Category: weather

A change in the weather – 19 August 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A distinct change in the weather this morning. Much cooler than recently. Is this the gentle slide into Autumn I asked myself? Or is it just a cool day and the sun will return tomorrow?

It was dull and cloudy when I eventually got up and dressed and there didn’t look as if that was going to change very soon. Maybe it was just a rest day for the sun. It had been working very hard for most of the summer and it deserved a rest. As long as it didn’t forget to come back.

Lots of wee birds fluttering around the Rowan tree, presumably hoping the bird feeder would magically refill itself. Well, it did manage to refill itself, but it was me who filled it, not magic. To encourage the big fat pigeons to stay away from the bird feeder, I left a handful of seeds on the lid of the compost bin and that seemed to do the trick. The wee birds got some food and so did the big one. There’s probably a moral in that story, but I’m not sure I’m the best person to untangle it from my usual stories.

In the afternoon I managed to fix another email address which leaves only one on the old computer and possibly three still to fix on the new one. We’re working away at it making small changes and hoping they will stick. Scamp finds the most devious ways to work between computer and iPhone and get things to turn out the way we want them to. Thanks again Scamp.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s just before dinner and although there wasn’t much to look at, I did find a little thin green spider just finishing wrapping its dinner up on it’s web. I really needed a longer lens to capture it properly, but thankfully Lightroom came to the rescue and enlarged the photo so the details were visible. The spider got PoD.

The fruits and berries are ripening well ahead of schedule now after all that heat and sunshine. Today it was a bunch of Rose Hips that drew my attention. I think this must be the best year ever for fruits on the trees and in the garden. Yesterday we pulled four or five little red strawberries in what was meant to be the raised bed. I’m afraid that after about twelve years of wet and dry, it’s becoming rotten and will need to be replaced soon. Almost all the kale I planted has now shot (or Bolted to give it the proper name) and will soon be chopped up for the compost bin.

Mince and Tatties for dinner with a few slices of pickled beetroot, just because it was sitting there. Absolutely delicious!

I’m hoping to go for a walk with Alex tomorrow. Nowhere grand, probably just a walk round Glasgow. Scamp is hoping to entertain Annette while I’m out.

 

Yet another hot day – 18 August 2025

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Out to the dentist in the morning.

I was lucky to get an appointment at the dentist. I had my six monthly check last week and today, a week later, I had one of my teeth filled. Not for the first time either, it’s the second or maybe the third filling I’ve had for the same tooth and it’s all my fault. I just keep probing the repaired tooth and occasionally I’ve bitten down on a hard sweet and cracked the tooth. I’ve now had a “good talking to” and for the next week I’m banned from chewing anything tougher than an apple. I’ll do my best to comply.

So it was that lunch was half a nice soft Ginsters pasty. Scamp had gone shopping after I returned from the dentist. I was attempting to solve a couple of problems that were still lingering with the new iMac. It’s beginning to look more like a usable machine now, not just a bag of disconnected parts.

After lunch Scamp started to clear out some of the clutter we’d built up over the years. Many sheets of ancient documents and invoices went into the shredder and then into the compost bin. Chopped up paper apparently makes great compost when mixed with vegetable and fruit in the big black box at the back of the garden.

While she was doing that, I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got a photo of a Painted Lady butterfly that became PoD. They are occasional visitors to Scotland, but are less rare now than they were.

Scientists have discovered that the Painted Lady butterflies do indeed migrate south each autumn but make this return journey at high altitude out of view of butterfly observers on the ground. Radar records reveal that Painted Ladies fly at an average altitude of over 500 metres on their southbound trip and can clock up speeds of 30 mph by selecting favourable conditions.

We were dancing Rumba at Kirsty’s class. Very slow and precise and quite enjoyable in this hot weather. Kirsty taught three separate parts of the routine and then encouraged us not to dance them in order, but to take them in any order the leaders chose. No directions, but the leaders had to guide the followers by hand pressure alone. I found it difficult and demanding, but worth practising at home. Our one hour slot just disappeared!

Tomorrow I believe we may be taking some stuff to the Council tip. Especially if Scamp has her way!

 

 

Drilling in the Sun – 17 August 2025

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The whole thing started out because Scamp wanted a hook to hold one of her sweeping brushes for use in the garden.

I’ve had an old Black & Decker with two NiCd batteries for what must be 20 years now, if not longer. Anyone who has used NiCd batteries will know how quickly they lose their charge. I’d been looking for a better drill for some time. A DeWalt for preference. Today I got one. It feels better balanced than the Black & Decker and hopefully it will last as long as the old B&D, but with better electronics. And yes, Scamp did get her brush hook. Now she’d like “ A few more things done in the house.”
No Comment!

