Category: St Mo’s

Out looking for plants – 13 July 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp had a few spaces in her front garden that ‘really’ needed some colour to brighten the day, so we headed off to Klondyke to see what they had to sell us.

It was a lovely day. In the morning the sun was having a late lie in, but by the time we were on the road, it had dragged itself out of bed and started to shine. Klondyke was busy. Lots of plants, but we had to be careful as a lot of the offerings were a bit long in the tooth and we wanted flowers with a fairly long life ahead of them. We did find some. Most with unpronounceable names. Some even sticking to their latin names, probably to make them sound more glamorous.

We settled on

A Berberis bush
A Monardo (don’t know what that is)
A Cosmos Plant
6 Antirrhinums (Map-Maps was what my mum called them)
A Doormat (not me!)
A Bag of Perlite.
A Bag of seed potatoes to grow for Christmas (all being well)

We bundled all of that into the wee blue car and then went back into Klondyke for a coffee and a scone. Then we headed back home, where we unloaded all the above into the back garden. Then, for the rest of the day, Scamp was silent. Just too busy planting all the new plants, apart from the seed potatoes.

I took a camera out for a walk in St Mo’s later in the afternoon when the light was better, and got today’s PoD which is a bunch of Wild Geraniums. I really like them, they just seem to keep flowering with no maintenance at all.

The bloodthirsty vampires liked my blood so much last week, they have asked me to give them some more. I couldn’t really refuse them, so tomorrow I may go to the health centre and donate some more blood so they can test it again. At least that’s the story they tell me. I’m not sure I believe them.

Another glorious warm day – 12 July 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Today started with some corrections to be made to my data.

It was just a couple of tweaks, but fairly important ones. With a great deal of help from Scamp I managed to get it done quite quickly in the morning. That left the remainder of the day for less serious stuff.

As usual on a Sunday morning, Scamp watched Laura Kuenssberg tearing into a couple of politicians. I often wonder if she is quite as aggressive at home, or if she’s really a ‘pussy cat’ when she’s at home. I don’t think I really want to know the answer. Sorry Laura if you’ve been reading this!

The main task today was to tidy up the garden. Scamp is always moving things around and occasionally chopping things too. I understand what she’s doing half the time, but sometimes I just don’t see the logic or the need in some of her plans. As long as she has it planned in her head, I’m happy to go along with it … most days. I’d noticed there was a long, empty trough had been emptied and replenished with fresh (ish) compost. Something was afoot. The plan was to refill the trough with some colourful annuals. How many, what type and when were not revealed, but I’m sure they will be soon.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s in the afternoon and got a few photos of insects doing their business. They were mostly Soldier Beetles happily producing more Soldier Beetles. Some of them were sitting on white tufted thistles. Google thought they might be Creeping Thistles. I’d never heard of them, but I was willing to believe Mr G. Soldier beetles were PoD today.

I had a Rump Steak for dinner with half a dozen Padron Peppers and some of our home grown potatoes, the second batch we’ve grown this year. Scamp had Sea Bass with fried onions and mushrooms. Dessert was ice cream and blackcurrant jelly. Very fitting for a summer’s day.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening, halfway through watering the garden and heard that they now have a hose pipe ban. Oh dear, and here was us saying that we were watering the garden! However, they are still allowed to use watering cans, although that would take a while with a big garden.

Tomorrow we may go shopping.

Dancin’ – 11 July 2026

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The first ‘real’ dancing day this morning.

Lots of folk out today hoping to improve their dancing technique. I wasn’t one of them. I was just happy to not make a mess when I was treading water!

The dance class started with the Electric Smooth. I’d never danced it before and a few folk were in the same boat. It was similar to The House of Bamboo which I started off hating, but ended up accepting it as just another set of dance steps. The E.S. is similar and will have the same effect on me I think.

The first ‘actual dance’ was the American Smooth Waltz which we’d done before in one of the Perth classes. Bits of it fitted together like a badly made jigsaw puzzle, but by the end of the class it was filtering in to my head.

