Today’s picture shows Dropscone (left) and the rest of the Langholm Golf Club team that lost a match at Innerleithen today. They seem to have taken the defeat well. They appear to be a fine body of men in every way.
We had another unnervingly fine, warm, still day today. This is not the weather we expect in March and we fear that we will be punished by the weather gods later in the year but nevertheless, we are enjoying it while we can.
The birds must be enjoying it too because they are out and about and not hanging around our bird feeders any more. There was a single siskin this morning.
Apart from that there was nothing to photograph.
Mrs Tootlepedal went off to church to sing in the choir and I spent the morning peacefully snoozing in my armchair in front of the telly, an unheard of thing for me to do, as I regard TV in the morning as the work of the devil….especially on a fine cycling day like today. Nevertheless, I needed some recovery time as I was very tired when I got up and the relaxation paid off because when Mrs Tootlepedal returned from church, I was ready for fun so we set off to have lunch at a pub on the southern shores of the Solway.
When we got to the sea, the shore was lined with anglers, each with their rods resting on little tripods. The sea was some distance away but by the time we had finished our lunch, it had arrived.
They seemed so regularly spaced that we thought it must be a competition but very few fish if any seemed to be caught while we watched.
We had a traditional lunch of roast meat and veg in the garden of the Hope and Anchor at Port Carlisle and then parked by the shore. It had seemed a pity to waste some really flat country so we had packed our bikes in the car. Now we got them out and set out to do a very gentle bicycle ride.
Our route was a simple rectangle, south, east, north and west.
Port Carlisle is so called because it was the sea end of a canal linking Carlisle with the Solway. We crossed the route of the canal soon after we left the car.
The sky was hazy and there was no chance to take pictures of the wonderful views of the Lake District or the Solway which we would have been able to see on a clearer day. I had to settle for a tree instead.
View or no view, it was a lovely day for a leisurely pedal along quiet lanes and we enjoyed ourselves very much. The flat terrain allowed us to achieve a speed of 10 mph for the 9 mile trip without even trying which made the whole thing even more satisfactory.
We parked the bikes when we got back to the car and walked down to the water’s edge.
The tide was right in and the weather was so calm that it was more like being beside a lake than the sea.
With the salt marsh grassland meeting the water and the haze making the far shore almost invisible, it was a distinctly other worldly experience and we just stood quietly and savoured it for a while. Then we returned to the car and drove home. The new northern Carlisle bypass made the trip exceedingly painless and we arrived home feeling that we had had a really good day out.
The clocks went forward last night and so there was still a lot of the day left and I had time to sieve another bucket of compost and Mrs Tootlepedal did some useful hoeing in the eternal battle to keep unwanted plants at bay.
The daffodils along the back path are coming along strongly now.
There was the occasional chaffinch about.
And a starling was calling and flapping on a wire at the back of the house.
One of neighbours has been doing up a derelict shed on the other side of the dam and his wife was sitting in the evening sun watching him work.
Her husband peeked shyly round the shed door.
The renovated shed is a great improvement to the scene at the back of our house and well worth celebrating with a can. Their dog looked on.
It really is strange weather for March.
I had a last chance to snap what was the busiest moment of the day at the feeders.
Then all that was left was to try to come to terms with the new clock times which is a thing that gets harder and harder with age.
Tonight’s chaffinch is a chaffinch. There was little alternative.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
nice photos
The quiet country roads look like a very nice place to cycle.
A drink of cider while/after working is just the thing. We are hoping for lots of apples on our two trees this year so we can make a another batch. Our first turned out rather well and we are just coming down to the last few bottles.
It took me more than a week to adjust to our time change.
You have done well to make them last so long!
Cool tree, and those shore pics are very interesting shots!
I like pine trees.
I find your blog extremely soul-soothing!
I consider that a great compliment, thank you. I can quite believe that your soul needs an occasional soothe and am glad to be of service even if unintentionally.
As described, your day sounds really ideal, I wish I had been with you on your lunchtime outing including the gentle pedal which I might have been able to manage. You made the very best of the day.
What a splendid day. I have changed my username but am still the same sister!
Looks like a great spring day up there. Enjoy it while you can. It’s good to see that your neighbors are sensible people, too, keeping themselves well hydrated during their hard work!
Sadly my new medicine and anything more than the slightest drink don’t get on.
So much to see, especially when you’re not the one doing the driving. I notice a lot more when I’m just along for the ride. Those hedges, for example – the ones in the Tree Photo. Are those wrapped around a stone wall core or are they just very, very dense shrubbery? (Hedgery? Ooh, I like that word, whether it’s real or not.)
Very nice acrobatics by the female chaffinch at the Busy Feeder.
They are tightly clipped and look so solid because the clipping has been recent. Later in the year they will look more natural. Hedgery can be a bit of a menace to cyclists as it can leave a bed of thorns on the road.
The salt marshes are beautiful. That’s a wonderful ride.