Category: Snow

Back in business – 14 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

No more using the washboard in the sink and then pressing the water out of the clothes with the wringer.  If none of the foregoing made any sense to you, then don’t worry. You’re just too young to understand.

Snow, and lots of it was forecast for today. At least 10cm (4” in old money) would have fallen by 8am. I woke at about 630am and yes, there was a covering, but only that. Some footprints probably from Wullie, who lives at the corner, and Hamish the dog were visible, but it looked decidedly wet underneath. By 9am another scraping of snow had fallen, but already it was sleet that was falling. It looked like the weather fairies were crying Wolf! again. One day they’ll get it right and we’ll be caught out.

I got a text later in the morning to say that the washing machine would be delivered between 2.45 and 6.45pm. That gave me enough time for lunch and a quick walk round St Mo’s before they arrived. So after lunch I grabbed a couple of cameras and headed off to the snowy wastes of St Mo’s. Land of adventure and snow. Found a few worthwhile things to photograph. Dropped in at my old pal, the white spotted ladybird which was still dozing away dreaming of eating aphids. PoD was going to be either a slow shutter shot of some snowmelt running in a newly formed burn by the side of the path or a low viewpoint shot of some moss fruits poking their heads above the snow. After St Mo’s, I walked over to Condorrat to get bread and milk. On my way there I got the call from the Currys workies to say they’d be 20 – 25mins. Just enough time to do the shopping. They passed me on the way home. But the time I got to the house they had disconnected the old machine and were wheeling the new one in. It took them about 15mins total from start to finish.

One of the blokes had checked that it was taking water in and pumping it out and that the spin and wash were working. Then he set it up for an initial wash cycle of 30 mins to clean all the piping and the drum I expect. When they had left, Scamp read and reread the instruction book and so did I, but we were none the wiser. First attempt was a failure. Second one worked perfectly. I was surprised at how quiet it was on the wash cycle, but a bit noisier in the spin which admittedly was faster than the old machine. It did do a bit of a wobble dance at full speed. It’s early days yet, but it seems to do everything we need and none of the things that would only confuse us.

Dinner was to be Muttar Paneer (Peas and Indian Cheese) and since my writing was on the instruction book I got to make it. Many moons ago I went on a one day cookery course and they taught us about Mise En Place. It means “everything in its place”. Scamp always encourages me to do it and I did it today. It makes a great reduction to the stress levels when you have all your ingredients and utensils just there where you need them. I’d like to say everything went like clockwork, but it wasn’t quite as smooth as that. The curry was a bit hot, but very tasty. Scamp never even mentioned that the paneer was squeaky. One of her pet hates.

PoD turned out to be the moss picture. There just wasn’t enough water coming down that burn to give the impression I was trying to get and the 1/5second shutter speed meant there was a bit too much softness. Tripod next time and more water.

Tomorrow we have no plans. I got milk and bread today so there is no need for us to venture into crowded shops.

A lady visitor – 7 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

We woke to more snow today. Not a lot of the white stuff, but enough to send us back to bed to read to the end of the next chapter.

Actually we got a nice morning phone call from a bloke from Microsoft to say he could help me with a problem on my computer. He sounded quite plausible, but I wondered why these people always have an Indian accent yet have British sounding names. Anyway I told him to “Bugger Off” because I couldn’t be bothered playing games with him today. Scamp said I should have asked him if it was snowing where he was. She’s so much more friendly than me.

Our snow looked fairly soft and not very thick. So, with no real reason to go out and of course nowhere to go, we took it easy for the morning. I got another phone call, this time from Barbara to say that she was running a bit late and how were the roads where we were. I told her I hadn’t been out to check, but traffic seemed to be flowing freely. She didn’t tell me she was from Microsoft and could fix my computer, so I guessed she was genuine.

When she arrived, she gave us both a form to fill in and a bag with a thing to stuff up our nose and down our throat. Up the nose is fine, but a bit painful. Down the throat really does produce the gag response. Apparently if you don’t get the gag response you’re not doing it right. We were both doing it right, believe me. Next we dropped the cotton bud thing into a test tube, sealed the test tube, dropped it into a bag and sealed the bag then left it on the mat for her to pick up.
Yes, we were doing a Covid test on the doorstep. The person administering the test isn’t allowed into the house and she isn’t allowed to hand you anything. She leaves it on the doormat and steps back. Then you are allowed to pick it up, and vice versa. We both felt really sorry for her standing there in the cold asking us questions and logging the answers on her phone. It’s part of a Covid survey for HM Gov and Oxford Uni. We get one test a week for a month. If we decide to extend the survey we get an additional test every month for a year. For taking part in the first month’s tests we get vouchers for £50. Then more vouchers for a reduced sum if we continue. That’s the first one done. We’ll see how we feel after that if we want to continue.