Rumba was next and we started off just copying an old rumba we kind of knew, but then decided we’d better stick to the teachers’ plan and dance it properly. There were similarities between ‘our’ version and the teacher’s version.

Tango Serida was and it took me a while to work out what was happening and when it was happening, but we managed to struggle round the floor. With a bit of help from Jane, I managed to sort out the routine.

Balmoral Blues was the last real sequence dance. I didn’t like it and struggled to make sense of it, but Scamp had it sorted right away. She has this innate ability to walk through a dance once or twice and immediately afterwards, know how to dance it. Me? I struggle and let’s leave it at that.

Just for a bit of fun and to get back to simple stuff, we finished with the Midnight Jive. A sequence dance designed to get your heart pounding.

We drove home through a very quiet Glasgow and made it home only slightly longer that the drive to Brookfield in the morning.

Scamp was busy in the afternoon digging out plants, sieving out the lumps of soil and splitting larger plants to make at least two smaller ones. I went for a walk over to St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which was a Saw Fly. Scary looking beast, but apparently harmless.

No plans for tomorrow so far, but that may change.

 

Bleeding – 10 July 2026

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Well, not exactly bleeding, but being bled by the vampires of Central Health Centre. All in a good cause I’m told.

Scamp was meeting Isobel for coffee and a blether and once my bloods had been drawn, I joined them for a blether and a coffee too. Isobel was showing off a few ancient photos of her family, one of which was quite familiar to Scamp and me. It was a photo of a large family group at a wedding many years ago and I think it was a scan I’d made of that same original and then I’d used Lightroom or Photoshop to add colour to it. The clue that it wasn’t my original was the lines that crossed the print. I’d never leave them if I was printing copies.

Despite the heat today, Scamp wanted to work in the garden. It was mainly weeding and I wanted nothing to do with it. Instead, I put on shorts and a shirt and walked over to St Mo’s to grab some photos, because it was lovely and warm. In addition to grabbing some photos, something grabbed me on the leg. It was a dirty big Cleg, also known as a Horsefly. I didn’t hesitate to give it a big slap, flattening it onto my leg. I don’t think it will be biting anyone again. It had managed to bite me and the swelling was there for everyone to see.

The Soldier Beetles were out in force. They don’t bite humans, but they do mate on flowers everywhere. A couple made PoD.

We sat in the garden later and watched the wee fountain in the back garden spurting water at random. After that it was time to go back to the house for dinner which was a Pizza Express pizza. Too sweet and not worth getting again if you ask me.

Tomorrow we’re due to go dancing at Brookfield.

 

A lazy start to a warm day – 28 June 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not nearly as warm as it was down south.

The weather fairies had warned us of gusty winds and they were right. I think Scamp did two lots of washing, something that wouldn’t be allowed on a Sunday in stricter times. We didn’t go far. One of those occasions when a walk in the park was made more pleasant with a bit of a breeze.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s in the afternoon not really expecting any insect life in the winds and wasn’t surprised. What I did see was a snail crossing my path. It seemed to lose the grip on the dusty soil and rolled over its shell, then just continued on its way, as if nothing had happened. There’s a moral for us all there somewhere.

At lunch we watched Victoria Derbyshire go full “Laura K” of a couple of unsuspecting politicians. That was a nice line in sarcasm, Ms D! Laura would be proud of you.

We had a single chicken thigh in the fridge, but with the addition of a handful of prawns, some chicken stock and and a handful of rice I managed to stumble through the making of a Paella that really did taste good. My best for a long time.

We watched the Austrian GP in the early evening and saw some crazy driving. Not the most riveting race we’d ever seen, but it had its moments.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about the ‘heat wave’ they had been having down south, and were glad we had that cool breeze keeping our temperatures down. Even poor Vixen was looking for somewhere to lie low and cool down.

I’m hoping to get a lift to Glasgow to get my hair cut, if Scamp will run me to the station. Other than that, no great plans.

