Category: weather

Crocosmia and Coffee – 6 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Not a very promising day for weather.

It felt like the rain was ready to start at any minute. I didn’t have much hope of getting out, but as usual, I live in hope.

Shona was staying with us for the weekend and it felt like she really needed the rest. While Scamp and I were up fairly early, she took almost the whole morning to break surface. We were agreed that she probably needed the rest.

I turned on the new coffee machine later in the morning and it performed exactly as Scamp and the bloke from JL had described it. In no time at all I was holding a full coffee cup of the dark strong flavoured liquid. Maybe just a little bit too strong flavoured if I’m being honest, but a few drops of water soon reduced the strength enough to give it a more pleasant taste. As Jamie says, it takes time to get it tasting the way you want it.

Later in the day and once Shona had returned from the Land of Nod, I went for a walk over to St Mo’s, still being careful not to wander into the greenery or the possibility of more biting insects. On the way back, I found another Painted Lady butterfly feeding on flowers in our garden. There had been a couple of cold snaps recently and I felt sure the delicate butterflies would have taken shelter, but there it was feeding on our flowers. A quick check with Google confirmed it was indeed a Painted Lady.

The butterfly didn’t stay long and was soon off on the wing again, but by then I had a new PoD and it was a Crocosmia flower growing against a wooden fence and showing off its orange and copper colours to all and sundry. That became PoD.

After Shona had left to go home, we spoke to Jamie and I thanked him for his helping me work out how to adjust the grind setting for the coffee I was using. Who knew how difficult it was to make delicate adjustments to coffee grinders. Good to know that someone is there at the other end of the phone to explain what went wrong a day or so ago. I’ve just opened a new bag of coffee which will need a different set of tweaks to get it to deliver the same taste and strength as the one I’ve just finished. It’s all highly technical, or maybe it’s just me who is a tech freak!

Hopefully we will be on our travels again next week sometime.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Autumn – 4 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

The leaves are turning brown, there’s that Autumnal feel in the air and the temperature is dropping gently. Yes, it’s definitely beginning to look like Autumn

I forgot to mention that it was also pelting with rain when Scamp and I drove over to Falkirk to pick up a packet of Henry’s coffee. Not too bad a run there, but definitely not much fun on the way back.

Later in the day we drove to Tesco for a trolley full of the usual suspects. Just a few odds and ends of vegetables and some odds and ends. A bottle of plonk here and a bottle of whisky there. Just the usual.

After we got home and had lunch Scamp wanted to ‘Tidy up the kitchen’. I’ve heard those stories before. They usually end up with “Have you seen my X, Y and Z”? Today it was my headphones. I rarely go out without them and as usual it was my fault for not putting them where they should be. Today they were hiding behind the couch in the living room. I have no idea how or when they got there, but at least I found them. I’d be like a bear with a sore head if I couldn’t have ‘some music where ever I go’

I walked round St Mo’s pond today. After last month’s tick attack, I’m being ultra-careful. These little black beasties are a danger to life and limb. I wish there was some way of dealing with them that didn’t involve flattening them with a hammer. All things great and small is a nice thought, but it doesn’t apply to Ticks!

PoD today went to a branch of Sycamore ‘helicopters’, so called because when they drop from the branches, they twirl like little helicopters. When I got back Scamp had done an excellent job clearing some space for the new machine to take the place of the old coffee maker. After a bit of reading last night I started to understand how the new machine worked, or partly understood would be a better description. I think we may go to JL tomorrow to speak to the salesman there to get some answers to questions we’ve both been wondering about. How do you control this? How do you adjust that? I’m sure he’ll be glad to see the back of us by the time we’re finished!

So, maybe a trip to Glasgow tomorrow, and maybe Shona will be doing an overnight with us. We’ll see how things work out.

Freesia – 2 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was wet today.

Sometimes drizzle, sometimes heavy rain, but always wet. I couldn’t find a suitable subject, so instead I took a shot of these Freesia flowers with an out of focus background. It seemed to brighten up the day.

We drove to in the morning to find a new pair of dance shoes for Scamp. Actually she got two pairs. One pair sparkly silver and one pair bright red. I couldn’t find a pair for myself. The only pair I liked the look of were too narrow and I knew I’d end up going over on my ankle, so it looks as if I’ll have to resort to polishing up my Black ’n’ Whites for any ballroom dances. The lady in the shop told me she was expecting a new delivery of gents dance shoes later in September. I’ll see what she digs up. She is usually good at choosing mens shoes.

We drove home and I started looking at ‘New Toys’. One was on my list, but wasn’t available anywhere near me. I’ll keep looking just in case there are some cut price goodies near me to whet my appetite.

Dinner tonight was Fish Risotto and although I thought it was a bit wet, Scamp seemed to think it was excellent. I think she is just buttering me up because there may be another pair of dance shoes she has her eye on.

We watched “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” after dinner. We had seen it before, but it was just as good the second time around. The only problem with it was the amount of adverts that cut across the storyline and broke our concentration.