After she left I put my wellies on and went over to Condorrat to post the calendars. I quite enjoyed making them although the photos are all from the UK this year. In fact when I came home Scamp was saying that she was looking for a small calendar to go into the downstairs toilet. It brightens up that wee space and gives you something to look at when … well you know what I mean. That was tonight’s work. We’re going to fill it with photos from recent holidays. Something to brighten our day.

While I was out anyway, I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Like yesterday, a bank of freezing fog was descending, blanketing everything. Actually it made the park look quite different and quite scenic in a strange way. It seemed to smooth out all the rough edges. I got some photos and the PoD was the one I liked the best.

Tomorrow we may go out if the weather improves. I know we both need the exercise and the mental stimulation of looking at something other than our four walls.

Another cold morning – 6 January 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Another day for the YakTrax.

It was a lovely bright morning, but cold. Temperature was around -2ºc and we were daft enough to go out in it, and BEFORE COFFEE TOO! What were we thinking. Well, the weather machine in the house was predicting snow and it made sense to us to go out in the morning, even if it was cold. It would be much more sensible to go walking in the cold rather than in the snow. That was the logic. It made sense to me. It was bright enough to get some decent images without having to hike up the ISO too much. After struggling with dust bunnies last night, I just wanted to take some photos today.

Scamp suggested we go round Broadwood because the paths there would have more footfall and therefore be a bit cleared than the ice rink that is St Mo’s. I agreed. Broadwood would make a change too. She also suggested that it would not be a good idea to try to cross the Broadwood boardwalk which is made of plastic panels and doesn’t give you much confidence or a decent grip when it’s covered in ice. Again, I agreed. I’d agree to anything if it gets us out of the house these days and with the added benefit of a chance to take some photos.

Most of the paths were, indeed, free from ice and walking was easy. We did try one of the less travelled paths, but it was low lying and prone to flooding. Today that flood had converted to solid ice. No grip. No chance. We chose to go back the way we’d come, then extended it round Broadwood Stadium. There were a few people out walking this morning. I think most were like us, just wanting to get out somewhere in the sunshine. There’s no point in complaining about the dull days and then staying inside on the bright ones.

Back home and after lunch I was all set to make some Limoncello. As a Christmas present, Scamp had given me four lemons, a bag of sugar, a bottle of vodka and a set of instructions for making Limoncello. Today I’d decided to make it, but first I wanted to sketch and paint the two remaining lemons, the other two having succumbed to mould in this warm house. I promptly got a sketch done and started laying down washes using the strange paper pads of paint Hazy had given me for Christmas. Such strange colours which, when dry bear no resemblance to colours when wet. There’s an intense blue which looks purple with a copper sheen when dry. The warm yellow turned to quite an acid yellow on the painting. Intriguing. They mixed beautifully, so beautifully I got a bit carried away and ended up with a multicoloured mess. A most enjoyable mess, though! I’ll try again tomorrow, hopefully.

When I was setting out the two lemons for painting, I discovered that one had a big mould spot on it. It had to join the others in the bin. Luckily I’d bought some lemons at the weekend and started to pare the rind off with a potato peeler which is ideal for the task. The lemon peel went into a kilner jar and as per the instructions, I poured the bottle of vodka over them, clipped on the lid and gave it a good shake. It’s now in the drinks cupboard and has to stay there for a week before it gets its sugar added. The little bare lemons look exactly like little sheep after they’ve been shorn of their wooden coats in the summer. I may take a photo of them tomorrow, huddled together.

I wasn’t satisfied with the morning’s shots, so I went out again in the afternoon and got a shot of a rare form of ice called Hair Ice. I’ve only seen it once before, over a year ago, in fact it might be the same bit of wood it’s growing on. Google it and be amazed at what nature can produce. By the time I was leaving St Mo’s a freezing fog had descended and I was glad to be on my way home to a warm house.

Dinner tonight was lentil soup and Savoury Slice. Another of Sim’s recipes that Scamp’s adopted and adapted. She wasn’t happy with the results, but I thought it was fine. I was even more pleased with the coffee cake she made. Quite delicious.