Dancin’ – 27 June 2026

Posted on by Zogman

For the first time in ages, we drove through some busy traffic to go to the dance class in Brookfield.

There were only four couples taking part and the topics were mainly quite easy, easy enough for me to manage them. We started with House of Bamboo then the Feta Foxtrot, The Britannia Waltz, The Salsa Gibraltar (which was new to us and not a real salsa), the Electric Slide (which I ‘Elected’ not to take part in) and we finished up with the Bossa Nova. Quite a full dance card.

The heat in the hall was quite stifling for a while, even with the front door and back door open. The floor was a mess. It looked as if some folk had been dragging chairs and tables across it and leaving a bit of a mess. I’m sure the teachers will be putting in a complaint.

It as raining when we came out of the dance class. I was glad to have brought my rain jacket and Scamp had her umbrella. More busy traffic heading back to the city. It must be something to do with the school holidays starting. However, by taking a few shortcuts we managed to avoid a lot of the traffic.

The weather at home was quite clammy and generally uncomfortable. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a cooler breeze. Scamp was doing a bit of weeding in the afternoon and I took the opportunity to ask her how I needed to go about changing my old credit card for the new regime. The way she explained it, made it look simple. I expect it is in reality. I just need to put it into practice now.

I went for a walk in the afternoon and got a fair amount of photos. My favourite was a combination of three shots of wild geraniums, merged together in Photoshop. After a struggle, I got it working and it looks pretty good.

We have no plans for tomorrow as far as I know.

It was a HOT one – 23 June 2026

Posted on by Zogman

There was a blue sky with gentle mist running across the Campsie Fells this morning and that usually means it’s going to be hot.

And, it wasn’t wrong. The temperature was rising all morning with a great many warnings being issued to stay indoors if you can. That’s what we did after we’d opened all the windows..

Later in the afternoon, I drove down to Tesco to get some fruit and to pick up the meds for Scamp and myself. By then it was lunch time and we watched more horror stories splashed with red to impress upon us that it was going to be hot. We weren’t at the actual Red Warning and, spoiler, the temperature didn’t actually reach the Red Warning level. I think the weather fairies were a bit disappointed.

While Scamp was doing some washing, I was hanging pictures. About a year and a half ago we painted the bedroom and this was us just getting round to putting the paintings back up again. Sometimes life does seem to go quite slowly when you’re both retired!

Photos back in their places, I went for a walk in St Mo’s, looking for dragonflies because the heat really does bring them out. It was definitely Shorts and Tee Shirts weather. Got quite a few dragons soaking up some rays while Scamp sat in the garden and read. I was exhausted when I completed my usual circuit of the pond and a couple of beers helped cool us down.

In the evening and after dinner we took turns at watering the garden. One doing the front garden and the other doing the back. It’s a really relaxing task, watering the garden with a hose. Something to do with the susurration of the water hitting the leaves of the plants, I assume.

PoD went to a dragonfly which clung to a dried reed and stared straight at me, or at least that’s what it felt like. As is often the case with dragonflies, I wonder if it’s sizing me up or I’m sizing it up. I really don’t want to know the answer!!

Scamp’s hoping to go out with the Witches tomorrow. I may find somewhere calm to go.

Keeping up with business – 22 June 2026

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In the morning we drove to Falkirk to sign some pieces of paper.

In fact we had to sign six different pieces of paper each. In the end I was beginning to get writer’s cramp! Still it was worthwhile and we felt a lot better after it was done.

After all that writing we thought we deserved a coffee, so we drove to Morrison’s for a coffee each. Scamp suggested we also have a cake each to celebrate. Her’s was a teacake and mine was a jam doughnut. Then we simply loaded up a trolley and pushed it back to the car. But not before we stopped to have a look at a trio of ceramic garden pots. So, we added them to the car boot and headed home.

It was just beginning to drizzle with rain as we were leaving the car park. It had been threatening to rain all morning so we were prepared for it. A totally different day from yesterday.

