Category: St Mo’s

On the mend – 30 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp went off to FitSteps in the morning and left me to my own devices for an hour.

I started writing these blog posts and trying to put the right stories with the correct days. Not as easy as it sounds with a heid full of sawdust!

Early in the afternoon I went to collect my meds and got some shopping done in Tesco, just to make sure I could actually think straight again. I’d squirted more salty water up my nose and was definitely feeling a lot better.

I even went for a walk with the A7iii and the long Tamron lens to St Mo’s. Captured today’s PoD which was a couple of Meadow Cranesbills wild flowers. Also available is a shot of six newly hatched cygnets on the pond.

Dinner last night was Chicken Milanese with potatoes and cabbage. Delicious! Scamp made it, of course.

We may be going dancing tomorrow.

Back to the heat again – 20 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

After a respite from the heat yesterday, today it was back to the heat again.

The weather fairies keep telling us that rain is coming and that temperatures will return to the May norms, but unfortunately nobody has told the weather itself, yet. Today was another hot one, but there were signs later in the day that a change is coming. Cooler than it has been in the early evenings and a few more heavy, possibly rain bearing clouds crossing the sky. We live in hope.

I spent most of the morning writing and posting the blogs I’d just finished, along with the ones I’d collected the bare bones of from the weekend. It’s only Tuesday, but the weekend feels like it was ages ago.

We went shopping in the afternoon, just getting the bare essentials, but Scamp remembered we needed a couple of bags of cheap(ish) compost to fill up the potato bags and bucket. The warm weather really brought them on. Also, I remembered that they are Arran Victory.

Shopping done and after lunch, I put on a pair of shorts and went for a walk over to St Mo’s. PoD came from that walk and it’s an upside down spider. Google Images thinks it’s a Tetragnatha extensa, but I’m not sure it is. When I got back, Scamp had made a jug of Pimms with some apples and oranges chopped into it. Very welcome. Dinner was Neil’s Chicken Rice. I don’t know what the proper name for it is, and I don’t think Scamp knows either. It was as delicious as it usually is.

We watered the garden using watering cans tonight. I think we felt guilty about using a hose. There isn’t a hosepipe ban in force here yet, but the news folk keep banging on about it, so this is our contribution to the crisis.

No plans for tomorrow, yet.

 

Flying Things – 15 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Another bright sunny morning, although the breeze was cold, despite the temperature being 13 point something degrees, according to the old thermometer in the house.

I just had enough time to tackle Wordle although Scamp had already started into the more complicate of the NYT puzzles. Then it was time to get dressed properly for the drive to Glenburn for today’s Tea Dance. A smaller than normal group with quite a few folk calling off, probably because of the good weather.

It was the usual fare, starting with a waltz. We tried hard to work out the steps of Waltz Nioli, but got as far as the first half dozen steps before it all fell to pieces. We eventually gave up and started a wee short nameless Waltz that Kirsty had taught the class fairly recently. That worked, but it was a lot shorter than Nioli.
Next Stewart called for a Jive routine, any jive routine. We danced the Seven Spins we’d learned with Michael, all those years ago – before Covid, that’s how long ago. A couple of sequence dances later and it was nearly tea time with a fairly lengthy chance for a blether.

Second half was more sequence than ballroom, with a few well known sequences and also a few we’d almost, but not quite forgotten. As the clock was just past 3pm we decided that if the next one was worth dancing, we do it, otherwise we’d drive home. The next one turned out to be the Ria Bachata, but not to real Bachata music, so we said our goodbyes and drove home.

An almost non-stop drive from Glenburn, over the Kingston Bridge and home. Not the best drive time we’ve had, but the wheels were turning all the way. That’s very unusual on a Thursday afternoon.

Back home, Scamp was having a rest in the garden and I was going over to St Mo’s to see if any of the dragonflies and damselflies were coming out to play. Well, the dragonflies were, but I only saw one damselfly and it was keeping a low profile in and out of the weeds by the side of the pond. Keeping out of reach of the dragonflies that were patrolling the pond looking for easy takings.

I walked round the pond then went back the other way. Sometimes that gives you a different view of the park. Today I followed a wee butterfly with strange markings and got a shot or three of it. Next a damselfly came past and attached itself to a nearby leaf. Another half a dozen frames made sure I’d a photo of that too. Finally as I was walking home I spotted a bedraggled Crane Fly (AKA Jenny Long Legs in Scotland) was dangling from a trio of Horsetails, the prehistoric perennial plants. That became PoD.

