Today’s guest picture comes from my nomadic friend Bruce who found himself in the Odessa Opera House in Ukraine during a rehearsal earlier this week.
We had a day of two halves today. The morning was grey, wet and windy and the afternoon was grey and windy but not quite so wet. This gave us the perfect excuse for a lie in and a leisurely breakfast, an opportunity which we seized with both hands.
It was one of those days when almost as soon as you have finished breakfast, it magically seems to be time for lunch. My Mediterranean diet theme continued with a plate of sardines on toast.
After lunch, I set up my tripod at the kitchen window and sat back to watch the birds.
A pecking order was established
Male and female chaffinches arrived with commendable frequency.
Goldfinches came too
And sometimes goldfinches and chaffinches came together.
It looked a little better in the afternoon so we put on our coats and hats (and gloves) and set out for a circular walk a little way up a hill track and then back down into the park and home.
The recent rain has filled the Wauchope up and Pool Corner was looking rather sombre as we passed.
We kept an eye for fungus but only saw one the whole way round. It was beside the track up the hill. I have put it together with a peltigera growing on a wall near Pool Corner.
There were plenty of lichens to look at. The pixie cup lichens all seemed to be fruiting. The light was poor and I didn’t have my macro lens with me so the pictures aren’t good but I thought that they were interesting so I have put them in.
I liked this very colourful lichen on the stones beside the track.
I have mislaid my lichen book and my brain so I can’t tell you what it is.
The rain threatened now and again but never came to enough to discourage us so we strode on as best we could, enjoying the views as we got up the hill.
Meikleholm Hill looking very autumnal.
A tiny patch of sunlight falling on the flank of Castle Hill
Once over the shoulder of the hill, we looked across the Stubholm towards Whita.
Although the camera can make it look quite cheerful, we were well wrapped up and needed to be in the strong wind.
The brambles provided a bit of colour as we went down this lane.
We were walking through the park when the sound of splashing told us that a brave horse and rider had forded the river on the other side of the wall. We saw the back of this competent equestrian walking off up the track.
Although it was only about three o’clock when we got home, it was so gloomy that I put the camera away for the day. Things will be worse tomorrow when we will have entered the six months of dark nights as the clocks go back tonight.
In contrast, I will put in two flower pictures which I took yesterday but forgot to include in the post.
Cosmos and geranium, the last in the garden this year.
Two stalwart ladies, Lilian Austin and Special Grandma putting on a late show.
I did have time to go out and see if there were any raspberries worth picking and I was able to fill a generous bowlful for my tea tonight. They still have excellent flavour and sweetness. If we could get a couple of dry days and a little sun, there are plenty more waiting to ripen.
In the evening, Mrs Tootlepedal went off to see a production of Verdi’s Macbeth at the Buccleuch Centre. I like Verdi but you have to be feeling quite fit to sit through one of his more dramatically gloomy operas and I didn’t like the idea of the updated production we were promised either so I lounged about at home in an uncultured way while she took in the show.
The flying bird of the day is a goldfinch at full stretch.
The lichens and birds are very good, but my favorites are the landscape images, if only because I live in the flatland and it’s great to see hills and valleys.
I am happy to have provided you with some contour interest. We have plenty of hills about so I will try to get about more if my new knee works and take some different places.
The pixie cup lichens are very granular. I’ve never seen them like that and neither have I seen anything like the black and orange one. It’s a real beauty!
I will try to get a better picture of the pixie cups if we get a brighter day.
You captured well that feeling as the winter dark closes in on us.
We are drawing the curtains and huddling together for warmth!
So many wonderful images!
You are very kind.
I dislike it very much when the clocks go back though of course our dark nights aren’t quite as long as yours. A nice selection of things to see on your walk and your garden full of birds and bright flowers still
It was much worse when we lived near Fort William so we are not too miserable about it and there are always good things to do in the way of choirs and clubs when the winter months come.
Well said! (The dark mornings are the worst!)
Very nice and colorful images! 🙂
Thank you HJ.
Such variety, Tom.
Thank you Mike.
My favourite is the picture of bramble leaves, I loved the bright colour. By the way it is only 5 months until the clocks go forward again so cheer up.
You are so good at your bird photos.
Having a good zoom lens and a feeder right outside the kitchen window is a great help.
I had to move my feeders down to the fir tree at the bottom of the garden as one of my cats were frightening the birds away!
My smaller cat, Louis, chases the birds but my big cat Tiger has never had any notion to chase them.
It is funny seeing him lying under the fir tree with the birds eating from the feeders without being bothered by Tiger.
We are besieged by neighbour’s cats who dig up our vegetable garden eat our birds if they can. As a result, I am not a great cat lover.
Not all cats kill birds – only one of mine does. Fortunately he does tend to bring them into the house uninjured so I manage to catch them and place in a safe place so they can recover and fly away.
Our neighbours’ cats seem especially find of stalking our birds.
Very impressed that you are still able to pick and enjoy fresh raspberries.
The horse picture is postcard perfect. Interesting that we don’t turn our clocks back until next weekend. Now if only we’d have weather to match the shorter days!
I am glad that you liked the horses because I was quite pleased with the shot myself. Our weather remains quite warm for the time of year so I suppose that I shouldn’t complain too much about how grey it is.
I liked the sunbeam shining down on Castle Hill, great light and shadow. We turn our clocks back this upcoming weekend and I can’t describe to you how much I dread it. I deal with SAD and the long, dark evenings are very difficult. Every fall I say I’m going to invest in a “happy lamp”. I am interested to read your upcoming posts to see if the time change affects things differently in your part of the world and what you will report to us when you can no longer wander round the garden.
I am hoping for an interesting influx of winter bird visitors. These happy lamps are well spoken of so I would be interested if you do try one to see what you think.
Lots of autumn colour in your post Tom and some lovely lichen. For me the clocks going back is a good thing because I will have a little. Ore light on my Saturday morning walk to work at six o’clock and might get to see the sun coming up.
I am glad that it suits someone.