By the time we got home we had driven out of the rain clouds, but the skies were still heavy with more rain. We had lunch and decided what our next job was. It was mainly planning. Deciding which plants needed to move and which ones would stay. Also we were beginning to see which ones preferred shaded areas and which wanted to be in the sunshine.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s. Not a long walk, just a chance to see if there were any interesting insects appearing now that the weather was improving. There were a few dragonflies scudding round the pond, but the most interesting one was a Scorpionfly. It looks like a Scorpion with wings. Vicious looking with what looked like a sting in its tail, but harmless to humans (or so say’s Mr Google).

Scamp was going out tonight to a dance demonstration. Not Ballroom Dancing, more modern dance. She and the rest of the witches were going to cheer the girls on.  Also, as promised, the rain disappeared and the sun came out!

PoD went to the Scorpionfly, by a long way. High on the checklist was a Heron. A rare visitor now to the pond!

Alas, Keir Starmer’s job has come to an end. He resigned today. I admit I wasn’t impressed by him, but I almost felt sorry for him today.

We have no plans for tomorrow … yet!

Fathers’ Day – 21 June 2026

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It was so good to feel the sun on my back today. What a difference a couple of days makes.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and discussed books, little foxes and general garden stuff. Also having to keep the curtains closed to stop the room getting too hot. Hope you managed to get some sleep during the afternoon, Hazy.

Scamp and I went for a walk to the shops in the morning. Scamp was in charge of the fruit and veg for tonight’s dinner. I was in charge of getting the ice cream. Walking back to the house I just knew I was over dressed for the day. Shorts and Tee shirt would be better than jeans and a jersey.

And so it was that in the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got a photo of some ‘Big Daisies’. I never did know their proper name, but my mum always called them ‘Big Daisies’ and that name stuck. One of those photos made PoD.

Scamp and I sat in the garden when I got back and discussed what we’d like to do with the front garden to improve the colours. We didn’t come to a conclusion as we couldn’t quite agree on who had the best ideas.

Today was Fathers’ Day and I was allowed to have anything I wanted for dinner. I settled for Mince ’n’ Tatties. Scamp makes the best mince and tatties anywhere that’s why I chose it as my favourite. I had extra cabbage and beetroot too. (Sorry Jamie)

I spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard about the open gardens plots that are opened to any gardeners in the vicinity. One of today’s groups actually had a live quartet playing in one of the gardens. That’s an idea for you and Simonne for next year, Jamie.

Tomorrow we’re off to Falkirk in the morning to do some signing and shopping. Hope it’s a bit cooler.

 

 

Flowers and Beasties – 20 June 2026

Posted on by Zogman

I was just looking through my June catalogs today and out of 20 photos in the month of June, 16 were of plants or insects. I think I need to get out more.

Last night we had planned to go to Edinburgh today. We were going to do a part of the Water of Leith Walk. We’d looked at the maps and checked the weather and everything seemed to be fine. We agree to get the train to Croy this morning then get another train to take us to the start of the walk. Continue along the walk then rejoin the road to Edinburgh after that. Unfortunately, we slept in and by the time we’d had breakfast it was realistically too late to do the walk. Maybe another day.
Then we read today’s news that a topless man was wandering around the streets of Leith with what looked like a knife in his hand. I’m glad we slept in today.

Today’s walk took me over to St Mo’s in the sunshine. I was looking for dragonflies, but there weren’t any about. There were plenty of damselflies, mainly Common Blues, but none of their big brothers and sisters. I settled for some Blues, but the PoD went to a Flag Iris with a snail sheltering under its leaf.

Dinner tonight was going to be fish & chips from Condorrat, but in the end we settled for a home-made version which was very, very good. Excellent fish made by our resident chef. Although I must admit that my culinary skills were called upon to ‘Flip the Fish’. I think that was what improved the taste of the fish.

For the first time in ages we got to sit in the garden with a glass of something and a good book until the clouds crowded in. Not a bad day after yesterday.

No plans for tomorrow.