Dogging our footsteps

Today’s picture, sent by Bruce from North Berwick, shows the North Berwick Fire Station.  Sadly it has just suffered a catastrophic fire as you can see.   Only someone with no manners would find this funny.

Another sub zero day and another visit to the gym, courtesy of Dropscone.  I felt a lot better today and managed to keep the rpm up to 80 and the pulse mostly under 140.  My MP3 player was out of charge so  while I was pedalling nowhere for the hour, I just had to sit and think.   I used the time to consider possible openings for a toast I am giving in January.  Dropscone kindly pointed out that it was no use me having wonderful thoughts if I couldn’t write them down because I would be  sure to forget them.  He is probably right.

Sandy joined us for coffee and we arranged to go for a walk afterwards.  This meant that I didn’t have a moment to stare out of the window in the morning.   We left Mrs Tootlepedal painting the kitchen cupboard doors.  They will take a day or so to dry properly.

We hadn’t got far on our walk when we were joined by two border terriers who were taking their owner on the same route as us.

The track was slippery and we had to walk with care.

To our right, the hillside was sprinkled with hardy hill cattle.

The sun had cleared the snow off this side of the hill.

We soon left the track along the fields and plunged into a conifer plantation.

Virtually nothing grows under these trees. They have had the lower branches taken off to make them grow straight and tall.

We crossed the Becks Burn and climbed through the wood on the other side.  We were heading for the sun.

The view back towards Whita when we came out was worth waiting for.

A house beside the road was ideally placed to make the most of the winter sunshine.

I’m sad that our house points exactly the wrong way for us to be able to use these devices to cut our carbon use.
Across the valley, a farmer and his son were going to tend to their sheep using the universal form of farm transport round here.

They are called quadbikes here but as a pedant has pointed out, they should be called bi-bikes or quadcycles.

We walked down to join the road beside the Wauchope, wondering why these berries in the verge had survived when most others have been eaten.

As we passed the Wauchope churchyard, a buzzard circled slowly above us.

Then we were almost home. The still waters of the river at Pool Corner held our attention and I couldn’t decide which of the two pictures which I took there I liked the best so in a self indulgent way, I have put both in here.

When we got home, Sandy went off to have lunch and meet a friend and I sank into a chair and snoozed after the efforts of the gym and walk.  It took Mrs Tootlepedal some time to finish the door painting but when she was able finally to put her paintbrush away, we had lunch and then I walked up to the town to do a bit of business.

I had hardly got home again when Sandy rang up to suggest a quick trip to Gretna.  I was busy cooking some venison mince for our tea at the time but as Mrs Tootlepedal kindly offered to supervise the final stages, I was able to take up Sandy’s offer of a lift and we were soon on our way.  Once again, the sunset over the Solway was well worth a look.  I shot this picture through the front window of the moving car.

The starlings never disappoint though we were a bit too close to them to get the best pictures tonight.

We think we have seen a better place for starling photos and next time we go down we will see what we can do from there.

The venison mince turned out well and we had it with mashed potatoes for a nourishing evening meal. Then it was time for Sandy to turn up for a third time and we went up to the Archive centre to do some work.  Jean wasn’t able to come as she had a sore back but even without her help, I got through a fair amount of database work.  We enjoyed a drink in the Douglas afterwards as usual but I carelessly left my computer glasses there and I am typing this with my nose pressed to the screen.  I apologise for any typos that have sneaked past me.

For those of a curious mind, a visit to Sandy’s blog will show the pictures that he took today. Compare and contrast, as the examiners say.

I am fortunate to have such friends as Dropscone and Sandy who keep me so well entertained.

At some stage in the day, I managed to snatch a moment to glance out of the kitchen window.

I thought that I had managed to catch a chaffinch just as it took off from the plum tree but annoyingly, it went off in the wrong direction.

As a result, the non standard flying bird of the day is the soaring buzzard from the morning walk.