, with a pinch or two of chilli flakes.

Later in the evening I changed my role to Barman and we all had a Gin ’n’ Tonic. Still more blethering from both sisters.

Hoping for a good day tomorrow for a send off for Bobby Flavell.

 

 

Dancing and Weather – 9 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Today revolved around two topics: Dancing and Weather. Last night we had a couple of snow showers and by morning the cars in the car park had a decent covering. However, by the time we left for the Tea Dance, the sun had melted almost all of it away, thankfully.

Drove to Glenburn Community Centre in the southern outskirts of Paisley for the tea dance and didn’t see any hint of snow after we left Cumbersheugh. Even the Campsie Fells as we drove along had no snow. Just our luck then! I think the cold weather and the constant scare stories from the media about snow drifts and danger to life kept some folk at home. Not us, we’re made of sterner stuff, although it might have been the temptation of the tea loaf that drove us to travel today.

We struggled through the Quickstep, the Tango the Foxtrot and countless sequence dances but our biggest struggle was with the simple Waltz. We couldn’t put a foot right, at least I couldn’t. How could this simple dance cause so many problems? We used to be able to dance at least two variations of it, now we can do none. More practise required I think. Despite all that, we had a good laugh. We were sitting with Leslie and Gordon who are at about the same level as us, although I did not that they managed the waltz without a problem.

The drive home was just as easy as the drive there because we slide neatly from the M77 to the M74 to the M73 and finally to the M80. That means that we can avoid completely the notorious Kingston Bridge and its moving car park of vehicles.

I didn’t go out for a walk this morning and by the time we were getting home the light had all but disappeared, so today’s PoD had to be a tabletop. It’s just a pink flower from a bunch that is sitting on the book case beside me. I took it with the A7iii equipped with a LensBaby Sweet 35. I realise this means nothing to anyone but me, but it’s a good reminder. The Sweet 35 is a 35mm lens designed to produce a soft image and if you’re lucky enough to have some bright lights in the frame, you get some spectacular light blobs called Bokeh. I wasn’t looking for that today, just a soft focus effect and I was pleased with the result.

It’s snowing again as I write this blog, but I’m not sure it will lie until morning. I certainly hope it won’t. We might go in to Glasgow tomorrow for a walk and a pizza in Paesano. It depends on the weather.

Oh No! It’s Snow! – 8 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Just a scraping at around 9pm tonight, but it was real fluffy snowflakes that were falling for a while.

You’d never have guessed this morning that we’d have snow tonight. That is if you hadn’t looked at the thermometer. It was -3ºc this morning when we woke and the sun was shining brightly from a clear blue sky. Unfortunately, we had both looked at that thermometer and decided to take it easy for a while. There were puzzles to be done and books to be read. I for one was happy to struggle through them, rather than face the cold world outside.

We watched some tree surgeons performing fairly invasive surgery on some trees across the road and wondered when they’d get round to the poor Ash tree outside our window. It’s been failing for a while now, but it’s been there for longer than we’ve been in Cumbersheugh. I remember the three girls who stayed round the corner swinging on its branches when they were wee. They were wild!

Lunch was Scamp’s ‘Just Soup’ and it was fine. Scamp made her usual deprecating noises about the carrots being too tough and I did comment that it might need a bit of salt, but as a lunch it was fine with a slice of bread.

After lunch Scamp was charging round mopping floors, hoovering carpets and moving furniture around while I eventually dragged myself out to St Mo’s to get some photos. There weren’t a lot of interesting shots today. That’s been the way of things lately. I’m finding it hard to generate some interest in things photographic and I’m getting the impression that Alex is finding that too. PoD went to a row of Salmonberry flowers I spotted by the outfall of the pond. I think they may be last year’s blooms, because this years are still in the pods.

Dinner was a main of soup with rice pudding to follow. I think there will be just enough soup for tomorrow’s lunch.

Today was Jamie and Simonne’s anniversary. Congratulations to them both. Nine years ago we were at the wedding in Trinidad. That was a wonderful wedding, as all our family weddings have been.

Tonight we had snow. The weather warnings have been out all week and finally we got our first taste of the white stuff for a while. Not much, but a warning that winter isn’t gone yet.

Tomorrow, if the roads are clear, we’re hoping to go Tea Dancing.

A sunshiny day – 5 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Went to bed too late last night, hence had a later than normal surfacing today.

Woke late. Almost afternoon, Scamp said. That’s the price you pay for a getting to bed too late, or too early in the morning as it was yesterday.

After a coffee and a struggle to get Wordle, the world looked a bit better. Lunch was beckoning and in the style of Neil, my breakfast was half of Scamp’s Prawn Bhuna from last night, quickly reheated in the microwave. Unhealthy? Probably. Delicious? Definitely! That completed the rebooting of my system.

We got a WhatsApp message from Jamie from Port of Spain in Trinidad with a photo of Jaime, Simonne and Scamp’s favourite dog Ori. Scamp was delighted.

Scamp had decided to sacrifice the rest of today on the altar of ‘Ironing’. Her argument was that it needed to be done and once it was done, then the rest of the week was her own. My case was similar, but not so well presented. I needed a walk to clear my head and also to get a PoD if any presented themselves.

As it happened, it was the 35mm LensBaby that produced today’s PoD. There was a lot of lovely sunshine creating nice sparkles on the Whin bushes and that in turn created some lovely bokeh (hate that word) in the out-of-focus areas. It also gave a good contrast with the sharply focused subject which was the bright yellow flowers.

Dinner tonight was Chicken Milanese, or chicken that’s been bashed with a rolling pin, dunked in eggy mix and finally dredged in bread crumbs before being pan fried. Scamp made it and served it with ‘rats’ (AKA ratatouille) and potatoes.

We watched an interesting F1 GP from Bahrain with all the usual ducking and diving from the hopeful beginners and the slightly more sensible driving from the old hands. As usual, Scamp predicted the winner.

That was about it for the day and I’m off to my bed now, hopefully before midnight.

Ducks and Crocuses – 3 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Apparently Crocuses, Crocus and Croci are all acceptable plurals for more than one crocus. Just thought you might like to know that.

I had a lazy morning today, to balance out the day because Scamp was off FitStepping. I sat and read for a while and then checked in with Flickr. I might even have snoozed for a while, and by that time Scamp had returned from her exercise class.

Lunch was soup, that last of it – three day soup is pretty good. After that, Scamp was off to chop more of the plants in the front garden. I took the A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s. Found and photographed a bunch of crocuses in St Mo’s. Now crocuses are not wild flowers, so these ones must have been planted in the grass park and were just growing in the wild. They made PoD. I also did a check on the ladybirds which are still nestled in their various trees. Final photos were of a couple of Mallards which usually take off as soon as they see me. I was careful today and got fairly close while I changed the camera setting to Continuous Shooting which means the camera will take a rapid set of shots until I release the shutter button. As soon as the birds took off, I pressed the shutter and followed them as the climbed into the air. I got one clear shot from the seven I took, which I ‘fiddled’ by enlarging it in ON1. It’s a bit rougher than the original, but it does a good job of enlarging the photos without losing too much detail. It still didn’t beat the crocuses.

Read a bit more of my book when I got back and almost fell asleep on the couch.

According to the weather fairies we may be getting some snow next week. Not sure about the detail yet, and we may miss it, but best to be prepared. I’ll put the snow shove in the car again.

Hoping for a long lie in tomorrow with the prospect of dancing later.