I’m supposed to be going out with Alex tomorrow because we thought Thursday was going to be the best day of the week. It doesn’t look much like it now, especially after a really heavy rain shower earlier in the evening. We’ll just have to grin and bear it tomorrow and maybe find somewhere interesting to go for lunch.

So, hopefully a run in the country for us. Not quite sure what Scamp is doing.

Flowers in the rain – 1 September 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was one of those days when it rains almost all day.

Last night Scamp admitted that she’d been having toothache. It was coming from a big molar. She’d had pain from it before, but this time it was more severe and it wasn’t going away. She had taken Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Both worked to a degree, but when the pain returned this morning she phoned the dentist who very kindly fitted her in to her busy schedule in the afternoon. I drove her over to the the dentist, dropped her off and waited. That’s when the rain started. Some torrential rain and some, just wet and noisy, rattling on the car’s roof. Just over half an hour later she got her wish and the big old molar was gone. She seems ok now. The pain has gone and the swelling has gone too. I hope the fairies leave her a present for being a brave girl.

Afterwards, I was making a late lunch in the afternoon. Scamp didn’t really want anything to eat, but then she decided that she could manage a mashed up banana because it was soft and easily swallowed. That seemed to help settle things too.

The post came late today and the postman brought the details for our visit to Dundee along with his usual collection of junk mail. So now we can see where we are going and who we’re going to see. We still don’t know how long we’re going to be there, but hopefully we’ll have more information once we’ve spoken to the doctor and the surgeon.

Today’s PoD was twin Japanese Anemone flowers taken in a grab shot in one of the dry spells in the garden.

It’s been a busy and exciting day, all things considered. Hopefully things will calm down for a bit now.

The Butterflies Return – 31 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was a blustery and breezy day today, but it didn’t dissuade the butterflies or the bees.

Our Buddleia bush has lost all its flowers this month. Not surprising really, given the number of bees and butterflies that have visited it. I thought they were gone for good, but then this morning, not one, but two butterflies were visiting our smaller white buddleia. One was a Small Tortoiseshell and the other was a Peacock. They stayed for most of the day and the gusty breeze didn’t seem to upset them.

I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be good if our esteemed leaders could behave like the butterflies and just simply get on with things instead of all the posturing and back biting they usually exhibit.

Other than photographing the butterflies, I didn’t do much. I did take a camera for a walk over to the shops, but couldn’t find what I was looking for and came home empty handed.

Scamp used the day to thin out some of the compost we’ve gathered this summer. It will stand us in good stead for winter planting once it dries out, all being well.

I worked in the morning to clear out some of the unmarked photos from August and hopefully tomorrow I’ll dispose of the ones that failed to get a Red or Yellow marker. That should clear out some of the ‘dead wood’.

August is a month I’ll be glad to see the back of. So many mistakes and problems with fitting the subjects and details into the catalogs. I think I need to use a much clearer way of organising the photos.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp may be looking for an appointment at the dentist to have a look at a tooth that’s become painful, just recently.

Spiders and Lightning – 30 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

I’d intended to go for a walk in the afternoon today, just to stretch my legs. However the weather had other ideas.

I saw a tiny little spider at the back of a cupboard where it was catching the light very nicely. I knew I had plenty of time before I went out. I managed to get a few photos and then realised that that ‘plenty of time’ had shrunk greatly and also the clouds that had been light and fluffy weren’t fluffy any more. The rain had become heavier too, and as I stood at the back door watching the rain I saw the first flash of lightning and automatically started counting. Three seconds later the thunder crashed above me. That afternoon walk disappeared and Scamp and I watched and listened to the thunder above us.

Thankfully I had a few shots of the spider to use, although the torrential rain that was coming down would have been an equally good photo, but I’d lost one good lens to the rain about six months ago and didn’t want to risk another.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and he put me right on how to get more comfort from an expensive pair of trainers I’m trying out. It’s all to do with the instep and I’d forgotten that he too has flat feet. Something else of mine he’s fallen air to!

The thunder hadn’t lasted long, but the spider seemed to make tracks after the first crash. Probably something to do with air pressure.

I had a problem with one of my photos not responding properly to work I was doing. I thought it was going to be a wipe out, but it was only a change I’d made to the name of a title. Who would have thought a different name would completely destroy years of work. Thankfully, changing it back again solved that problem. Don’t you just love technology?

No plans for tomorrow.

A rather muggy day – 18 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Occasional rain, but always warm – too warm for me.

I went for a walk this afternoon, but despite searching all my usual places, I couldn’t find anything worth photographing. I eventually gave up and walked home in the rain which was at least refreshing!

Earlier in the day we had found a host of caterpillars munching their way through Scamp’s Nasturtiums and I put them all on some leaves across the path. Tonight I realised they would make and excellent subject for a macro photo. That’s how the Very Hungry Caterpillar came to find its way to becoming today’s PoD. It was indeed ‘very hungry’. Just look at the damage it did to a single leaf. One caterpillar did that! Now I know why gardeners dislike them so much. According to Google, this is the caterpillar of a Large White butterfly.

