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Not a lot to say about today.  Dived about daft this morning doing stuff, but not driving, just getting my fair or fare share of public transport for free.  Bought a set of artist quality watercolour paints for a knock-down price, even although I am not an artist, just a painter.  Spent a relaxing hour on the phone to Hazy, just talking about stuff and listening to her talk about stuff.  Relaxing, like I said. Went to salsa class at night and attempted some new contortions.  Got chips on the way home!  Just because we both fancied some.  Realised that I hadn’t done a POD, so the moon obliged with a little slice.  That was a good day!

Just a little slice of the moon with that residue of the sunset adding a bit of blue/purple luminance at the bottom.

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Went for a walk around Colzium this morning and was amazed at the amount of houses that have been built in the farmer’s field next to it.  It’s ages since we’ve been there, but it really was a shock to see so many houses and they are still building more.  Thankfully the gardens round Colzium house are still as good as ever and still well maintained.

Had a lazy afternoon.  I did think about going cycling, but although the sunshine was bright, the wind was still cold, so I had to forego the pleasure.  Maybe tomorrow.

Went to the salsa social in the late afternoon, but it was almost deserted until about 6.00 when things started to pick up.  Even then, there were lots of folk, but they all seemed more concerned with talking and giving each other hugs as if they hadn’t seen each other for years, rather than a few days.  Had a few dances and spoke to Alfie whom we haven’t seen for years – yes, real years, not days.

Scamp spotted this daffy.  Standing out against the dark background, so this one’s for her.

Patient wee bird.  Sat there for ages waiting for me to finish taking his photo, then he was off, dive-bombing a worm he’d spied on the ground.

Daffodil looking out at the world around it.

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Today’s plan was a trip to Perth (Perf) to get some coffee beans to try out the coffee grinder from J properly and to make some more of the Café Freddo with Hazy’s strange but excellent infuser with decent coffee, and also to have a run in the sunshine!  Managed to accomplish all tasks, well, still to complete the Café Freddo, but it will be done tomorrow.  Lunch was in The George again and it was really good.  Large table there celebrating a Ruby Wedding.  Weans, maws and dads with granny and grandpa and I think even a great granny.  Highlight for me was when one wee boy asked for pink ice cream – not strawberry, just pink!  A good day.  Went cycling when I came home and got a few macro shots of green blobs.  Managed to get stung by young nettles – they don’t half nip!

Down among the green blobs.  Unfortunately, as well as green blobs, there were also green leaves of nettles and my wrist are still stinging from their little oxalic acid syringes.

Panasonic 45-200mm + 16mm Ext Tube.

Blossom seen in the park at Perth.

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First, let me say, I’m not complaining, far from it.  Another day of sunshine.  Long may it last.  Did a bit of watercolour painting this morning.  This time I used real watercolour pans, rather than acrylic tubes and I must say I really enjoyed it.  Again, long may it continue.  Went for a walk over St Mo’s in the afternoon after I’d dropped Scamp off in the Village for her office lunch.  Quite enjoyed walking in the woods in the sun.  Very strange feeling when you’re used to the wind and rain.  Just missed a deer – that’s becoming a lame excuse.  I must be more aware as I walk.  What I did get some shots of was a weather balloon.  I thought at first it was a plane with a red nose cone, but after I looked at the shots I realised it was a weather balloon.  Also got the first photos of a butterfly this year in the UK.  Lanzarote butterflies don’t count.  Leaves are beginning to burst out now.  It won’t be long until the trees are green again.  Must try to paint them this year.  That’s a wee challenge if ever I had one!

A sycamore leaf just opening to collect some sunlight today.

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I like the way you can see the ribs and details of the dried leaf.

I’ve seen a few peacock butterflies recently.  I imaging the recent spell of warm weather has brought them out.