Both of us took the folding chairs out and sat in the front garden with a book and a drink or two until we had cooked enough. Then, when the heat got too much we headed for the back garden where there was more shade.

Dinner tonight was Sea Bass with Potatoes and Sweet Corn. Dessert was a Peach Melba Trifle from Lidl at the new Westway retail park. So much cleaner and cooler than the overcrowded one in St Maurice’s Gate. Badly named, because it doesn’t have any gates!

We spoke to Jamie later and heard about the Birthday Barbecue. Really glad you had a good time, Jamie.

PoD was a photo of “Kelly Anne”. A pretty pink geranium, closely related to Rozanne.

I’ve deliberately not mentioned computing today. I’m having a day off from it. Tomorrow I may dive back in and try to workout where I am.

Also tomorrow, I’ve a dentist’s appointment in the morning. Fillings will be the order of the day. Just in case she need to drill it out a bit first, I have a DeWalt drill she can borrow!

Connections – 15 August 2025

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Scamp was out at FitSteps in the morning as is usual on a Friday.

After her exertions in the exercise class she went to meet Isabel for coffee. I can’t believe we’ve been calling her “Isobel” for years and nobody told us we were wrong, but as Scamp says, it’s not a thing we really think about. Anyway, apologies to Isabel.

Isabel was joined in the coffee shop by Shona and I was so glad to hear that. Two women blethering would have been bad, but three would just too much. Guys, just think of all that cross-talk going on for an hour or so!

<Technospeak>
While the ladies were blethering over coffee, I was worrying over the new iMac. I keep my Lightroom catalogs on an SSD, and I wanted to try making the catalog more versatile, so that it could be used on two computers at a time. I was worried that if I was swapping catalogs between computers, the data would get corrupted, especially if the two computer were running different OS versions. Eventually I decided to bite the bullet and try it. Surprisingly it worked perfectly. Another problem solved.
</Technospeak>

Eventually the ladies broke up. Isabel was going shopping and Scamp and Shona were heading to Broadwood Farm for lunch. Thankfully Scamp phoned me just as I was finish the test on the SSD catalog and I agreed to meet them at the restaurant. Restaurant is maybe too fancy a word for Broadwood Farm. It used to be pretty poor, but recently after a fair bit of upgrading, it had some better menus and decent food. Also, because I was not driving today, I could have a pint of Tennents!

Scamp had Fish ’n’ Chips and Shona had Mac ’n’ Cheese. I was the odd one out, not having a ’n’ meal. Instead I had a Traditional Carvery, which was a couple of slices of turkey, a Yorkshire Pudding, with a couple of chunks of ham. It was fine for what it was. The cauliflower cheese was a bit lumpy and the stuffing was made from cardboard, I think, but it filled a space.

Shona wanted some drinks to take to Ben and I wanted a box of mini ice lollies. Scamp drove Shona home and I walked back home. It was another warm day again. I’m getting used to this heat now, just as long as it doesn’t go mad and climb up into the mid 30s Centigrade.

PoD was another photo of a Red Admiral on what’s left of the white Buddleia bush. I think that might be the last of those flowers until next year DV.

Tomorrow we’re not going dancing in the morning, but may go to the evening dance.

Just a normal day – 13 August 2025

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But a normal day, with extra heat. Hottest temp recorded on Scamp’s phone was 30ºc.

We went shopping at Tesco and then started filling up the new fridge. Once that part was looking more like we’d expected, Scamp started on the old freezer. We managed to get most of the food transferred and the freezer too looks better.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s later in the afternoon looking for some photos. What I found was hundreds of butterflies. Mostly Peacocks, but also a few Red Admirals. I don’t think I’ve seen so many butterflies in my life before. I know I’ve said that before, but it really is a remarkable sight. I made sure I was well protected with Smidge, from the clouds of biting insects that I was sure were waiting in the wings.

Despite being surrounded by butterflies this afternoon, they didn’t feature on PoD. That honour went to an Emerald Damselfly that I saw clinging to a grass stem.

When I got home, Scamp and I had a seat in the garden for a while with a Soda & Lime each. Then from nowhere came a little sprinkle of rain. We took the seats in and the rain stopped. So my chair went back out while Scamp stayed in the house to take a call from Annette. Again those sprinkles started. They never got really serious. Just drips from the clouds but maybe a sign of things to come.

