Uncategorized – Page 15

A daunder to Dumbreck – 6 July 2015

Posted on July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 by Zogman

To paraphrase Facebook, “A lot has happened since you last walked to Dumbreck Marshes”, so I took myself off there for a walk this morning. A lot had happened. The trees were in full leaf. The Red Campion and Ragged Robin were flowering well as was the Meadowsweet. The Himalayan Balsam was growing wild, partly due to me flicking the seeds everywhere last autumn and the Dog Roses were wide open enjoying the morning sun. In short, Summer was in full bloom. There were butterflies dithering around all these flowers

P7060069- blog--187-1.jpg and slugs climbing trees. Slugs climbing trees? Yes, Google it and you’ll find lots of theories about why these molluscs put on their climbing boots and scale the trees. I’m not convinced by any of the arguments, I think they just do it because they are there. If it’s good enough for us humans, it’s good enough for a snail. If you’ve got the time,

read Germaine Greer’s interesting piece about them in the Telegraph online.

While I was there (at Dumbreck) I got a verbal warning from some gulls that I was straying too close to their nesting grounds. I hate gulls. They are noisy, strutting, arrogant Stasi of the bird world. In Dundeethey are known as ‘Shite Hawks’, a very apt description. Anyway, thankfully they didn’t live up to their nickname today and I got away unstained. By the time I got back home it was time for lunch and then a quick trip to Larky to pick up my glasses which are much more laptop-friendly than the last pair. While I was there I bumped into my old HT who, believe it or not was just coming from the very opticians that I was heading to. Neither of us live in Larky. My claim to being there is that I was born

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and brought up there ‘behind the wall’. His nephew was the new partner in the optician’s business. Such a small world.

When I again returned home, Scamp was back from work and the gym. This made me feel guilty that my only exercise that day had been a four mile walk. Must get up early tomorrow and do the Gym/Swim thing.

Dancing at night and I’m now ready for bed, because my feet are dead on their feet.

An abstract day – 5 July 2015

Posted on July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 by Zogman

By the time I got up this morning, our visitors had gone. Back in to Glasgow to get the 10 o’clock bus back to Skye. We had all had a good time last night comparing cruises and places and generally discussing the folk we’d met and marvelling at how people become so used to the food and the luxury of a cruise, but still find something to criticise. As Murd said “These people are eating far better than they would at home, but they’re still not satisfied.” It’s so true. I think that’s what’s wrong with the world today. No matter what we get, we are never satisfied.

Fred and I were booked into an abstract art class in Cass Art today. Abstract is not my favourite art form, in fact I haven’t tried it since I was at college at least. We got to mess around – probably not the best terminology – with a variety of media from thick body acrylic to very liquid acrylic ink and taking in spray paint along the way. I can’t say my final piece was in any way planned. Can you plan an abstract? I suppose you must have some idea of what the final creation will look like or feel like, but I was just splashing paint on to see what transpired. It was an interesting couple of hours and although there were only three of us in the group, our ‘creations’ were quite varied. I was the least skilled and it showed. I did manage to get paint all over my hands and a couple of blobs on my jeans. If I’d thought about it I would have realised that this was a situation that required old clothes. Anyway, we had a good time and I was really impressed with what Fred produced. He said he didn’t plan it, but I don’t believe him. He’s done this before. I’d go back to another of their classes even if it’s quite a blatant attempt on their part to sell you stuff. The enthusiasm of the tutors keeps you interested.

When I got home, the good weather of the morning had gone, washed away by the rain. We watched the F1 Grand Prix from Silverstone. In the boring bits, and there were a few of those, I watched the rain. I also watched a couple of old crows sitting on the roof opposite us, thinking, well at least I was in the dry.

After dinner when the rain had stopped and the sun was setting I ventured out into the swamp that is our garden and got a few shots of the rambling rose at the back door. I liked the way the raindrops were hanging on to the rosebuds. The raindrops acted like little lenses distorting the sky and clouds. Quite impressed.

A Dragonfly Saturday – 4 July 2015

Posted on July 4, 2015July 4, 2015 by Zogman

The thunderstorms through the night seemed to blend in with my dreams as is often the case. When I awoke it was to heavy rain. Not at all like yesterday with its wall to wall sunshine, well, that’s Scotland for you. Lazy start to the day and then lunch with June in Bridge of Allen, or is it Allan? I’m never sure. Anyway, lunch was good as it always is in this wee Italian. After lunch we went to Dobbies to get (even) more plants for the garden. I’m always amazed at the number of plants Scamp can cram into our little postage stamp of a garden. Such was the case today. As always, to avoid being infected with the gardening bug, I made a hasty exit … to St Mo’s today, but it could well have been cycling or down the canal, anything to keep me away from horticulture. The weather had cleared up by now as the magic fairies had predicted last night.