The Hair Ice didn’t get PoD. Scamp liked a morning shot of the bench in its frosty coat and that became the winner.

Snow forecast for tomorrow from very early morning until early afternoon. We are having a visitor tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you more about it tomorrow.

Shopping, Snow and White Flamingos – 29 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

It had snowed during the night, not a lot, but a covering. Very crisp, very even, just not deep.

We stayed in during the morning waiting for the snow to melt away, it didn’t, in fact it’s still there just the same as it was this morning. We were having a piece on fried egg for lunch. If you don’t understand this description, imagine a slice of bread, buttered. Lay a fried egg on it and then, carefully, place another slice of buttered bread on top. There you have it, a piece on fried egg! Well, to get back to the story, Scamp took an egg from the egg box and attempted to crack it with a knife. Except, instead of making a nice wee crack in the shell, she sliced the egg in two! Neither of us had ever seen that trick done before. What a mess to clean up.

After lunch we went a walk to the shops. The paths looked treacherous, but weren’t too bad. Scamp had been smart enough to book a slot at M&S. I haven’t managed to master that bit of online trickery yet, so I went for a waltz round Home Bargains instead. Got a couple of things and met her outside. Then we walked home.

I only came home to keep her company and to pick up my lumberjack’s hat and a long lens to take some interesting photos of the birds on the ice at St Mo’s. The swans were practising their Flamingo routine, tucking their head under their wing. That became PoD. I was surprised there was so much ice still because the temperature was rising.

Walked round to the wee pond and the lighting was good, so I got some wide angle shots of it too.

On the way home I saw a powered paraglider off to the east. I was hoping the pilot would fly over the pond, but whoever it was flew away south after circling for a while over the town centre I would presume. It would have been a great view from that thing today as long as you were well wrapped up. The temperature may have been rising, but the sun was dipping down by the time I left St Mo’s and I think the temperature was hovering around zero by that time.

Back home Scamp gave me a run down on how to make a mince pie. Very simple, but simple things are never the easiest to make. I made a fair fist of it, although I think I was a bit too easy on the salt. Must be more generous with it next time, all being well. Watched Zog and the Flying Doctors tonight. Great film, absolutely fascinating to have a film made about me!

No plans for tomorrow. It may be Cod with Prawns and Fennel for dinner.

We have snow – 27 December 2020

Posted on by Zogman

Just a little scraping of snow, but it’s there.

It must have arrived during the night, but thankfully the tanker that brought it must have been almost empty, because there was so little there. We expected more to arrive during the day, but were disappointed, although there were some who rejoiced in the fact that the paths would be clear of the white stuff.

We didn’t do all that much today. I did finally put on my boots and take a camera with a couple of lenses out to St Mo’s in the afternoon. One of the lenses I took was my favourite wide angle Sigma 10-20mm. It works really well with the adapter. It focuses and responds to aperture adjustments. I realise this means nothing to most folk, but I’ve always liked this lens. It’s big and heavy and was expensive when I bought it, but it produces great images. Thanks to a fairly cheap adapter it still produces them. The Sony recognises its firmware and crops the frame to an APS-C size. It’s a pity it doesn’t fill the full frame, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I’m just delighted it still takes great photos. It was the lens that took PoD which was in the woods behind the pond at St Mo’s. Behind me was a clutter of broken Bucky bottles, beer cans and deodorant cans that allegedly some people sniff for a cheap high that has the benefit of making you a nicely perfumed corpse.

Back home, Scamp was making a trifle with pieces of Pandoro which is Italian Christmas cake. Very light and fluffy and usually dusted with icing sugar. Today it formed the base of a beautiful trifle. It was Turkey Casserole for dinner, but it wasn’t the best turkey in the flock I think. Nothing to do with the cooking, it appears from a few complaints that Tesco wasn’t the best place for turkeys this year. I suppose you could say it WAS the turkey!

Tonight we played Tin Pin Bowls, so called because all the component parts fitted neatly into a small tin. Scamp won, but I think she cheated. After her resounding win we made origami Christmas Trees, and then origami Penguins. Another of her impressive Christmas Prezzies. Great fun was had by both. The penguins actually looked fairly realistic, when viewed at the correct angle … and from a distance!

Tomorrow we may move on to more advanced origami and after a couple of bowling lessons I might manage to get a strike. It’s forecast for more snow.