Thunder showers are predicted from tonight until midnight tomorrow. Maybe they will cool the weather down and we’ll get some comfortable sleep.

I’m not saying we’re looking forward to tomorrow, but we are looking forward to hearing the result.

Another hot one – 12 August 2025

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Temperature reached 28º which is very hot for us Northern types!

We were going in to Glasgow to do some shopping today, but instead of driving in, we caught the train instead. I was looking for a pair of trainers and I think Scamp was just checking out my ability to walk past the Apple shop without going in! In the end I couldn’t find a pair of trainers that I liked and was willing to pay for. Instead, I tried on a pair of Scarpa Terra GTX walking boots. Exactly the same boots I bought in 2022. They have covered a few hundred miles since then, and were worth every penny.

We walked down Buchanan Street after I’d bought the boots and listened with a couple of hundred others to the massed pipes and drums of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo band. It actually was quite stirring music and it drowned out some terrible ‘singing’ from a few street buskers. All the pipers and drummers were in full dress regalia who must have been really uncomfortable in today’s heat.

We had lunch in Waterstones on Argyle Street and were surprised with the quality of the Tuna Croque. I must remember to introduce Alex to it sometime. Pity the coffee wasn’t quite up to the same standard.

We caught an absolutely mobbed train home. It was heading for Edinburgh for the final Oasis concert and had the feel of the crazily overcrowded train we’d been on after Christmas. Glad we weren’t going far on today’s one.

The temperature in the car going home read 31º, but that was mainly because we were parked in the full blast of the sun. Not that there was any shade anywhere in the car park.

We ended up sitting in the garden when we got back, drinking Soda Water and Lime and being surrounded by clouds of butterflies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many butterflies in one place before and definitely not in our garden.

PoD went to a photo I took in Caffè Nero in Glasgow. It’s a combination of two photos and it took me a while to remember how to join two photos together to get the effect I wanted. However I did eventually remember and I was pleased with the final result.

Tomorrow we may go shopping. Nothing special, just Tesco shopping for the messages, to fill up the new fridge/freezer.

The Rose – 2 August 2025

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Scamp loves roses and this is one of the best.

The rose is the Comte de Chambord, a beautiful pink rose with a lovely scent, but watch out for those thorns. It made PoD.

Another day of fighting against the new iMac. I know you’re probably fed up with it and so am I. Eventually I took Scamp’s suggestion and spoke to somebody, somewhere, I have no idea where, but he, it was a man, has found me a slot in the Apple Store in Glasgow tomorrow afternoon. I’m taking a notebook with me which I hope will be filled with suggestions for solving the problems I’ve had, when I get home.

The rest of the day was a dull Saturday that turned into a comfortably warm one. Scamp and I took turns at watering the garden. First she watered the back garden flowers and veg, then I did the same for the front garden. I’m sure the flowers will appreciate the refreshing water and ‘The Compte’ will be one of them.

Lunch was going to be at Wagamama in The Fort, but we didn’t quite make it there and resorted to Fish Fingers, Egg and Spaghetti for dinner instead. If you have nothing else to eat, you won’t go wrong with FFE&S. Unless you are Hazy!

We watched the qualifying for the Hungarian which turned out to be a less than exciting way of passing an hour or so in the early evening. Hopefully the race will be better, tomorrow.

The new iMac is now all wrapped up ready to go to Glasgow tomorrow. Scamp may go to a utilities sale, also in Glasgow, looking for a good deal on a freezer, a fridge or a combination of the two while I speak to a ‘Genius’.

It’s a busy week coming up with Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday all spoken for in one way or another.

Sunday looks wet and Monday looks very windy. Let’s hope the flowers survive the week.

Just a little rain – 27 July 2025

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Not torrents of rain, but just enough to keep the plants watered. That’s all we want.

Not a busy day by any means. A fairly easy Sunday. The most work I did was to sew a button on my walking trousers. I can never work out how to direct the needle into the correct buttonhole. It’s such a simple thing, but it evades me every time. I finally got it done and it’s in the washing bag now ready for a shower.

Scrambled egg for Scamp’s lunch. I also had a scrambled egg, but that was unintentional. It was meant to be a fried egg, but the egg had other ideas and eventually I gave in and let it have its way. I added a couple of rashers of bacon to keep it company. The bacon wasn’t scrambled.

In the afternoon Scamp an I went for a walk to the shops and on the way back, I took a walk through St Mo’s while Scamp carried the messages the remainder of the way home. She had some cleaning to do in the house and I was looking for inspiration. I ended up with just a couple of reasonable shots of what might be sycamore keys hanging from a branch. That became PoD on a dull day.