Nothing much else to report on today, although we did drive in to the outskirts of Glasgow for a coffee and a cake just to get us out for a while. Also, I did manage to find a bag of Marshalls Macaroni for you Hazy. You’ll get it the next time we meet.

These epistles seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I must encourage Scamp to drag me somewhere more interesting!

No plans for tomorrow, although we may take the train somewhere just for a change.

MOT day for the Blue Car – 17 August 2026

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Dropped the car off at about 9am at the garage then phoned a taxi that took me home.

Scamp was just on her way out to meet Shona for coffee and a blether. I made a cup of coffee and attempted Wordle and the rest of the puzzles and waited. About an hour later I got the result. A failure because of a fractured front coil spring. Not surprising given the number of potholes and broken drain covers that are scattered around Cumbersheugh. Did I want to go ahead with the repair and service? It was the first failure I’d had with this car in the six years of driving it. I don’t think I had much to complain about. Yes, just go ahead.
I phoned Scamp to tell her the bad news, but she also agreed that we’d done well with over 39,000 miles it had done. I think in retrospect that I got off lightly.

The rest of the day just chugged along. Not really a good day to go for a walk, but instead I photographed a bunch of fading flowers in a vase on the window sill. They were the variety “Lady Emma Hamilton”, one of Scamp’s favourites. The light was beginning to fade and I spent an hour or so adjusting the levels in Lightroom until I had the picture the way I wanted it. I could have worked for a few extra hours, but knew I was just wasting my time. Lady Emma Hamilton made PoD.

About 4pm I got the message from the garage that the car was ready to be collected. Another taxi ride took me bak to the garage. I pushed my card into the reader and collected my keys. We were back in business. I didn’t notice much different in the drive home, but I couldn’t argue with the work done.

Dinner tonight was Pizza and a slice of Scamp’s version of Tiramisu which was very welcome.

Later, Scamp was typing and messages were flying to and fro between others in the family. I was asked for my opinion a few times, but I think I was more engrossed with Angry Birds than was healthy for me, especially if I wanted to keep breathing. One ‘faux pas’ with the Lady Emma Hamilton debacle was bad, but not listening to Scamp would be unforgivable. I listened properly and agreed with what she had planned.

No real plans for tomorrow.

Out on the town – 12 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

Out with my brother today. Walking the streets of Glasgow looking for something new.

We took a walk down to the Graffiti area on Clyde Street. It’s actually called Custom House Legal Wall because it’s one of the few places where you can legally paint on the walls. I hadn’t realise that, after all the times I’ve walked around there. Every day is a school day, indeed.
I grabbed a clever looking bit of art there and it became PoD. Probably not to everyones taste, but it takes all sorts …

From there we walked left along the Broomielaw and then under the M8 before walking up the hill looking for the professional artists pillars that Alex had seen a couple of weeks ago. We got a few photos there before we got the ‘Bums Rush’ from a couple of blokes who told us that the area was a building site and we had to keep clear. We did that, for the most part, but then I went further and skirted the Express Way. It’s really strange, I’ve driven along that bit of road, but had never really stopped to see what was around me.

After I’d disentangled myself from all the roads round about that area, I retraced my steps and met Alex again. We decided it was time for lunch and Paesano is the only place we go on our walks. We were almost at the door when the rain started. The streets were dry by the time we left Paesano and we went for a coffee before we caught our respective buses to go home.

Scamp was sitting in the garden when I got home and I joined her while we waited for the eclipse, but although I got a few distant shots of the sun, the photos weren’t good enough to see any detail. Also, the clouds had rolled in and obliterated any details that would have been there. Oh well, maybe next time … when the next total eclipse comes in about 70 years.

Looking for insects – 11 August 2026

Posted on by Zogman

It was another hot day. Not as hot as it was in the south of England, but certainly warm enough for us in Scotland.

The only thing we did today was to go for a walk to the shops. Well, to be honest, Scamp went for a walk to the shops, but I cut the walk short and went down to St Mo’s. Behind St Mo’s is what is usually a boggy area which is usually wet in all weathers. Of course, today it was almost bone dry. I was looking for the seed pods from the Flag Iris plants that grow there, but I realise now after some research that I have to wait until about November to get the distorted seed pods that grow down there! I’ll try to be patient.

On my walk back, I spotted a little Hover Fly sitting and probably feeding on a pink Knapweed flower. It took a few shots to get what I wanted from the wee fly, but in the end I had a PoD.

Back home it was my turn to cook and Scamp requested Pasta Puttanesca. That’s another recipe from a long while ago. I eventually found what I was looking for and Scamp said it tasted just right. I wasn’t too sure, but I’ll stand by her decision.

TV schedules were all over the place tonight which meant that the Sewing Bee hadn’t recorded on our dodgy Virgin device. It seems that every week we find another failure from this recorder. I thInk it may be time to move away from Virgin and get a more trustworthy recorder.

That was about it for today. Sat in the garden for a while soaking up the sun. Hoping to meet Alex tomorrow for a walk. I might even get back in time to watch the partial eclipse.