Category: weather

The end of summer – 28 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Like they say, “What a difference a day makes”.  Gone were the blue skies, gone was the sun, and with it the warmth.  At least it was dry, but the forecast for tomorrow is for wall to wall rain.  That being so, I rest my case m’lud.  The end of summer.

Up and out early to take the Megane to the garage for new front brake disks and pads and a new trackrod .  Spoken like someone who knows exactly what they are.  I know what brake disks are and what the pads do.  I’ve also got a basic knowledge of what a trackrod does and the fact that it’s got an end, probably a beginning too.  What I can say for certain is that, combined, they cost pennies short of £300 which was duly paid around lunchtime when I went to collect the car.  A car that will now stop when you tell it to, and one that will go round corners properly.

Earlier, partly to take my mind off the fact that the Megane was under the knife, and partly because we needed ‘messages’, Scamp drove me to Asda at Robroyston with the inevitable coffee at Costa afterwards.  It was there we saw a *STAR*.  ’Shellsuit Bob’ from River City, no less!  Looking much the same as he does on TV.  Our lives will not be the same from now on, knowing that ’Shellsuit Bob’ is a real person.  We watched River City tonight knowing that we had been sitting within feet of a *STAR*.

After lunch and having picked up the car, the sky lightened a bit and I went out to see what I could see (and photograph) over in St Mo’s.  Took my new favourite lens with me, hoping for some macro shots.  It’s amazing what you see when you’re looking for close-ups.  Most of todays pics were taken with the D7000 and Sigma 105mm combo.  Obviously the deer shot was taken with the 300mm end of the Tamron, and it looked quite good.

Hopefully off for beer and pizza with the Auld Guys tomorrow … in the rain.

Sun Day Three – 27 March 2017

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Today the sun shone from a big blue sky for the third day in a row, confirming that this is indeed summer.

Scamp had invited an old friend to the Monday Gems practise and I was nominated driver. It was a great run through to Denny. Not the most scenic area, but everywhere is scenic when the sun shines!  After I’d delivered Netta, I went for a drive down to Auchinstarry, not for a walk this time, but for a chance to sketch because I only had an hour to spare. Not the best place for a subject. The buildings were new-builds designed to look old and not really managing it. The longboats don’t interest me all that much, but are a lot better than the faux canal buildings. I finally settled on the boats after a half hearted attempt at the building. It’ll do. It’s late, but it’s completed.

Got back in time to run Netta home. Then it time to make the dinner and drive to salsa. Salsa was a bit boring, going over some old moves, but I did get a chance to help out at the intermediate class before our own.

Weather to be cloudy tomorrow which won’t bother us too much as the car is going in to have its front brakes and trackrod replaced.  More money, but at least it did get through its MOT a few weeks ago, so shouldn’t complain.

British Summer Time – 26 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

None of your Daylight Saving Time.  This is British Summer Time.  Two sunny days in a row means it’s Summer and we are in Britain, at least until Nick the Chick gets her Second Referendum, then her Third, then her Fourth until the people give her the result she craves, because it his her job to protect Scotland! Cue the fanfare and  the cheering crowds.  But I digress.  We don’t save daylight here.  Sometimes I wish we could.  I wish we could bottle it up and bring it out on cold December days when the starlings are making their tuneless twittering noises in the skeleton trees and it’s dull, grey and just miserable.  If we had a bottle of Daylight, we could open it up and everything would be lovely.  Unfortunately, it’s not like that, so we make the most of two days of sunshine back to back, like we did today.

Scamp wanted to do a bit of gardening with the scary gardening gloves Hazy sent.  I wanted to get the bike out and go cycling just because I could.  I even put a pair of shorts on!  I didn’t go far, just a few miles, because this is only the second time I’ve been out this year on Dewdrop.  Got a photo of a zombie frog and a blue vent cover the birds have been crapping on and a strip of silver birch bark the sun was shining through, turning the silver to gold.  Best of all, I got a bit lost coming home and came upon the branch of cherry blossom.  Imagine, I’ve been living in the place for around thirty years and I still manage to get lost!

Came home and watched a really boring F1 GP.  Really, the cars look like they did back in the 1950s with big triangular fins and wide tyres. Also, what’s with the multitude of spoilers and wings?  They look like boy-racer specials.  Despite all the changes and supposed improvements, the excitement just wasn’t there.

Dinner was a beautiful piece of haddock with sautéed potatoes.  Quite delicious.

Tomorrow may be warm and a bit sunny, but low pressure is ensuring that the weather is on a downward path again.  I knew it couldn’t last.

Embra – 25 March 2017

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We took the train to Embra this morning in the sunshine that was predicted would last all day.  It did.  Blue skies over Embra, but also over Cumbersheugh which was a greater surprise.