Dinner was Chicken and Pea Traybake which Scamp made for a change. It tasted better than mine, I think. Possibly it was because she used bigger chunks of leek and probably she’s just a better cook than me.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening halfway through a boring F1 GP from Spa. I managed to pick his brains about his coffee maker which I might splash some cash on some day in the future. I also explained my reason for getting a new computer. The old one I’m writing this on is really going downhill fast and it can’t be upgraded. Apple can be such a pain in the backside sometimes.

Hoping for a little bit more rain tomorrow and maybe another shopping expedition to Tesco. What fun!

A bunch of flowers – 26 July 2025

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It was a dull day and these flowers helped brighten it up.

Like I said, it was a dull day. We’d intended going to Dunfermline on the bus, but I hadn’t slept very well last night and Scamp told me to have another hour in bed. That hour became two and I knew we weren’t going to make Dunfermline today. I think it was all down to the dreaded
Buyer’s Remorse, in fact I’m sure of it. It happens to me a lot. After I’ve bought anything, I immediately regret it after the confirmation that the money has gone through comes in. In a couple of days it will be fine, I’m sure.

Instead of Dunfermline, Scamp decided it would be a good idea to cut the front grass because it looked like rain was coming according to both our phones and for once the phones got it right. Only a few minutes after she’d finished cutting the grass, the rain arrived.

After the rain stopped, I drove up to Tesco to get some messages. On Thursday, Scamp presented me with a cookery book, ’30 Minute Mowgli’, and some of the stuff was to make tonight’s dinner, which was Spinach and Chickpea Curry. Lots of spicy stuff but it did take considerably longer than the 30 Minutes.

Cooking took my mind off the Buyer’s Remorse and although the food looked a bit like the recipe’s picture, it wasn’t really impressing me. That was before we plated it and started into actually eating it. I thought it was really, really good, and Scamp agreed with me. Now I’ve a feeling we’re going to be taking turns at investigating the other recipes in the book. Why Mowgli? Because that is the name of the restaurant we’ve been going to in Glasgow.

The bunch of flowers were today’s PoD. The rose on the right is ‘Simply the Best’ the other two roses are ‘Golden Wedding’ and the bunch of white flowers at the back are Gypsophila.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Walking with the bees – 25 July 2025

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Other insects were also there. Some stingers, some biters and some that just buzzed round my head and deserved a good slap for annoying me.

Before that, Scamp was out early as usual on a Friday, to go to FitSteps. I decided to stay home and do some work for a change, mainly because it had started raining. Before she left for her class, Scamp gave me instructions for using the new liquid for the washing machine and when she left I emptied all the dirty washing into the washing machine and set it chugging through the load.

Next I’d some clearing out to do on the iMac. Just some old files that I no longer needed. The oldest were no longer suitable for the eight year old iMac, so must have come from its predecessor, the Mac Book Pro, running Snow Leopard! I think they must belong to the clockwork version. I also managed to check the security files, passwords and such. Before I knew where I was, the washing machine beeped to tell me its work was done for the morning. That meant I had to hang up the washing inside as it was still raining.

Lunch was a ‘Piece in Corned Beef’. I’d forgotten I had some in the fridge and didn’t want it going to waste. By then Scamp had returned hot and bothered after a heavy exercise session with Kirsty and the rest of the girls. She made some corrections to my handling of the damp clothes. I will write it up some time soon to ensure I don’t make the same mistake another time.

I went for a walk down to the shops by the convoluted paths round the back of St Mo’s school since the pupils are still on summer holidays. However it was the bees that grabbed my attention. I’d doused myself well with Smidge insect repellant first and walked down the narrow path with shoulder high wild flowers on both sides and it seemed that every plant was covered with bees searching for nectar and being covered with pollen as a result. I made the mistake of setting the camera to Continuous Shooting which means that if you hold the shutter button down, it will just keep taking photos until it has filled its buffer or you remove your finger. Even on ‘slow’ mode I still managed to capture 70 photos in a short time, most of which ended up in the bin. Today’s PoD was a White Tailed Bee feasting on a Creeping Thistle flower.

Dinner was beans, and chips with an egg for Scamp and a couple burgers with chips and jalapeños for me. A fairly decent dinner.

The rain had drifted by the time I was walking down the path behind St Mo’s and the sun shone for a while in the early evening. Not a bad day.

Nice to see where you are staying Hazy and Neil. Pity about the birds messing on the seats. Be more strict with them and tell them to clean up their act!

Possibly going to Dunfermline tomorrow.