Hard work

Today’s flower is very late flowering Rhododendron. Mrs Tootlepedal says you can expect this late flowering now and again.

I went round the morning ride today but only after putting in a week of the Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser index because I had not done this task yesterday. The ride itself was good. I tried very hard and the wind was quite helpful so I managed a respectable time, averaging exactly 16mph. The only drawback was that I was rather overdressed as the weather had looked a bit threatening as I set out. However, as often happens, the weather had brightened up by the time I was five miles down the road and then the sun came out as well. As a result, I was overheated and when I weighed myself while I was showering, I had lost a noticeable amount of weight. I expect a large plate of raspberries and ice cream in the evening will have restored normality.

I spent most of the afternoon either sieving compost in the garden or editing sound files and pictures for the Heritage DVD. I did find time to mow one of the lawns with the mower rescued from the scrapyard. It worked well. I even edged the lawn with the strimmer afterwards.

In the evening I prepared five photographs for a competition class at the forthcoming agricultural show. You would think this would be quite straightforward but it took me ages and I think the end result could be improved upon in terms of picture selection, photographic quality and printing skill. It’s my first attempt and we will see how it goes on Saturday.

While I was doing that, I took the opportunity to clean up this picture of a coal tit which has recently been visiting our feeders. It is difficult to get a good shot because they are very lively so you need a very fast shutter speed and good light. I discarded at least ten before I chose this one.

Now I have got another week of the E & L index to put in before I go to bed.