Wandered up the Grassmarket and decided that we’d just have an early lunch at Petit Paris, except that it was 12.00 and we were half an hour too early.  Rather than be disappointed like yesterday, we sat in the Grassmarket in the sunshine and waited until nearly 12.30 and then made our way down to the restaurant.  Scamp had Soup de Provence and I had what I always have there, French Onion Soup because they do it so well.  For main we both had Poisson de Jour which for Scamp was Coley with Red Pepper Sauce, served with mashed potatoes.  Mine was the same, except they had run out of Coley, so I had Cod.  Same difference.   Scamp had a crêpe with Grand Marnier for pudding and I had coffee.  I took a risk and had a glass of house red with my meal.  Ha, ha Nick the Chick, I wipe my nose with your drink driving limit!

Walked back down the Grassmarket rather than go up past the Royal Mile and all the twee gift shops, because, to be honest, the only reason we were there was to have lunch.  Got a book I’ve been looking for, for ages in Waterstones and then got a cut-price Bergy jacket in Tiso’s.  Actually it’s exactly the same as the one I’ve had for ever except it doesn’t have inside pockets.  Same style, same material almost, even same colour.  Boring, that’s me.  It was a bargain.  You can’t let a bargain go past, can you?

Back home we watched Best Marigold Hotel again.  Still has the same magic as the first time we saw it.

A lazy day in the sun.  Bought some fat hand made sausage rolls and some pork sausages too at the Farmers Market, so that’s tomorrow and probably Monday’s lunch sorted.  Hoping for more sunshine tomorrow.  Always hoping!

Flooers – 22 March 2017

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You know as well as I do that when a flooer or even worse a bunch of flooers is the subject, then it’s been a lean day for photography.

Today was a particularly dour and cold day from the time we got up until the time we came home from salsa tonight.  As with all such days, there were bright periods.  Sometimes in the weather and sometimes in the day.  One such was going for a swim this morning.  We had both agreed that it was a sensible place to spend some time.  In the warmth of the pool, the steam room and the jacuzzi.  Not the sauna.  Apparently the sauna was broke.  Not broken, just broke.  I don’t know what was wrong with it this time, but it looks like it needs some *essential Maintenance*.

I like the *Enclosing Asterisks* because I just found out about it recently.  It’s called “Escaping the Asterisk” (notice I didn’t do it there – you can have too much of a good thing, you know) and there is a trick to doing it.  Because I write this blog in a language called Markdown where you can include symbols in the text to perform actions for you, there has to be a get-out for when you want to show the symbol without it performing an action – are we clear on that so far?  I didn’t hear any dissenting voices, so I will continue.  Right, the symbol for italics is the asterisk.  I typed the word asterisk there enclosed by two asterisks.  The problem appears when you want to show the asterisk.  To do that, you have to place a backslash (\) before the asterisk.  Still with me?  MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) hasn’t set in yet? This tells the Markdown code to show the asterisk and not use it as as a modifier for the text.  Now the next problem is:
What if I wanted to show the backslash and the asterisk?  How would I do that?  Answers on a postcard please.

Anyway, to get back to the day.  We drove home and had some lovely chicken soup for lunch, then Scamp went out to source a pair of jeans while I messed around with a bit of painting.  I was just getting ready to go out myself when she returned without the jeans.  I drove down to the garage and booked the car in for brake and steering repair next week.  Tried to get some photos, of the snow covered Campsie Fells, but there was nowhere I was happy with the view, so I came home and photographed some flooers.  For dinner I made chicken and mushroom risotto and accidentally used too much butter.  Not healthy, just lovely.

Salsa was busy … with followers.  Only three leaders to start with so Scamp became a leader.  Thankfully more men arrived throughout the night and we ended up almost even. Setenta Tresario Dos and Malecon got us tied up in knots tonight.  Good fun as usual.

Busy day tomorrow with improving weather predicted.

Deepan’ Crispan’ Deevan’ – 21 March 2017

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It’s snow, of course and that’s what we woke to today.  Not that deep and not that crisp as the temperature was three above zero and very uneven.  In fact it was just a scraping of show, but then, as I was making the breakfast, the snow returned, blown along by Windy Willie’s wild westerly wind.  Now, that’s what you call alliteration!

Once we realised that we wouldn’t be snowed in any time soon, we decided to go to Falkirk to retrieve a ring, a substitute wedding ring, that Scamp had handed in last week for repair.  Not long after I retired we went to Ayr and Scamp tripped and damaged her hand.  I thought her finger was broken, but it was just badly staved.  So badly staved that the wedding ring had to be cut off because it was restricting the blood supply to her finger.  That was almost three years ago.  It took a long time to get the ring repaired, but today we picked it up from the jeweller looking as good as new.  Driving home was a challenge with torrential rain, hail and sleet driving straight towards us.