Dinner tonight, just for a change was pasta with a rich tomato sauce. Very nice it was too. I made it!

We watered the garden later when the sun was going down. Scamp did the front and I did the back, despite warnings on the BBC to the effect that water shortages may mean a hosepipe ban. It’s just meant to scare us and we’re not listening!

Tomorrow Scamp may go to FitSteps in the morning. I have no plans.

A lazy start to the day – 13 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A lazy start for me, that is. Scamp was already up and pouring her first coffee well before I broke surface.

It was another warm day. Quite breezy, and maybe that was what cleared the morning clouds away. It was just over 13ºc when I raised my weary head.

After lunch, Scamp started building a frame to encourage her sweet peas to start climbing. She has already planted out two areas of climbing frames for them. This one might be the final one for this year.

I went for a walk in the afternoon with the correct combination of camera and lens. I was hoping for some shots of damselflies. I had managed to capture one a few days ago and had seen some flying around the pond yesterday. However, there were only a very few in the air and those were in the centre of the pond and flying low. The reason soon appeared in the shape of a Four Spotted Chaser and it was living up to its name today, chasing every flying insect it could find. I admit, I went a bit over the top with almost 50 shots of the dragonflies taken. They were hacked down to a more realistic number in the first cull. I think the sun had gone to my head. Still, it was the first dragonfly of the year, that’s my excuse.

Dinner tonight was Fragrant Prawn Rice Noodle Salad. A bit of a mouthful and a bit tricky to scale down from four servings to two, but it tasted fine, but was a bit difficult to eat. I think we may have another try at it later in the summer all, being well. Orange and Rhubarb jelly for dessert and it was delicious.

After dinner I watered the veg in the garden. The kale looks a bit dried out and so do the leeks. I’m hoping to get started earlier to morrow and get the rest of the kale and leeks planted. Weather looks set fair for the next week at least. Great for sitting reading in the sun and for sunbathing, but the garden will be taking a beating unless we get rain soon.

By the way, Happy Birthday, Neil!

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to meet up with the other witches and I may be working in the garden.

A grey morning – 12 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A dull start to the day with mist and cloud blocking the sun. Thankfully the mist and cloud disappeared later in the morning and the warmth was there again, but with a bit of a cool breeze.

We were going shopping today, just a usual Monday shop for essentials and a couple of bottles of wine to restock our cupboard. While Scamp started the shopping, I drove the car to the carwash next door and gave it a wax wash. It cost a few quid, but less than five minutes later I was driving out in a sparkling, shiny car. No sign of the sticky residue from the trees we park under.

A light lunch and then I intended to read a few pages in my new book, but time and a snooze got the better of me and an hour later I wondered where the time had gone.

Scamp was working in the back garden, but I hadn’t much to do there, although I might plant a few more leeks and maybe some more kale later in the week to fill up the raised bed. Instead I went over to St Mo’s with the A6500 and a short lens. Wrong choice today. Not only were there damselflies circling the pond, but there was a dragonfly sunning itself on one of the horsetails. Far too far away for my wee short lens. Should have taken the long Tamron instead.

I found a pair of ferns in under the trees that looked to me like a couple of old style boxers, squaring up to each other. That got PoD. Lots of ducklings in the pond, keeping well under cover on the edges of the water under Mummy Mallard’s careful scrutiny. The pond is certainly coming alive. Warm weather works wonders.

Off to Kirsty’s dance class in the early evening. Only three couples including us, but we’ve now got a fair grip on the Tango we’ve been learning. There is still a tendency for Kirsty to teach short, tight routines, not making enough use of the fairly large hall we have at our disposal. We both feel she could open up the dance floor a bit.

Watched the final of University Challenge and watched our favourite team win by five points. We were both delighted.

We may go out somewhere tomorrow, just to get away from Cumbersheugh for a while.

Another warm day – 11 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today was hot, but with heavy cloud at times. Actually, it was a nice warmth without the heat of yesterday and with a gentle breeze that yesterday lacked. There was actually just the hint of a threat of rain that never quite materialised.

It was a day that encouraged a lazy man like me to consider doing a bit of gardening. Gentle gardening, mind you. Nothing too strenuous, and with easily achievable targets, like potting up my chilli plants and helping Scamp to plant her home grown sweet peas and build a sort of plastic mesh to encourage them to cling to and pull themselves up with. I even found an old solar powered sprinkler for the bird bath that still worked, and gave tiny little splashes now and again.

