Getting the wind up

Today’s picture, taken yesterday by Dropscone on his golfing jaunt to Craigielaw on the east coast, shows veteran golfer George Sadler in full flow on the tee.

Dropscone said it had been fine but windy for his golf but it was nothing to the wind  here which has been extremely gusty all day.  I did think of cycling during in one lull but by the time I looked out of the window again, the lull was over and so was any thought of going out to face it.

Dropscone was unavoidably detained at home so I invited Arthur and Bruce to come round and share in the task of wading though the cake mountain.  The bonus for inviting Bruce was the company of his furry friend, Duncan.

We did good work on the cake demolishing front and even Mrs Tootlepedal joined in when she returned from a short spell at work.

After our visitors left, I had leisure to stare out of the windows and in spite, or perhaps because of the stormy conditions, the feeders were a hive of activity.

Goldfinches were out in force

The goldfinches seem to rank above chaffinches in the pecking order.

That having been said, the chaffinches certainly got their share of the seed from the feeder when the opportunity arose.

There were a good many chaffinches content to live off scraps on the ground under the feeders.  I hadn’t realised until I bought a camera just what a handsome bird the male chaffinch is.

Once again I should note that the camera and the photo editing program make the day look a lot more pleasant than it was.  For some reason though, the light was a lot better for catching birds in motion today than it was yesterday although both days felt much the same.

The female chaffinch is not so showy but has a charm of its own.

I wonder if this one is a young bird.  It has a childlike air about it.

I have put the fat ball fortress back on to discourage jackdaws from taking them all and I was surprised in the midst of all the flapping to see a robin sneak into the cage.

It looks as though it needs a good feed.

For the first time in the day, a few sparrows returned to the feeder while I was watching and I expected the chaffinches to leave in disgust but oddly, they weren’t discouraged at all.

There was just as much action at the nyger seed feeder.

The chaffinches and sparrows can’t use this feeder as their beaks are too stubby.

The goldfinches love this stuff

The competition grew so fierce that one gave up and resorted to eating peanuts.

You can see what I mean about the fierce competition

I got some use out of a miserable day by putting a week of the E and L into the database and testing the capabilities of my new scanner.

Really bad news

As I sat down to write the last bit of this blog after returning from the Archive Centre, I began to hear the familiar splat of water on the windowsill in the front room.  Whatever our recent work may have done, it has not cured that leak.  As I write, Mrs Tootlepedal is sending an anguished e-mail to the architect.   It is a foul night with rain and strong winds and our mood easily matches the night.

This is a pity as I had come home feeling cheerful after a good night’s work with Jean and Sandy at the Centre, followed by our usual refreshment at the Douglas.   Sandy said to me as we parted that he thought the weather would test the new works and I had laughed gaily and said that the rain was not nearly bad enough to give us trouble.  Pride comes before a fall…..and the windy, wet weather is forecast to continue for a few days yet.  Dash.