When we got home and had lunch, the wet stuff had stopped and the sun had come out again, so it was boots on and out to St Mo’s.  I took the Big Dog with the macro lens and the E-PL5 with a 20mm lens.  A nice combo.  Just waked into the woods and saw two deer grazing down the path.  They were crosswind to me, so didn’t sniff my deodorant I crept down the path walking on the grass, not on the broken twigs, so they didn’t hear me either.  It would have been better to have brought the 300mm Tamron, but the macro gives such good quality results that I wasn’t all that worried.  The landscape is from the 20mm lens, another good quality lens.

Got home and did a bit of messing around painting the hills with snow on them.  Four miniatures in different colour schemes and another four ready for finishing tomorrow.

Tomorrow?  Not got a clue.  According to the weatherman, the snow will be gone and the weather is set fine.  As usual, we’ll see.

Windy Willie – 20 March 2017

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Windy Willie was Scamp’s explanation for strong winds when the weans were wee.  No need then for Storm Agatha or Storm Benjamin.  No, when the house was shaking in the gusts, Windy Willie was out there, that was enough explanation.  Windy Willie was out today.

Scamp was singing again with Gems today.  This time in Stepps.  I had intended to go sketching in Glasgow to get back to more architectural subjects, but when I got there, the horizontal rain and hail put me off, so instead I drove to the Fort to get some cheap pens and not so cheap painting stuff.  I say *painting stuff* because Inktense sticks are difficult to categorise.  They are part pastel sticks and part aquarelle.  Aquarelles are usually in the form of pencils and these are just sticks of pigment in a binder and are like pastels, except when you add water to them they turn into watercolour.  Worth a few quid to try them out and see what kind of mess I can make with them.

I drove back past the old Gartloch Hospital, a scary looking ex asylum on the outskirts of Easterhouse.  I kind of want to photograph it, but it comes into the same category as graveyards for me.  I often feel uneasy about photographing graveyards and most times don’t get the camera out.  It’s almost as if I have to ask permission to take photos there.  I can’t really explain it.  Some day I’ll make time to go to Gartloch and get some images.  Whether or not I’ll keep them I can’t say.  I might just format the card after they’re taken.  I will say this though, it will be a bright sunny day I go there.

Only two photos worth showing today.  One of contrasting textures between the grey sky and the grey aluminium of  the M&S building at the Fort and another of an old knife with a couple of beads of jam on it (not blood!) sitting on the draining board at the sink at home.  I just liked them both.  PoD was  the knife.

Before salsa tonight, I was enlisted to help with beginners Bachata which Cameron was teaching, and teaching quite well.  He still needs to relax, but his voice control is much better and he also needs to realise that he doesn’t need to show off so much.  It all looks like a lack of self-confidence to me, but I’d never tell him that.  Enjoyed it.  Salsa was fast and furious.  New move tonight was Tresario Doble, I think.  Interesting and counter intuitive at times.  We need to practise it.  Also Cubaa Se from last week.  Good fun.

No plans for tomorrow.  Snow and ice forecast with Windy Willie around too.

Macros – 19 March 2017

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Now, before I get started on macros and stuff, I have to make one thing clear.  My skin is old, I’m comfortable in it, and most of all it is, like me, quite thick.  So the the ‘Tramp’ comment by Scamp yesterday was like water aff a juck’s back.  If you don’t understand that, then sorry, life is too short for me to teach everyone the meaning of everything I say.  I accepted that the ‘Tramp’ comment was made in jest and although it might have appeared that I took offence, that wasn’t the case. Ok.  Can we move on now?

The photos above were the best I got today.  If I’d realised that the weather would stay clear and sunny all day, I might have been encouraged to travel further afield to make more of the conditions, but the weather men and women assured us that it was going to be torrential rain all day.  Give them their due, it did rain heavily during the night, but hardly a drop fell all day and for that I give thanks.  I went for a walk along the Luggie which was a raging brown torrent after the overnight rain.  It was treacherous underfoot.  Very slippy and slimy with mud moving about under my sole pair of boots.  Unfortunately, the old boots had developed a hole in the upper, just where it met (or in this case, didn’t meet) the sole, so after six years of exceptional service they had to go in the bin.  The new ones, just over a year old now are great for waterproofing, but not so good on grip.  My bargain walking trainers are great for grip and waterproofing, but are only trainers.  They don’t give support or keep you ankles dry.  I expect they’ll be fine in  the summer when that day comes.  I liked the detail in the green blobs (moss fruiting bodies) and the desiccated rose hip.  Both were taken with the Sigma 105mm Macro.  Such a good lens.  Never lets you down, always bitingly sharp.  Slow to focus, but I can put up with that.  Doesn’t have anti-shake, but doesn’t seem to need it either.  Comes into its own when focusing closer than about 150mm from the front element.  Truly a gem.