Later I took the A7iii out with the Tamron lens and a Lensbaby Sweet 35 to St Mo’s to search for damselflies, but again there were none to be seen. Instead,I concentrated on some Hawthorn flowers and focused on one Buttercup in the grass of St Mo’s to use the Lensbaby’s strange distorted view of the world. The buttercup shot got PoD.

Dinner was a chicken breast done in the oven and served with a salad that was delicious. I don’t particularly like pomegranate seeds, but the light scattering of them in that salad worked wonders. There was a hint of Simonne’s excellent salads there. I’d say they were on a par with each other.

Pudding was a rhubarb crumble. Not our own growing, but hopefully it won’t be long before we get a second pulling of ours too. The ginger in the pudding was just right for me. Pure Goldilocks pudding!

Spoke to Jamie and heard about his week’s holiday. Such a pity that when we were sweltering in the sun up north, down south they were putting on extra layers and a pair of gloves. The wind coming in from the North Sea was to blame. Hopefully there will be gentler and warmer days ahead.

Tomorrow I believe we may be going shopping, probably just for essentials.

Shooting the breeze – 9 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

In the morning, Scamp was out to FitSteps and I was having a lazy half hour start to the day.

When she returned, Scamp and I had a late breakfast or an early lunch, either way we had some food, then we did some gentle rearranging of the pots in the garden

In the afternoon while Scamp was out soaking up some rays in the front garden, I spent half an hour and more talking to Fred. I’m amazed just how long it’s been since we last had a conversation, just shooting the breeze and putting the world to rights. I really should phone my old pals more often, and if they’re not responding to a call, at least send them an update text. It’s those things that keep us together.

By then the sun had moved round the sky or perhaps the world had turned and Scamp wandered round to the back garden, because that’s where the sun was hiding now. I changed into a pair of shorts on my milk bottle white legs and took the A7iii with a Sigma 105mm for a walk over to St Mo’s seeking some insect life, only to be disappointed because the insects were also sunning themselves somewhere else. I eventually settled on some shots of a dandelion with only four little parachutes clinging to its take-off plate ready to fly away on a gentle breeze. my favourite one got PoD. Yes, it is a bit of a cliché, but clichés have a place too.

When I returned, I was coaxed into planting out a row of Curly Kale and a pot of Leeks. My only contribution to the gardening work for the day, apart from chopping down some dangerous looking thorny roses.

After dinner which was Cabbage, Bacon and New Potatoes with Scamp substituting an egg for the bacon, we sat watching the sun go down behind the trees and the houses. We could have stayed longer, but it was becoming decidedly cool by then.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go dance class at Brookfield.

Plants and Flowers – 6 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We met Isobel for coffee and gossip. Always a good mixture.

Drove up to the Town Centre, part of which is being demolished, thankfully not the part we were intending having coffee in. We were late because I’d forgotten my sunglasses, it being a very bright and hot morning. We haven’t had any rain for about a fortnight and even then it was just a splash and dash from the clouds. Not really what you’d call real rain. Anyway, I found my glasses waiting to be picked up on the radiator at the house and we were off again. Isobel had acquired a table for the three of us. I had a not too shabby Flat White and Scamp had a Latte which is really just a jug of hot milk with half a shot of coffee. We sat talking for about an hour and a half before going our merry ways.

Isobel was going shopping and I intended to take Scamp to the Kelpies. However, the road to the motorway was reduced to a single lane and there was an almighty queue down the Wilderness Brae for a couple of miles to the roundabout that would take us to Grangemouth. I took a quicker way back through Cumbersheugh and on to the motorway, cursing the deadheads in the council all the way.

When we were in sight of the Kelpies, Scamp suggested we go to Klondyke garden centre first. We’d been talking about that change of destination during the drive. Klondyke is a treasure trove for gardeners. Flowers of almost every kind and colour. Only, they didn’t have the kind I was looking for. I was looking for Scottish Marigold, but although they had loads of French Marigold, they didn’t have Scottish Marigold, AKA Calendula. They did have compost, wee pot plants, a set of three stackable triangular pots, a variety of vegetable plants, a basket of dahlia flowers and a big square pot that would hold a rose. We now have all the aforementioned articles too! We had lunch at the garden centre which is reasonably priced. However, to avoid the usual holdup on the M80 and to get the plants back to the house in a reasonable state, we had to forego the visit to the Big Horses. As we passed them on the way home, we gave them a wave and told them we’d come and see them again, soon. I’m sure Scamp will hold me to that promise.

