Today’s guest picture comes from Venetia. Although a cat lover, she was rather taken by Beethoven when she met him a couple of days ago. As a musician, she might have been influenced by his name of course.
The day started off in a chilly but sunny manner and I was wakened by the clatter of scaffolding poles. I went out to find that the scaffolding men had removed the top layer of our house coat and revealed the early stages of the new chimney pot.
Although it was sunny, rain was forecast and fortunately one of the builders turned up and wrapped the chimney up before the rain came.
The chimney naked and clothed
Dropscone also appeared before the rain. He brought a hoard of hot cross and Chelsea buns with him which put the kibosh on my Mediterranean diet almost before the day had started. He came by bike and had to scoot home before the rain started to really pelt down.
There weren’t many birds about and considering the weather, it was surprising that there were any at all.
Some seem to deal with the wet better than others.
A chaffinch looking remarkable cheerful…
…and a goldfinch looking utterly miserable.
I made use of the rainy day to practice Mozart’s Requiem. I have rashly agreed to sing this with a friend at one of these one day scratch performances next month. I may well have bitten off more than I can chew but the internet offers all sorts of assistance with practice so I will do my best.
In the afternoon, Eric, a fellow tenor from our Langholm choir, came down and we put in some useful time working through the trickier tenor parts of our repertoire. It is at moments like this that I wish that I had had the patience to stick in at my piano lessons when I was young.
Still we enjoyed ourselves and when we met again at the choir in the evening, there were definitely pieces where the practice had paid off.
By the time that Eric left, the sun had appeared again and it was a pleasant if chilly day. The brisk wind discouraged me from cycling so after a quick walk round the pond…
Frogs of the future
…I set out for a walking tour of the Kilngreen. There was no sign of Mr Grumpy, the heron and not a single gull was to be seen either. The resident ducks were very much in evidence and I very nearly got a good picture of one in flight.
Just a wing tip out. Ah well.
I walked home via the Castleholm, where I got a clue as to why the birds have been scarce in the garden recently.
It has been a rich year for cones.
The skies clouded over and spots of rain made me reluctant to linger so I tucked my cameras under my coat and upped my pace.
I was nearly home when the sun came out again so I slowed down and extended my walk up to Pool Corner.
There was enough water going over the caul there to create a nice little stopper.
I found another rather pretty blue lichen on the wall beside the pool.
I thought about going further but I didn’t trust the weather and turned for home while the sun was still shining on the town.
After our tea, Mrs Tootlepedal and I went off to the Langholm Sings practice. The choir is getting better organised all the time and it is also sounding better so the practice was rewarding and satisfying.
There is a pause in the building works while we wait for a plumber to some lead work on the new chimney but we hope that work will start again in a couple of days.
The flying bird of the day was an oyster catcher at the Kilngreen.
Nice duck and Oyster catcher! 🙂
I like oyster catchers and ducks. You always know where to find them.
I’m amazed by the blue lichen.
I have only just noticed one or two recently.
I love that shot of the frog eggs and the river waves remind me that our snow is melting fast enough to create a few waves here as well. I’ll have to have a look tomorrow.
That blue lichen looks very much like the blue ones that I see here, but that are only blue in winter. In summer they are dark gray, and I wonder if yours will change color as well.
I like that shot of the duck, clipped wing and all.
I think that the lichen will change because I don’t think I have noticed that colour before.
The duck is a beauty and I loved the shot of the water on the caul. I sang the Mozart Requiem a few years ago – so beautiful! Fortunately with Mozart, he gives everyone a tune of sorts so it’s easier to learn than the vocal gymnastics that some composers write for the altos, tenors and basses.
I hope that this turns out to be true.
That goldfinch couldn’t look more miserable if he tried! But, that doggie has the sweetest face ever!!
Dogs know how to get treats.
Great shot of the duck, and pool corner looks very dramatic. I am sure the work on the Mozart Requiem will be well worth it.
A very varied day but the photos are great.
It was better than I thought that it would be.
The duck photo is very pleasing to the eye – that flash of colour on the wing, the glint of the water…nice!
I was very sad to have missed the wing tip.
Mozart Requiem: that’s you and me both. When I learned that the local chamber choir – conducted by a friend of mine – was to do one of my favourite choral works at the end of April, I indicated my interest in joining in. It’s great discovering the work from a new angle – as a tenor!
It very high for me!
As always, I love the bird photos – I have made it my goal to try to photograph some of our wild ones and I keep trying but I obviously need more practice or a better camera – alas. I don’t know how you do it!
A good camera with a reasonable zoom lens is essential though you should have better light than us. And the birds have to be quite near to you. They are very small from a photographic point of view ….except Gutsy of course.
Oyster catchers are lovely birds.
Forgot to say that Beethoven is a lovely dog.
🙂
The frog spawn is a real sign of better things to come. Spring is in the air!
We are on hold at the moment after a few promising days.