Today’s guest picture comes from the world’s greatest baby’s other grandfather. Matilda is requesting some more demanding mental arithmetic and her mother is trying to think of a suitable question.
I didn’t have to think what to do today as it was perfect for cycling and I had nothing on my calendar to do instead. I should have thought a bit more carefully before setting out though as I forgot to take my asthma puffers and as a result found my pedal a bit harder than it should have been. I realised after about two miles that I hadn’t taken them but I was too lazy to go back so the harder work served me right.
Still, it was a good day out, with light winds and a well chosen easy 55 mile ride. I even managed to find a short section of back road near Clarencefield that I hadn’t cycled down before so that was a bonus.
I had Pocketcam with me and stopped to take the occasional picture as I went round but my legs were in a recalcitrant mood and started arguing if I got off and on the bike too often so I didn’t take as many as I would have liked. I even managed to cross the river Annan at Hoddom without taking a picture of the bridge there, which I think is a first for me.
Here are some that I took.
I had stopped for coffee at Hoddom because I didn’t know whether the pottery and art cafe at Dalton, which has good coffee, would be open. It was but I passed by, pausing to wave at their picturesque cow.
I stopped at the church at Ruthwell….
…where I was hoping to go in and look at the 8th century Anglo-Saxon Ruthwell Cross but the door was locked and I didn’t have the energy to go and ask for the key so I cycled on.
I stopped for my lunch on a handy bridge parapet near Cummertrees.
The holly bush beside the bridge looks as though it may be in demand around Christmas time.
My final stop was too admire a touch of autumn beside the A7 a few miles from home.
When I got home, I was surprised to find Mrs Tootlepedal busy in the garden.
To lend her a hand, I sieved a barrowful of compost after I had had my shower. Sieving compost is even more fun than turning it.
I should have mowed a lawn or two but I wasn’t up to it mentally or physically and had a wander round the garden with my camera instead.
And plenty of bees and hoverflies too
The rambler rose came out today to join the Wren.
The birds are very scarce at the moment so I took a perching chaffinch just in case I couldn’t catch one in flight.
I did manage to catch a flying bee near the delphinium.
In the evening, I added some tootling to my earlier pedalling. First my flute pupil Luke came and we had a good lesson and then I took my new flute up to play with Mike and Isabel after tea. It is so much easier to blow than my old flute that I was able to play for much longer before falling off my chair. This was very was gratifying. I am really motivated to practise seriously but being motivated and actually doing it are not quite the same. We shall see.
After playing, we had some discussion about the absence of birds. Isabel has also noticed the drop off at her feeder and she puts it down to raptors disturbing the small birds. This is one possibility that I had thought of too.
I did get a flying chaffinch after a fashion today.
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The two birds came out bright and sharp with a nice bokeh too! 🙂
Thank you HJ. The zoom lens often provides good bokeh whether I want it or not.
I’d love to explore that castle. I thought the round cabin was a bear trap at first glance.
Do you let the Virginia creeper climb? They’ll climb just about anything.
It is on a low fence so it doesn’t have anywhere to go. I have seen them cover a whole wall of a house.
I enjoyed your cycle ride very much and liked the perching chaffinch and flying pair as well.
Thank you Clare.
I enjoy your posts, and today’s gave me a bit of a chuckle. I will share your “Attila the gardener” comment with my dad. His health doesn’t allow him to be very active, however, my mom is still very active. Each Spring and Summer she spends a lot of time outdoors, and my dad grumbles about her never knowing when to quit. We live in the Land of the Midnight Sun, so it’s not hard to get into outdoor activities and not realize the hour. I think dad will enjoy looking at your photos, and will surely give a little chuckle at your Attila jest. Thank you for blogging daily, I look forward to it, and I have started in your archives as well…
You are very brave.
Sorry about the indifferent coffee; one of the most abhorrent crimes as far as I am concerned, but that seemed like a small glitch in an otherwise successful day out. The photos are wonderful, as always.
There is no excuse for bad coffee when it is so easy to make a reasonable cup.
Exactly! And to charge you for it is the ultimate insult!
Whew, no photos or lengthy explanations about sieving compost, as I’m still not fully recovered from the excitement of the compost bin post from a few days back. 😉
Seriously, loved the photos from your ride, they’re all so good that I can’t pick a favorite.
I didn’t want to get the readers too excited.
Sounds like an excellent day for both tootling and pedaling. I loved the Virginia creeper and the words you put into Matilda’s mouth, very funny.
Impressive to see Matilda enjoying her times tables at such a young age.
And impressive to hear of your long bicycle ride which you seemed to make light work of despite absence of puffer. Lovely colours in your garden.
Something about “easy 55 mile ride” seems like an oxymoron to me. But, I am thrilled to see the advanced level of math the world’s greatest baby is up to. She’ll be able to bring around the vote in no time!!
She is a promising kid.
You can have a hard 55 mile ride as I had with the minister last week or an easy one like I had on this occasion. Honestly, cycling is a pain free way of getting about.
You had a good ride. I love the cow.
It is unusual.