Lots of damselflies around today in a variety of colours. Mainly blue as usual, but also red and brown. Then the big surprise, a dragonfly. A stubby little brown dragon, but a dragon none the less. Also a lot of butterflies. Can’t remember what the orange one is called, but I remember seeing a lot of them this time last year, so I should be able to find out. No deer to be seen today, but when driving to Hamilton to pick up Jac and Murd, I saw a few beside the motorway. Such a precarious existence they have. The evening was spent comparing cruise notes with Jac and Murd. Much drink was taken. It’s a good job I’m not up and out early tomorrow.

An afternoon in ‘The Toon’ – 3 July 2015

Posted on July 3, 2015July 5, 2015 by Zogman

For once it was not up and out early. In fact it was more lie in bed until you know you’ve got to do something before you get bed sores. I’d promised I’d clear out the back bedroom (my painting room) so Scamp’s sister and her husband have somewhere to sleep tomorrow when they return from their cruise. After that, I was exhausted so I got the bus in to Glasgow. Half an hour between buses and then forty five minutes for a twenty minute journey, and the pinheads in the government wonder why people don’t use public transport. When was the last time they actually sat on a bus? However, I shouldn’t complain too much because I don’t have to pay for the privilege

Glasgow was jumping today. It was looking its best, though and the sun made it look much more vibrant than usual. I took a wander down Bucky Street past St Enoch’s to the Clyde, but apart from taking a shot of a Brian May lookalike playing loud guitar with lots of reverb and little else. Then as a complete contrast my next few shots were of a couple of Polish guys playing some smooth jazz. There wasn’t much to see down by the Clyde. Lots going on, but nothing that moved me to press the shutter button. I walked back up along Queen Street where I usually can find something interesting at the GOMA, but nothing worthwhile today. Loads of people but no interesting shots.

Got the bus home. Luckily the fast bus which only took just over 20 mins. Scamp was sitting in the garden when I got home, admiring yesterday’s work. I decided to join her and sat for a few hours taking in some rays. Of course, I also managed to take some shots of the flowers we bought yesterday. The gazania really shone in today’s sunshine. It had to be the star.

The return of the Tamron – 1 July 2015

Posted on July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 by Zogman

Scamp decided that we’d go in to Glasgow today and she would drive for a change. I phoned Merchant City Cameras and my Tamron lens was back, so we were good to go. Lunch at the Cranberry cafe we were at a few weeks ago and then a bit of shopping before walking back and picking up the lens. After that, we went for a walk around Glasgow Green. Saw a cormorant by the bank of the Clyde. Haven’t seen any on the river for a few years.

When we got home I put the Tamron on the Nikon and took it out for a quick run through. I cycled to the place I was at yesterday and the lacewings were there in abundance (an abundance is a disco in a bakery if my memory serves me right). They seemed a good subject for the repaired lens. I felt the action of the lens was a bit stiff and the focusing mechanism seemed a bit more stiff than it had been, but after looking at the results, it would appear that it is fixed, but only time will tell.

Weather today was much the same as yesterday. Temperatures in the high twenties and although there was some sun and a breeze in the morning, but by afternoon and the cycle ride, it was a lot duller, the wind had dropped and there was the threat of rain. Just spits in the wind, but there are warnings of heavy rain tomorrow.

An exhausting day – 29 June 2015

Posted on June 29, 2015June 29, 2015 by Zogman

The first day in the gym after a fortnight stuffing our faces on the cruise. 30 minutes in the gym then a swim to relax. Best bit was the sauna and the jacuzzi. Who would have thought that just two weeks could have had such an effect. Even earlier, I had a hospital appointment to check for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), but it was all clear, thank goodness. We had our usual salsa class at night and it just added to the exhaustion. As for the rest of the day, I have no idea where it went, other than I took some photos of the shooting seed potatoes as a POD. Oh, yes, and I put another batch of photos on Flickr. I think it will take the remainder of the week for us to recover. I aim to have a less stressful day tomorrow when the weather, according to the magic weather fairies, is to be fair and sunny. We’ll see.

