Today’s guest picture comes from my sister Mary. She and my brother Andrew visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels on their recent rip to Belgium.
We woke up to another sunny day here, with no sign of early morning frost. We made the best of the morning by setting to and getting the big vegetable bed ready for potato planting. After lying under plastic and cardboards all winter, the bed needed to be weeded and gently dug over, before home made compost and garden centre farm manure were spread where the potatoes will be planted. I sieved the compost and Mrs Tootlepedal made everything very neat when we had finished.
A blackbird kept an eye on us as we toiled, and popped in for snacks whenever we paused for a moment.
Her friend sat on the hedge again.
This took us all morning, with a break for coffee and a quick look at the birds. It was comparatively quiet when I first looked out . . .
. . . but things soon hotted up . . .
. . . and chaffinches flew in from every side, sometimes to a chilly reception.
After the gardening was finished, I had a quick walk round before I went in for lunch.
After lunch, there was just time for me to go for a three bridges walk before we took a visit to Annan to see the dentist and do some shopping.
I had hoped to see waterside birds, but they were very scarce, perhaps because of a dog walker playing with his dog at the water’s edge. I did see a wagtail making off up the river at the Kilngreen . . .
. . . and two mallards exchanging views about intrusive photographers . . .
. . . but otherwise I had to make do with riverside cherry blossom and various spring pictures on a sunny day. It was no hardship.
I always like to check on the noble fir on the Castleholm.
At this point of my walk, I caught up with my friend Margaret Pool, and we chatted for the rest of the way back.
I got home in nice time to get ready to go to Annan. We used to be able to visit our dentist for free in his surgery in Langholm. Now, thanks to progress, we have to drive twenty miles to pay for a visit to see him in his surgery in Annan. The visit went well, though I will need to go again next month for a small filling (and a big bill).
While we were in Annan, we visited a supermarket and bought what felt like enough food to feed a small army for a week.
We got home just in time to cycle round to the Buccleuch Centre to attend an illustrated and very educational talk on peat restoration and carbon capture organised by the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve people The talk was given by a couple of people from the Crichton Carbon Centre in Dumfries. It was a real eye opener. One of the interesting things that the talker told us was that he knows a contractor who is currently damming up drains on a peat moor that were dug by his own father a generation ago when government grants encouraged the destruction of the natural environment.
We were ready for our evening meal when we got home after what had been a busy day. We even washed it down with a small can of Italian beer shared between us. High living.
The flying bird of the day is a female chaffinch.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Love the shadow of the goldfinch in your fifth bird picture down, clear enough to show its tiny claws
I see what you mean.
Ooh, you have trillium! Here we have a giant variety that grows wild in the woods.
Mrs. Mallard looks rather sardonic. Perhaps she and the Mr. weren’t feeling photogenic when you passed.
Dentists seem to be expensive everywhere. I don’t understand why dentistry is somehow set apart from healthcare, as though teeth weren’t part of the body. I suppose it’s more lucrative for the dentists this way.
The last labour government signed a very poor contract with dentists which made it very hard for them to make a good living treating NHS patients. Everyone knew this shortly after the contract was signed but no subsequent government has thought fit to do anything to change the situation and free dentistry is gradually fading away as a result.
Lovely to see the blossom – and of course the birds as usual. That talk does sound interesting.
We were agreeably surprised by how interesting it was. The Carbon Capture people really knew what they were talking about and have already done some amazing work.
Which is why it was interesting – people passionate about their work.
Exactly.
That sounds like a very informative talk on peat restoration and carbon capture.
You should have a fine crop of potatoes after all that hard work.
Splendid pictures. That looks like textbook gardening and very interesting changes in peat care.
The potatoes are certainly off to a good start, no doubt about that.
When people had to burn peat to keep warm of course they’d want it dry but thankfully those days are over. Canadian peat is still big business here though, used mainly as a soil conditioner.
The blossoming trees along the river are beautiful. Our flowering trees are doing well this year too.
We used to cut peat to bun in our own fire when we first came to Langholm. We feel bad about that now. The drainage on the moor wasn’t to dry the peat for cutting, it was probably part of the maintenance of the grouse shooting business.
Always nice to see the birds partying in your garden, this time the blackbird itself got some extra snacks… 😉 It looks like the weather was wonderful, both for gardening and for walking. Good luck with the potatoes, the vegetable garden is taking shape again.
The soil is beginning to dry out and warm up so Mrs T should be planting things out soon.
A selection of beautiful photographs today!
Thank you. Some sun is a great help.
I am sorry to hear about the long drive and big bill for dental care.
I enjoyed your spring selections. There is nothing like flowering trees and bright flowers, along with birds and sunlit hills. I especially loved those white trillium blooms. Thank you for including my favorite view of The Lodge Walks, too.
In another week or two, the Lodge Walks should be looking at their springy best.
Those cones are good enough to eat! An interesting day in better weather showing the beautiful blossom and the spring views of nature. Potato plot looks excellent. I’m very envious of the visits your family make to all these wonderful places- thank goodness for their lovely photos!
I would like to travel more but it takes a lot of time if you don’t want to fly.
The gardening industry over here does not seem concerned about peat, which is very strange to me after seeing the concern about it on all the British shows. Our peat comes from Canada and surely can’t be inexhaustible!!
Cutting peat for gardening use is very bad for the environment. Peat is a fantastic carbon store.
The USA needs to get on board with this. It is tiresome to live in such a backward country. Well, you know I feel I was born on the wrong side of the pond.
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