Well covered

Today’s guest picture was sent to me by my flute pupil Luke’s mother and shows a spectacular fire on the hills near Langholm which she saw this afternoon.  If it was part of the customary heather burning, we hope that they had it under control.

It was another lovely day today so it was  a bit of a pity to spend it indoors but the chance to sing Mozart’s Requiem had not come my way before so it couldn’t be helped.

I had a quick moment to snap one of the ubiquitous garden blackbirds before we left….

…and then it was off to Carlisle.  I would have taken the opportunity to add many tasteful and beautifully composed shots of the Cathedral and its environs to this post if only I had managed to put the card back in Pocketcam before I left home.  Ah well.

Mrs Tootlepedal spent a very happy day wandering around the town making useful and economical purchases while I rehearsed so we both had a good day.

I had been very nervous about the singing and this nervousness was enhanced by finding that I was one of only about ten people in a choir of over ninety who had not sung the work before.  However, I found an excellent singer whom I knew to sit beside and a young music student who was extremely familiar with the work sat straight behind me so I was literally and metaphorically in a very good place.

We started at eleven and had two hour and a half spells of practice and then a performance at four o’clock.  This was quite hard work but the pleasure of being able to sing confidently (for the most part) was very great and the whole experience was most satisfying.

I met Mrs Tootlepedal for lunch in the middle of the day and she came to the performance which she enjoyed.

It was still a lovely day when we got home and I took a moment to wander round the garden.

Mrs Tootlepedal really likes this combination of tulip colours outside the kitchen window.

They are set in the midst of the early daffodils.

I like the red tulips in the back bed, especially when the evening light shines through the petals.

The daffodils are eager not to be overlooked just because the tulips have come out.

There was a bee buzzing round the pulmonaria.  I wonder if it is a trick of the light or does it only have one wing?

I can’t imagine that a bee can fly with one wing missing so it must be the light.

Another new flower has come to join us.

Mrs Tootlepedal tells me that it is Ladies’ Smock or Cardamine

The garden was still full of blackbirds.

It was such a lovely evening that the light was still good enough for a late cycle ride but I foolishly sat down for a moment and inadvertently fell asleep.  Who knew that Mozart was so tiring?

There were no flying birds in the evening so today’s flying bird was caught while the feeder was still in the shadows before we left for Carlisle.