Dancin’, really Dancin’ – 22 February 2020

Posted on by Zogman

Just another day of rain and wind and occasional snow, but with the chance of some brightness in the evening.

A parcel arrived for Scamp at midday. It was the long awaited pair of Adesso slippers. The first pair were the wrong size, my mistake. This pair, like Cinderella’s fitted perfectly. Anniversary present ticked off!

Today’s prompt was ‘Rain’. Now that should have been easy given that we’ve had nothing else pouring out of the sky for weeks now. Like the tiger, this drawing was scribbled down this morning on my ‘doodle sheet’ and despite trying to redraw it various times, I liked the feel of this original.

PoD was a picture I took in the downstairs toilet with one of those occasional spells of sun shining brightly behind the plants.

We went to Frankie & Benny’s at The Fort for lunch. Unfortunately, it seemed as if almost all of the east end of Glasgow were there too. The place was jumping and half of them were noisy weans. To compete with the noise of the conversations, the staff had turned up the volume of the music system, it seemed. Even despite all that, the food was good Cheeseburger (No mayo) and Fish ’n’ Chips. Guess who had what!

Then while Scamp went window shopping for clothes, I browsed Waterstones. Bought myself a book on painting with acrylics, something I’ve not dabbled in recently. It’d make a change from watercolours and ink.

When we got back to the car, we had to sit for a while to allow the blizzard conditions to decrease. No snow was lying, but it was certainly coming along, almost horizontally, quite fast. After that, the sun came out and there was blue sky above. Scotland, at least three seasons in one day.

All of this was the precursor for the main event of the day, Dancing. We were off to darkest Paisley to a community hall for a night of waltz, foxtrot, possibly quickstep and probably jive. Dancing with Stewart and Jane’s class. As like the Christmas dance, we were welcomed into the bosom of the company and found that three of those at the table had been on our last cruise with us! Great fun, although my waltz wasn’t quite as swish as it could have been and my salsa was a bit rusty, but We Danced, and in company too!

Arrive home just before midnight, so obviously this is a catch-up

Earwigging – 9 January 2020

Posted on by Zogman

As soon as the sky cleared today we were off on our travels.

Today Scamp suggested we should go to The Smiddy for lunch and a chance for me to take some foties. I thought it was a good idea, but added a stop at Muirhead for some carnivore food. It was actually in the opposite direction, but would only take us half an hour at the worst. Stocked up on sausages, mince, burgers and chicken and then we were off along the M80 and M9 then the A84 to Blair Drummond and the destination for today. Two toasties, one each. Cup of coffee (me) and peppermint tea (Scamp) and an opportunity to earwig the conversation between two ‘auld guys’ talking about somebody digging the founds or ’foonds’ (foundations) for a house by hand. I say we were earwigging, but it was difficult to avoid one side of the conversation which was broadcast at full blast. It was when the auld guy started elaborating that he’d seen this man “… in the pishin’ rain wi’ an auld coat oan, digging’ away …”, that’s when I smiled. I could just picture this man digging the foundations of his house with rain dripping off his auld coat and running down his neck too no doubt. I felt like thanking them when they got up to leave. Just two auld guys.

We left soon after and I got four sausages made with haggis, streaky bacon, pork and whisky. They’re in the freezer now. I’m keeping them for the weekend because they sound interesting. Back in the car we headed towards Doune, but never reached it. I took a road we’d never been on before, the B8032 that took us by a twist, turny, up and down way to Callander. The land of the blue rinse brigade on a Sunday outing, but today was Thursday so we were safe.

Parked near the river, very near the river which was coming up to meet us. Scamp had noticed the sand bags stashed at the side of the entrance and it looked like they’d be needed soon. The riverside carpark is quite often flooded but today it wasn’t too bad by Callander standards. We went for a walk through the town which looked as if it was shut, but there were a few shops open. Lots and lots of charity shops, which is a mark of small towns in Scotland these days. Bought a few cakes to have when we got home. It was a bit cool today and I think we were both quite pleased to be back in the car. A pleasant enough drive home except the bright low sun was a pain and I had to resort to sunglasses. Sunglasses in January? Who ever heard of such a thing.

PoD is a picture of the gulls sailing down the river in the carpark at Callander with Ben Led in the background.

Tomorrow looks like the last of the dry(ish) days for a while, so if it’s fine and clear we’ll probably go out for a while.

Oh no! Snow! – 16 March 2019

Posted on by Zogman

We were promised snow today, and we got it.