Another sunny day.  Got the train in to Glasgow and did a bit of shopping.  Saw a battle between the Bastard Drummers and the Bowie / Bolan bloke on Argyle Street.  I think it ended up as a draw, mainly because they are both crap.  The BDs are totally devoid of any talent.  Ok, the pipers are quite good and at least they musical, but the drummers?  What do they do apart from dance around, battering the drums and grimacing as if they are doing something incredibly difficult and skilful.  It’s not.  On the other hand, BB just makes Bolan faces when he’s singing T-Rex stuff, but sounds nothing like Bowie.  Maybe he need a piper to help him out.

Bucky Street seems to be awash with weans, and I mean young weans, busking these days, especially during the school holidays.  To my mind, this is simply exploitation.  How any sensible parent can push their progeny to sing and play for public amusement just to make a few bob for them – the parents – is beyond me.  Three of them were in evidence today with their wee painted cardboard signs and each of them had a crowd watching, filming and photographing them.  Do the parent not care where those films and photographs are going?  If they’re lucky, the vids will end up on YouTube or Vimeo, if they’re unlucky …. I avoid them at all cost and never, ever, photograph them.  Adults are fair game, children are not.

Saw this group busking in Buchanan Street in Glasgow this afternoon.  Can’t say whether they were good or not.  That’s one of the benefits of wearing over-ear headphones, you can cut out the extraneous noise.  Heavens, they even cut out the noise from the Bastard Drummers.  They are really good – the headphones, not the BDs or this lot!

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Lazy start to the day waiting for the sun to raise the temperature.  Scamp had asked that we go to Cramond and it was a good choice.  After driving through some rain showers, we arrived in sunshine.  We walked up the footpath beside the River Almond as far as the road bridge, about 1.5miles.  Watched a couple of nice trout taking flies in the Almond just below the bridge.  We saw loads of Mallards, a Cormorant and a Goosander.  Walked back and had an great wee lunch at the Cramond Falls Cafe.  By the time we reached Cramond village it was getting a bit breezy and the temperature was dropping, but that didn’t stop us both having ice cream from a traditional ice cream van.  Managed to get home in sunshine before the poor folk who have to work were returning home!

Cramond is a lovely old-fashioned and quite posh place, but my, oh, my the authorities really need to do something about the state of the toilets.  They must have been renovated somewhere around the 1950s.

A smooth as silk.  The waterfall on the Almond.  I tried all different shutter speeds, but this one 1/5th sec @ f36 gave the effect I was looking for.

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Now wash your hands.  You are joking aren’t you.

Took a walk along to Dumbreck marshes today just as the rain came on.  Not a lot to see there in the rain.  However, I did see the first swallows this year.  A bit late, but better late than never.

Pretty wee white flower being battered by the torrential rain today.

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Not just a lazy afternoon, a lazy day.  Cold wind, but bright sunshine in the afternoon.  Still didn’t entice me very far.  Grabbed a few shots of the flowers in the garden because they don’t last long at this time of year.

Flowers on a Forest Flame, not really noted for the colour of its flowers as it’s the foliage that generally catches the eye with this plant.

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As predicted by the weather forecasters, the weather changed today.  Not the snow we were told we might get, but rain and high winds.  A ten degree temperature drop too from yesterday.  We decided to go to Silverburn because we hadn’t been there for ages.  The M8 thought differently.  Got as far as Stow College when it all snarled up … again.  Turned around and went back into the city.

Scamp got some fancy clips for her bracelet.  I got some Burn Umber paint.  We went for lunch in Charcoals Cafe and it was delicious as usual.

Went in to Marks to get a new pair of jeans and saw that they now employ people to press the jeans by sitting on them!  See below for details.

Walked around St Mo’s when I got back as the sun had come out by then.  Some eejit had set fire to a bundle of logs in the middle of the woods.  However, you have to question the sense of the NLC workies who cut down the trees, cut them into logs and then stack them in the middle of the woods.  Do they expect the woods fairies to spirit them away?  Who are the bigger eejits?

Anyway, here are some foties:

Isn’t it thoughtful of M&S to employ folk to sit on the jeans to press them?

We were passing it yesterday and it really glowed against the blue sky. Glasgow has some stunning architecture when you take the time to look at it.

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Just a lone duck on the pond.

I like the idea of the green shoot breaking through the leaf litter.  Another sign of spring.