A fairly easy drive home and got parked, then emptied the car boot into the back garden, because that was where the majority of the plants and flowers would end up. Scamp took charge of planting the new rose Schoolgirl in a decent mix of composts. It’s the second Schoolgirl we’ve got. This one might live in the back garden while to existing one will stay at the front. Some things will need watering soon, but they’ll survive for a few days.

A quick walk round St Mo’s gave me a PoD. It’s the gardeners nemesis, the Buttercup. Beautiful flower … as long as it isn’t in your garden.

Tomorrow it’s an early rise then hopefully a couple of trains will take us to Glasgow.

May the Fourth be with you – 4 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Just one of those days when we couldn’t wake up.

Eventually I opted to be the one who made breakfast, then after reading a new chapter in a very old Iain Banks book, Transition, a book I never read which I regret now, we rose and went to see what all the hullabaloo was, about with the Formula 1 sprint race in Miami.

It was actually quite an interesting race with crashes galore. Some of which were on the parade lap before the race even started. Admittedly, it was in the rain, but have these drivers never seen rain before?

With all the excitement finished for the morning, we watched Laura Kuenssberg rip a hole in Wes Streeting and Kemi Badenoch’s morning. Isn’t it great to see someone charge through politicians and get away with it? Don’t you sometimes think it would be good to do that too? It would brighten up any dull Sunday morning IMO.

Breakfast over, F1 GP over and politicians put in their place, I went out to plant two bags of potatoes. Can’t quite remember what they are, but they are purple skinned Arran something. If I remember, I’ll look the packet out tomorrow and tell you. I know you’ll all be dying to know!!

Dinner tonight was a tough steak for me with cauliflower and potatoes, but not Arran potatoes, and cauliflower with cheese sauce and potatoes for Scamp.

After that, I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got PoD which was some Hawthorn Flowers. Jimmy Mearns, my ex-headteacher once explained to me that the Scottish expression “Ne’er cast a cloot until May is out” had nothing to do with the month of May, but everything to do with the flowering of the May Blossom ie, Hawthorn Flowers. I’m not sure it really is the time to be casting cloots just now with the temperature local to us expected to reach 1ºc tonight. At least it’s not -1ºc.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp wants to go shopping and I’m headed to the tip with a big bag of empty bottles to dispose of.

The first of May – 1 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We really should have been up early and washing our faces in the dew, but we’re probably beautiful enough and it would only make everyone else jealous!

Instead of an early morning face wash, Scamp drove over to the dentist for her six month checkup. I read more of Tainted Cup, a very twisted tale with the most complicatedly named cast I’ve ever seen. I wonder if Mr Bennett made up the names of all the places or if they have some meaning.

After a wash and brush up, it was time to go over to Glendale for the Tea Dance. Sitting with David and Carol and hearing about their adventures with their grandson from Kingston on Thames. In exchange we told them stories about the roads on Skye and the beautiful weather we’d had for almost a full week.

Dances were the usual mix of latin, sequence and ballroom and although we both struggled to get it right sometimes, for the most part we managed to cover the floor quite well.

Lengthy roadworks near the Barrs factory in Cumbersheugh meant a detour to Tesco on the way home to get dinner which was Bacon, Cabbage and Potatoes with Scamp swapping Black Pudding for Bacon. We’ll need to remember that if we’re going to Brookfield on Saturday.

I went for a walk round St Mo’s in the afternoon and got a photo of a wild flower that I couldn’t name, although I knew it. Finally I resorted to looking it up and it was a Plantain, but not the Plantain they have in Trinidad, the one they have in Scotland. Allegedly it is very effective at dealing with insect bites and stings. It is also much better than dock leaves to ease the discomfort of being stung by a stinging nettle too, but don’t quote on either of these remedies.

The Scottish Plantain made PoD, there being no competition for it here today. Note the bonus spider in the photo!

It was a fair bit cooler in the afternoon, compared to the last few days. The weather fairies were at pains to confirm that for the next day or two, the weather will stay cooler.  We’re just hoping for rain.

Scamp is hoping to get to FitSteps tomorrow and then I might go and collect my new glasses.