Lazy Sunday – 28 June 2015

Posted on June 28, 2015June 28, 2015 by Zogman

Last Sunday, I took 110 photos. Today, I took just 5. That’s the way it goes sometimes. The furthest I got today was the back garden. Torrential rain, then sun with a bit of a breeze. Not a bad day, just a lazy one. A very lazy one. My shot of the day was this one of pansies in the rain. Taken through the kitchen window this morning. Too lazy to go outside. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Ok, I’ll be honest. All is not as it seems. As usual. There just wasn’t enough depth of field to capture the whole flower, so I took two shots. One with focus on the front and one with focus a bit further back. Then took the two images into Potatoshop as layers and aligned them then used a mask to cut through part of the top layer to allow the bottom layer to show through. That way I could get the best sharp bits from both images. It’s posh name is focus stacking. Others call it cheating. I call it photography.

Fannyside – 27 June 2015

Posted on June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 by Zogman

This was always going to be a busy day. We had friends coming to dinner and there was a lot to do. First thing was to make some bread. That was the easy bit. Just chuck the ingredients into the bowl of the mixer and let it get on with it. After 10 mins of mixing, divide the dough in half. Half goes in the freezer and half gets set aside for proving (allowing it to do the initial rising). Next, get the pannacotta on the go. I’ve done it a hundred times, but this time I nearly let it boil over. Just too cocky. After that, I could relax for a while, so took the bottles to the bottle bank – they make such a lovely sound when you smash them! Then it was time to get the photo done for today, and I decided to go to Fannyside moor to see if the bog cotton was in bloom. For once I was too early, as it was just beginning to flower, so I got some photos of moss seed heads instead. I also attempted a shot of a lonely tree, but the camera and the weather conspired against me and what I got was a shot of some dry grass stems with the tree just out of focus and distorted by the heat haze. A heat haze in Scotland, I hear you exclaim. Yes, it’s true, but perhaps today was summer. It’ll be sleet tomorrow, just you wait and see. P6270350- blog--178--178.jpg

Once the photography was over, it was time to head back home to slave over a hot stove, this time it was the main course. It’s a hard life this.

Auld claes and purrich – 25 June 2015

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015 by Zogman

It’s that sad day after a great holiday when you have to come back down to normal life again. No longer to have breakfast on the upper deck. No longer to slather yourself in sun tan lotion and bake for half an hour at a time. No longer can you walk away and leave the dirty dishes for someone else to tidy up. There’s good things about it too, not least, your own bed at night. That’s worth a lot of the inconvenience. Not having to listen to the “Bing! Bong! This is your captain speaking from the bridge” and 9.00 every morning, that’s a relief too. Just a lazy day today with the added brightener of a birthday party tonight in Barca in Glasgow. So the holiday isn’t entirely over yet, oh no. Also, I got a minifig as a Father’s Day present from Hazy and a clever clogs card from JIC. Nice things to come home too.

However, as my dad would often say, it’s back to auld claes and purrich. In other words, it’s back to normal – or as near normal as we get. Oh yes, and it’s still raining!

Homeward Bound – 24 June 2015

Posted on June 24, 2015June 25, 2015 by Zogman

It’s been a long day. Alarm rang at 7.45am and we were up and out before 9.00am. Breakfast then a spot of sunbathing on the pool deck. I went for a wander around the deck initially to shoot some shots of he Moby ferry and the houses that rise up the hill. Then I noticed a bloke with a camera taking what I presume were fashion shots of a young lady wearing what looked like a bikini bottom, a furry wrap around top and virtually nothing else. The shoot, if that is what it was, was being done on a public walkway. Try doing that down on the Clydeside Walkway in Glasgow.

After that, we were on the homeward bound machine, except it was the Italian version. Which is the same as anywhere else, except it takes at least twice as long to get anything done. We waited half an hour for one wheelchair user to arrive and find his place on the coach. Couldn’t it have been done like it is on a plane, when the wheelchair users get on first to be settled before the rest of the passengers are boarded? Nah, that would be too easy. Better to make everyone wait, that’s the Italian way.

Arrived at the airport to find that there was a mini traffic jam at the entrance. One person moved their car and two taxis took their place, then two Carabinieri (Polis) cars double parked and screwed everyone up. Eventually the coach driver managed to get close enough for us to disembark and enter the airport. We got straight through security and were boarded. Well, not exactly boarded, we were sent through the tunnel to the plane, but no further for about half an hour because at least six people in wheelchairs were pushed down the tunnel to be seated first. Why, oh why does it take so long to seat six people?

Genoa is a toy town airport, pretending its a real one. Edinburgh is not bad, Glasgow is worse, but they are gold standard compared with this bunch of time wasters. The good thing was that while we werewaiting for the geriatrics to board and find their seats, it gave me time to take a couple of photos of two Piaggio P-180 Avanti II parked on the apron. There’s always a silver lining.

Got to Edinburgh and got stuck in a traffic jam almost all the way home.

And it was raining …