Today’s guest picture shows a fine boat on the Trent and Mersey Canal. It was encountered by my brother Andrew as he was cycling along the tow path.
It was a rather disappointing morning as we woke up to be greeted by yet more rain. Instead of cycling, I did useful things like putting a week of the newspaper index into the Archive Group database and finishing off the fund raising cards. This took me neatly up to the moment when Dropscone arrived bearing scones. He had been even more active than I had been and had already visited Carlisle on an errand.
By the time that he left, the day had taken a distinct turn for the better and I was able to walk up to the town to deliver the cards and order fresh supplies of coffee without any need for a coat at all.
After lunch the sun came out and while Mrs Tootlepedal went off to help with the driving for the disabled, I watched the birds for a while…..
…and then took a walk round the garden.
There were others interested in the flowers too.
I took the opportunity to sieve a little compost.
A cycle ride seemed in order but a brisk wind had arrived with the sunshine and not wanting to tax my legs too much, I got the slow bike out, loaded up the cameras and set for a gentle pedal-an-shoot outing up the Wauchope road.
It took me well over an hour to do the eight miles to Cleuchfoot and back but I did leave the bike at the roadside while I wandered about on several occasions. The slow pace suited my knees, which were mumbling and grumbling about doing any cycling at all.
I stopped at Pool Corner to admire a great heap of slow worms…
…which had arranged themselves very artistically.
There was quite a lot of water coming down the Wauchope so I thought that a visit to my favourite cascade might be a good idea. It was a very good idea for me but the light was in the wrong place for my camera and I couldn’t capture the scene at all well.
I tried again at a little cascade further upstream.
There were plenty of flowers to look at as I went along.
Many of them had accompanying wild life.
The road up to Cleuchfoot is very pastoral
..and has an excellent surface!
The celestial artist had been dipping into his palette to paint a splendid variety of lichens onto the stone walls.
Some trees were so covered in lichens that the pine needles had to fight to get through.
As we get towards the end of summer, the brackens start to take over the world, reaching out ever further.
I got home before Mrs Tootlepedal and was enjoying listening to a startling test cricket match on the radio when she arrived. She wasted no time in getting on with the gardening and I went out to help her dig up another row or two of potatoes. They are continuing to look healthy and slug free and should keep us going for some time.
We had some of them in a feta, tomato and potato bake which I made for our tea.
While I was out I had a look at some flowers.
Mrs Tootlepedal spotted that the first calendula of the year had come out.
The wind had dropped and it was lovely wandering around the garden on a warm summer evening though it did give us a slight sense of loss for all the warm summer evenings that there haven’t been this year. Still, one is better than none.
After tea, Sandy and I went up to the Archive Centre but the internet connection was on a go slow so we didn’t get as much work done as we would have liked. We consoled ourselves with a refreshment at the Eskdale.
Just as I typed the last few words of this post, the international Space Station flew over Langholm. Mrs Tootlepedal gets regular emails tellingnher when to expect to see it and it is very punctual. We had a cloudless sky and for once I was prepared, with the camera on a tripod and the correct settings in place. I didn’t have a remote control so there was a slight wobble when I pressed the 13 second shutter release but this is probably the steadiest picture of something travelling at 17,000 mph that I am ever going to get.
I calculate that it travelled 61 miles while the photograph was being taken.
The flying bird of the day is a chaffinch. These seem to have returned to the garden in good numbers after a short absence.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Nice pictures! 🙂
🙂
The water going over the mossy rocks makes me wish I could sit by that scene for a while. We’re very dry again and need rain.
That’s a great shot of the space station. I’ll have to check and see if its orbit takes it anywhere near here.
I think that it pretty well goes over everywhere at one time or another.
I’ll have to try imaging the space station, but usually when it flies over Columbus clouds obscure the view.
Somehow it always gives me the feeling of a celestial bus as it makes its steady way across the sky,.
Wonderful photo of the space station, as well as the close-up of the calendula; the gradations of colour in nature are always so impressive.
I’ve been thinking about your wet and miserable weather. It’s unfortunate that it’s marring your summer, but don’t you often sit inside your snug and dry cottage and appreciate the new end wall?
We certainly do. Almost every day!
Thanks Mrs. Tootlepedal – just saw the ISS soar over Toronto! Have now signed up for alerts! Big thanks to Mr Tootlepedal for the fantastic photos of the flora and fauna and countyside I once called ‘home’ (and always will).
It’s always an honour to give an exile a glimpse of home.
It’s quite something when in August it is worthy of remark that you didn’t need a coat.
Very true.
I love the cascade photos. Your weather looks about the same as ours despite you being in summer and us being in winter.
So I have learned from looking at Australian blogs.
I love your particularly plump bird at the beginning, and the idea of one waiting quite literally on another at the feeder. The slow worms fascinate me; I assume they are actually snakes? And I love the wobble in the space station’s trail, it makes it much more interesting, to my mind.
The slow worms are legless lizards. The wobble does show how useful a remote control is if you want sharp shots.
LC gave me the tip last year on a course to use a delay shot if you haven’t a remote.
Sound advice.
I like the shot of the space station, wobble and all. Are you going to try to photograph the meteor shower next week if weather permits?
I can’t imagine having to wear a coat in August, and here I was thinking about complaining about the heat here, which really hasn’t been too bad this summer.
As always, I loved the photos!
We have hardly had any T-shirt days at all this summer. I’ll have to check the meteor shower out.
I fear you have had the worse of the recent showery weather. Living on the east coast means a lot of the rain has fallen before it reaches here. No raging torrents, so admirably captured, round here!
Great shot of the celestial bus, I must sign up for the timetable 🙂
We saw it again tonight.
Well done for capturing the moment the Space Station flew past.
Some really lovely photos, especially the flowers, my favourite being the calendula.
We are hoping for many more but they are slow at arriving.
I always enjoy the diversity and cleverness of your shots. The cascades look quite impressive, the rounded birds very amusing and the lichen is indeed a beautiful palette. The slow worms were kind to give you such an artistic display also. What interesting creatures they are. Lovely clear macros as usual, Tom.
Thank you for your kind comments Jane.
P.S. Yes, the cricket was rather startling!
To say the least.
The cascades are all looking wonderful and I enjoyed the piggy backed birds of all shapes and sizes. Your space station photo prompted us to locate and download the notification emails, too, but we have little hope of capturing it as you have. The Bean Counter is very much enjoying the cricket as well.
The cruel joke here is that the Australian Ski team has sought advice from the cricketers as to how to go downhill so fast.
I hope you see the space station. We like to watch it any time it goes by on a clear day.
That’s a neat shot of the space station! Wow, we’d never get that sort of shot here, too many city lights to see any stars most times. Very impressive!
They have recently altered our street lights so that they point exclusively downwards and that has helped our night sky visibility a lot
Smart!
It is a great improvement all round.
Despite the rain it sounds like a good day all round.
🙂