The sketch is an edited view of the bathroom window ledge.  I’ve removed half the junk and obviously a bathroom window wouldn’t have clear glass, but artistic license is a wonderful thing.  It’s not the best sketch I’ve done for my one-a-week, but it’s done and on time (must be done by Sunday).  We were both a bit clumsy to start with, but by the end we were getting much slicker.  Must go and practise our moves for tomorrow’s class.

Saint Paddy’s Day – 17 March 2017

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It rained.  Scamp started cooking almost as soon as she rose this morning.  That meant the kitchen was off limits to me, so I had a more leisurely start to the day, but after that she decided we should go out for lunch *somewhere*. The *somewhere* turned out to be Dobbies at Milngavie.  What a bad decision.

<rant>As one of the Cumbersheugh Foodies, I have to say that this will be the last lunch I have in Dobbies.  We paid £9.90 for a ‘miserable’ tuna toastie and a ‘crap’ turkey and cranberry toastie.  I’ve never been a great fan of Dobbies, but since it was recently sold by Tesco, it has plumbed new depths in food preparation and presentation.  I can’t speak for the tuna toastie, but it did look ridiculously thin. What I will say is that two wafer thin slices of reconstituted turkey on a bed of pink jam, sandwiched between two pieces of doughy bread do not constitute a turkey and cranberry toastie.  Please Dobbies, get your act sorted out or get out of the kitchen.</rant>

Drove back via M&S to get more food for tonight, then Lidl to get even more food and also, importantly, beer for tonight.  Then it was back home and both of us started cooking.  Scamp making Pineapple Snow and me making bread preparing the roast veg and checking the venison casserole.  Then Scamp back in the kitchen making fruit crumble.  Maybe we should take over the food section of Dobbies, we couldn’t do any worse.

Today’s photo is of the Ninjar in the jungle (AKA downstairs toilet).

It’s still raining

Visitors – 14 March 2017

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So, what of today then?  Jackie was coming down from Skye to stay for a night before going to Embra tomorrow for a meeting, so the painting room/sewing room/back bedroom had to be cleared of extraneous junk, so that would take up most of my morning.

Got stuck in and was doing quite well until Hazy phoned and then I just had to talk to her, so the clearing up was put on the back burner for a short while, but only for a short while, then I decided to hang some of my recent paintings, so that meant some of the older ones had to be removed into storage, ie hidden behind painting board or anything else I could find.  After a few hours work with extra time for phone calls and gallery reconstruction, it was done.  Well, not so much done as there was now room for anyone to walk into the room, find the sofa bed and possibly, only possibly make it to the window without tripping over some essential piece of tech.  That’s when I found that the steam iron had still had some water in its reservoir when I put it down on my PC laptop which was sitting on my printer.  Now both had dripping pools of water.  Oh dear.  The main thing was it was a PC and therefore expendable.  If it had been the MBP it would have been a totally different matter and I wouldn’t have been sitting here typing this.  With the aid of a few cloths and some kitchen paper the disaster was averted – I think.  It still works, but the fan is making some strange noises now.  I’ll leave it to dry out properly before I investigate further.

After lunch which was soup from a Tesco recipe, good, but not great, I floated around waiting for decent weather to arrive and entice me out to St Mo’s to grab some photos. I did get a couple of shots of bluetits on the bird feeder, but they were little more than grab shots. There was a blustery wind and fleeting sun splashes with heavy rain showers in between. Finally, I decided to brave it and just go out into the wild weather and do it.  As you would expect with such blustery conditions, there wasn’t a lot to photograph.  Some ducks and swans on the pond and a couple of deer – too far away to be any use – there was little of interest.  I did get a shot of some trees against an interesting sunset sky, but that was it.  What I did do was a stupid thing.  I ran out of shots on the SD card, so had to delete some of yesterday’s frog pictures.  In doing that, I accidentally deleted the bluetit pictures from lunchtime.  Unfortunately the D7000 does not have and ‘undo’ function.  Thankfully when I got home I found a demo of a data retrieval prog – Diskdrill – that allowed me to retrieve the JPG versions of the shots and save them to disk.  You really need the full version of the app, not the demo, to do it properly, but I still managed it.  Thankfully because they were high resolution images I got some editing done.

Jackie and June arrived and we had Trinni stewed chicken and Scamp’s Pineapple Snow for pudding with chilli sauce.  Delicious again.

A good night after a wild day.  No plans for tomorrow.