Today’s guest picture, sent to me by my sister Mary, was taken at Bradford-on-Avon during her recent holiday in Bath.
We woke to wet and windy weather and things didn’t improve much throughout the day. On the plus side, it was warmer than it has been. I didn’t need any excuse to stay off the bike as the cold is still with me so once again, I was able to put some work in on the newspaper index. As my eyes were watering a lot, this involved a great deal of correcting of typos and serious muttering as I went along.
It wasn’t a day for wandering around the garden so I concentrated for a while on my gourmet fat balls. They were going so slowly that I have taken the cage off in an effort to encourage birds of all sizes to come and try them. My plan is not working very well.
It will take a long time for such a small bird to get through the meal.
I was encouraged by a chaffinch showing some early interest….
…but it flew off without trying the product.
I took a picture of a chaffinch in the plum tree for those who prefer sitting to flying birds.
I managed to spend quite a lot of time actually reading the manual for my new phone. It has 129 A4 pages so I expect to have got a grip on at least some of the phone’s possibilities by the time my contract runs out in two years time.
I did manage to take a picture and email it to myself. It wasn’t a good picture but I am putting it in regardless.
As the day went on, a female chaffinch showed some serious interest in the fat balls.
When the coal tit flew off…
…the chaffinch took its place…
I shall be interested to see if she is back tomorrow.
The was a brisk demand for the sunflower hearts and things go crowded from time to time with a good deal of coming…
…and going.
Dropscone has promised to bring round some treacle scones to cheer me up tomorrow. I shall need a bit of cheer as it has been a gloomy week.
In the evening, Mrs Tootlepedal went off to sing in the first performance of the 90th anniversary operatic society concert which was warmly received by the audience. I am going tomorrow night and I am looking forward to it.
As she went off in one direction, I went off in the other with Jean and Sandy to do our usual stint in the Archive Centre. We put another week of the index into the database and for the first time for ages, I have entered more data in a week than the data miners have produced. Only one week more but it is progress. After our work, we went to the Eskdale Hotel and I enjoyed a very good cup of coffee instead of my usual ginger beer while the others took to strong drink.
I apologise for the rather dull posts this week but the medicine that I take to stop my joints giving me gip makes recovery from colds a slow business and there is no way round it. At least I am in a better state than our neighbours Gavin and Gaye who have had to cancel a trip to America to see their son because they are too poorly to fly. That is bad luck.
I caught a flying chaffinch amid the gloom (with an ISO of 4000).
I have been looking through the photographs which Susan, (the indefatigable cyclist whom we met in Nimes) took during her French tour. If you like history, landscape and photography or a potent mixture of all three, you can see them too on her blog at http://susancycling.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/atlantic-to-mediterranean-riding.html
It will take you time to look through them all as she cycled a long way but it will be well worth your while.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Your phone took a very nice picture of the flowers. I hope you feel much better very soon. 🙂
I’m in the same boat with my new phone. They can be complicated. Maybe this cold will fool you and be a short one.
Mr T your blog posts are always interesting. I do hope your cold gets better soon but you havn’t wasted your week despite your poor health. I wondered what all that entering of newspapers was all about. I see now that you assist with archiving. I do enjoy reading about your and Mrs T’s involvement in the community.
A word of caution – I worry that you are turning your feathered friends into fussy eaters. 🙂 However, I do understand because I look after the worm farms at our community garden and I know what little delicacies those slippery little critters enjoy. A bit of rotting pumpkin or melon and they are anybodies!
We tried a wormery but I obviously didn’t get the diet right and it came to nothing. We get more worms in the kitchen compost than I ever got on the wormery.
If you must be sick, during inclement weather is good timing. Hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for the link to Susan’s tour. I will take a look when time permits.
You will need quite a bit of time.
Hooe you’re back on your bike soon. Part way through Susan’s tour – what a seriously long one it is. Wonderful photographs too.
I told you that she is indefatigable. She does take great pictures.
I guess that your solid working class birds haven’t become accustomed to gourmet food yet.
Maybe it is because it isn’t very appetising. Just because something is called gourmet, doesn’t automatically make it good. These are good bourgeois birds living in a quiet part of town well away from the pubs.
Your phone sounds a very superior one with all those instructions! Do hope your cold gets better soon.
Sorry your cold is still giving you bother, hope it goes sooner rather than later. Perhaps Dropscone scones will work magic? Thanks for the perching bird. Well done for reading your phone manual, I can never be bothered so probably don’t get the best out of mine.
I cannot believe that those birds are turning their beaks up at such a spread!
Ungrateful little so and sos but saving me money so I look on the bright side.
Funny how the birds didn’t like the gourmet fat balls. I wonder if that was why they were on offer?
They are going down slowly. I put different ones in today.
I always thought it was Stratford-on Avon. Hey is that where Shakespeare lived?. Georgious picture thanks for posting it 🙂
It was Stratford in Avon for Shakespeare but this is a different place altogether.