Happy birthday

No guest picture today as there has to be a space for the magnificent birthday cake cooked for me by Mrs Tootlepedal on the occasion of my birthday.  Because of my advanced age, it was impossible to cook a cake large enough to hold an appropriate number of candles so in the finished product, the candle is a decimal fraction of 0.0136986301 (approx) of my accumulated years.

Owing to the distribution among us of dodgy knees and persistent coughs, Mrs Tootlepedal and I had a quiet day today.  I did contemplate a morning pedal but it was a very dull and grey day and the trip to Edinburgh yesterday had been quite tiring so I didn’t contemplate it for very long.

However the weather did brighten up a bit as the morning went on and I was able to point a camera at a colourful show in the plum tree….

…catch a worm meeting its end on the lawn….

…and admire the trim lines of a dunnock under the feeder……and a queue of chaffinches up above.

We were promised a bit of brighter weather after lunch and this indeed appeared so while Mrs Tootlepedal went off to do a little shopping, I took a stroll round Gaskell’s Walk.  At the moment, it is a perfect walk for me, with a level surface, no big hills and at a mile, just about as far as I can go before needing a reviving cup of tea and a sit down.

I had Pocketcam with me and kept my eyes open as I tottered round.

The stones on the park wall were covered in lichen and closer examination shows that there is often more to the white sheets than meets the eye of the casual passer by.

The sun came out as I walked along the track past Stubholm….

…and I liked the soft, late autumn colours of the larches and grasses on Meikleholm Hill across the valley.

I saw a glitter among some moss beside the path.  At first I thought that it was raindrops on the moss but once again, a closer look showed me a different story.

Although I must have passed this spot many times, I have never knowingly seen this attempt at Christmas decorations by a moss before.

There was a variety of fungus and lichen to enjoy as I walked out along the path and back by the road.  Some on wood….

….and some on stone walls
The local sheep kept an eye on me as I went by.

The biggest fungus was this roadside beauty near the old manse….

…but the most interesting thing that I saw beside the road was this ghostly hand reaching out from under a hedge.

I can’t find anything like it so I would welcome suggestions as to what it might be.  There was more nearby.

The Wauchope was quite full but flowing gently as it approached Pool Corner….

…and I took my last two pictures on my walk nearby..

The lichen on the left is peltigera and Mrs Tootlepedal suggests that the little blue flower on the right might be ivy leaved toadflax.

The walk got me home nicely in time to watch Scotland play Tonga at rugby.  Just to be confusing, they were playing at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock which is a soccer ground.  It wasn’t the most exciting game that I have seen but Scotland played competently and won. These have both been quite rare occurrences in recent years.

I did have a quick look round the garden before I sat down to the rugby match.

We still have roses out, though not quite at their best it must be said.

For my birthday evening meal, Mrs Tootlepedal made me a very nice plate of mince and potatoes and then we went out to the Buccleuch Centre to listen to a concert by the Langholm Town Band, to celebrate the production of a CD of their playing.

I used to play in this brass band a long time ago but there is no question but that they are playing to a far higher standard now than when I was a member and I was very impressed indeed by their work.  Although I was very impressed by their playing and ensemble skills, I found the programme rather dull and sadly lacking in opportunities to tap my feet or smile.  This was a fault in me though as I like brisk marches with rollicking bass solos and overtures from popular operas rather than the more serious modern arrangements and compositions that brass bands tend to play these days.

After yesterday’s failure to provide a flying bird of the day, I have got a double take to make up for it today.