For about an hour it snowed this morning, then the snow turned to sleet, and later to rain. It didn’t keep us in, we’d already agreed we weren’t going out today, so the snow, sleet, rain didn’t change things.

Like a dug wi’ a burst ba’ I continued on my project to get Linux on to the Linx. Eventually I had to agree with the experts who said it couldn’t be done. It can’t. The dug has finally buried the burst ba’. Well, maybe, but it knows where it buried it and it can dig it up again later for another go.

To take my mind off the ba’, I restarted my apple a day project with a painting on expensive Waterford 140lb NOT watercolour paper (NOT stands for Not Hot Pressed, i.e. not perfectly smooth). It was good to paint on paper that doesn’t soak up the paint right away and also doesn’t rub through at the slightest pressure from the brush. I found the paper in a drawer in the painting room. It must be well over twenty years old!

I finally dragged myself out later in the afternoon to plod over to Condorrat because we’d run out of milk and bread. I returned with the aforementioned staples plus chocolate, fudge, a pineapple cake and a rhubarb pie. Equally essential staples! So far we’ve still got the chocolate, but the rest are gone, apart from the bread and milk of course, we’re still working our way through them.

Today’s PoD was taken in St Mo’s, a short diversion from the road back from the shops. It looks like a log jam, but it’s fallen horsetails, one of the oldest groups of grasses. The genus can be traced back 250 million years.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go to Salsa in Paisley. The last La Rambla salsa social because the restaurant is being taken over by the next door sushi restaurant and salsa isn’t a very Japanese dance. I’ll miss the food, but I won’t miss the terrible service.

Sleet, snow, hail and rain – 10 March 2019

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Set off around 9.30 for the long drive back home. It wasn’t looking like it would be a pleasant drive and it lived up to that estimate. Driving down through Skye was ok with the snow keeping mostly to the mountains and higher hills. I managed to grab a shot of the Old Man of Storr just emerging from a blizzard. That became the PoD.

Carried on down to the biscuit tin also know as Eilean Donan castle at Dornie and stopped there for a coffee and a scone each. Suitably refreshed and after I’d had a quick look at some of the paintings for sale in the shop, we got on our way again. The weather worsened quite a bit and when we passed Loch Cluanie it was down to minimal visibility and the snow was beginning to lie on the road. I expected worse would be to come when we made the turn off to climb up to the Glen Garry viewpoint because the road is very exposed. I needn’t have worried because the snow clouds didn’t break and we had a fairly easy run over to Invergarry. From there it was on and off sleet and rain all the way down to Fort Billy where we stopped for lunch.

Refuelled at Fort Billy (oh how I wish the Juke had a proper petrol tank) and set off for Glencoe. Glencoe itself was fine, but when we got up onto Rannoch Moor the snow started again in earnest and we joined a conga line of cars battling down the road. The snow and sleet stayed with us all way down to Crianlarich and eventually faded out, leaving us free to drive down to Stirling and the welcome wide lanes of the M9. We had had a blue van following us all the way from Fort Billy. He/she seemed in no hurry to pass us and we kept a steady pace all the way. Just before they turned off the M9 heading for Embra they flashed their headlights and I gave them a wave. Hope they got home safe.

The rest of the journey was thankfully boring and pedestrian compared with the highlands. Enjoyed the time with Jac & Murdo, but it was good to be home.

Tomorrow? Gems and Salsa that’s about it.

White Rabbits (x3) – 1 February 2019

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Traditional welcome to the first day of the month. Today it wasn’t just the rabbits that were white. Everything was.

It all started out so nicely with frost on the cars and therefore no great incentive to go out, so we just read for a while and then had a coffee. After that we simply had to drag ourselves out to buy Tesco.

After lunch I decided to try my luck in the bogs again and this time I found the dry path and still got some photos! Impressed with the ability of the ice to hold the weight of the Oly 10, if not me! Also impressed with the Oly app on the iPhone that allows me to control the camera through a private WiFi connection. That’s how you get these low down shots like today’s PoD.

It was when I was walking back that the snow came on and it didn’t go off for about four hours. Now we don’t just have frost, we have snow too. Maybe the snow has done its work because the temperature is no 0.7ºc. Positive 0.7ºc!

That’s about it for today. I’m off now to get a sketch done for 28 Drawings Later on Facebook. If I have time I’ll even add it to the blog.

As Promised!

Tomorrow it all depends on the weather. I looks like the sky will be clear, but we’ll see!