Today’s picture is another from my sister Mary’s visit to Kew Gardens. This shows a nice display of orchids in a conservatory.
The weather has turned rather grumpy at the moment and just when we should have been going off for our morning ride, it started to rain and after a quick phone consultation, Dropscone and I called the pedal off by mutual consent. The same chilly easterly wind was blowing and it is bad enough being out in it without getting wet as well.
I was able to get caught up with the business of putting the newspaper index into the database which was very satisfactory. The turn for the worse in the weather has been a handicap to cheerful photography but very good for doing routine tasks that might otherwise find themselves at the back of the queue.
I also spent a bit of time getting used to my two new music notation programs and was able to make some progress towards getting the results I require without bursting into tears of frustration along the way.
The rain came down lightly for most of the morning and it wasn’t a great day for looking out of the window but I found a moment or two.
You can see why chaffinches tend to monopolise the flying bird of the day pictures. They are much more inclined to hover than the other visitors.
As you can see from the pictures, there were times when the rain was so light that it didn’t show up but there were also times when it was heavier and I was pleased to be in a warm dry house.
While I was watching the birds, I noticed a small yellowy-brown object scuttling across the lawn. It turned out to be a frog searching for the pond.
It looked much paler than the ones who have already got there.
Mrs Tootlepedal was working in the morning as her colleague is still signed off work but she came back from lunch in vigorous mood and as the rain had stopped, she suggested a pedal.
I agreed and went to get well wrapped up in case it started to rain and we went off up the Wauchope road. Mrs Tootlepedal was in the mood for something different so we turned off the main road onto a very potholed road to Cleuchfoot farm. We went through the far yard and onto the unmade up road along the Logan Water.
This is a lovely valley but there wasn’t a lot of time to admire the view as the eye had to be kept on the road. This section was one of the better bits. We came to a track that leads up to the forestry road over the hill and into the next valley. I told Mrs Tootlepedal that it would be very steep to go up but she was undaunted and set off up the hill. It didn’t take long until we were both daunted by the steepness of the hill and the bumpy going and we had to resort to walking for a couple of hundred yards. My new belt bike has many merits but it doesn’t have either the tyres or the gears to go up steep rough tracks.
We were able to look back at the road that we had just left.
We soon got onto the forestry road and it was in very good condition so we sailed up the hill.
From the top of the hill, we had a last look back…
…and then plunged rather sedately down the other side to Westwater. I didn’t stop to take any more pictures because the road home was directly into the wind and it was very chilly. Still we enjoyed the eleven mile trip and it made a change from our more usual road only routes. I was much less tired today than I was yesterday but I still found it necessary to have a little lie down before I felt strong enough for tea.
In the evening, I went to the Archive Centre with Sandy and Jean and the work that I had done on Sunday to make the computer behave seemed to have paid off and we had a trouble free evening of work and got a lot done. Sandy showed us some very nice pictures which he had taken at the feeder station yesterday. You can see them too if you visit his blog.
The flying bird of the day, not surprisingly, is a chaffinch.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
What a very energetic bike ride, well done both of you. Glad you are coming to grips with the music programmes, they sound very tricky.
I’m glad that you pressed on to the top of the hill, the view from there is lovely even in the mist!
My sister Susan once pointed out on a visit that even when it is pouring with rain, the scenery still holds up well so a little mist it shrugs off.
I liked the picture of the frog in motion. Glad you and Mrs T had an enjoyable ride in spite of the weather. You are both very energetic!
I love the orchids. We have a few orchids. Today, the weather is nice in Málaga (22º C). Greetings!
Lucky you.
Interesting to see some photos of the rougher roads in your area. It’s still very scenic.