Today’s guest picture comes from Dropscone’s oldest son, Dennis and shows a fine aeroplane which he saw at his place of work. It was a bit different from the private jets he usually sees there.
It was a calm, dry morning and after breakfast, Mrs Tootlepedal felt that she had done enough gardening for the moment and suggested a cycle ride.
The weather looked to be steady enough for the immediate future so we set off on a 13 mile tour of the Bloch and Hollows. It was very pleasantly warm and the wind was light but there was enough threat in the cloudy sky not to make me want to stop too often for pictures. I was tempted by this bright red dock leaf….
…and a fungus growing right on the edge of the road….
…but otherwise we just kept going. It was lucky that we did, as it started to rain just as we got back to the town. It stopped again shortly afterwards and let me walk round the garden. Some photographers carry a little bottle to spray drops onto flowers but there is no need for that here. If we can find a flower that doesn’t have drops on it, we raise a cheer.
A brief burst of sunshine made things glow.
And even the moss rose opened out to take in a ray or two.
In the pond, a frog lurked under the weed. I am clearing off the weed a bit at a time but there is still plenty left.
The astrantias have lasted very well but they are beginning to go over now.
After a last look at the marigold…..
…or calendula as I know that I should call it, I went on a clematis hunt.
There are two more which haven’t come out yet and at least three that are over so I suppose you can say that we are well supplied with clematis.
At lunchtime the wind got up….
…and there were some terrific gusts accompanied by frequent heavy rain showers. I tried to pick some blackcurrants but kept on getting beaten back inside as the next shower came along.
After lunch, Mrs Tootlepedal drove off to visit some garden centres and I walked up to the town to do my duty at the Tourist Information Office. To coincide with this, a violent rainstorm came on, so fierce that Mrs Tootlepedal told me that she had to stop because it was too dangerous to drive. I put on my waterproof trousers and clutching a brolly, paddled through streams of running water along the street.
It didn’t take long after I was soggilly ensconced in the office for the rain to stop and the rest of the day was still very windy but sunny as well.
I was interrupted several times today by genuine tourists seeking information and one of them even made an unsolicited £5 donation towards our costs. It made walking through the rainstorm seem quite worthwhile.
The feeders were busy again all day but I chose to picture a couple of chaffinches in the plum tree for those who prefer more restful bird shots.
When I got back, Mike Tinker came round and we had a cup of tea. Mrs Tootlepedal finally arrived in time to join us, having had to make a wide cross country diversion as the main road home had been completely blocked by a traffic accident.
In the evening I went up to Isabel’s to play trios with her and Mike and we chose such sensible tempos that we were able to play some of our pieces not only with accuracy but also with style.
I had a choice of flying birds today but as neither were very good and I couldn’t decide which one was worse, I have put them both in.
I’ll have to clean the kitchen window I think.
There’s no such thing as too many clematis.
That’s an excellent shot of the calendula. Some of them are also called pot marigolds due to the edibility of the flowers.
I have never nibbled one.
I am glad you managed to wade safely through the road-river. What a violent rain-storm! I like the pair of perching chaffinches very much and the selection of clematis flowers are extremely pretty.
I like clematis. This is lucky under the circumstances.
A definite “four seasons in one day” which you managed to pack plenty into, as usual. Hooray for the tourists!
What is that plane? Could it be a Halifax? It looks far too small to be a Lancaster. It’s a wonderful photo with the moody sky in the background.
My plane spotting skills are even less good than my flower knowledge I am afraid.
That makes two of us then!
I’m glad you some tourists dropped by the information centre and you received a donation so that the drenching was wasn’t wasted! The volunteers at information centres I visit do such a wonderful job. It’s such a great welcome when we visit new areas to have a knowledgeable local give helpful advice. While the Internet is very useful, it’s often the “inside” knowledge of the local residents that I appreciate most when on trips. The bird and flower shots are wonderful as always. Summer is when we get our torrential downpours. Winter and spring are very dry here.
I enjoy doing the tourist office when we get some visitors but often the afternoons, when I am on duty, are quite quiet.
The red leaf was a beautiful colour. Glad the cycle ride and the stint at the Tourist Centre both went well.
Sorry Mrs T had a rather alarming drive what with heavy rain and road closures.
That is a lovely plum tree shot.
Glad the music making went well. I was struggling with a Brahms 5tet, where accuracy and style were in short supply!
To those of us who have not had much rain lately, the drops of water on everything look all that more enticing. I think your flying birds are both great and they make it look so easy…
I am sorry about your lack of rain. We have had well over our normal ration this summer.
That’s some strange weather you’ve been having, I’m happy that you weren’t blown away by the wind nor washed out to sea by the torrents of rain. I would miss your blog dearly. I’ve never seen so many clematis before, it’s hard to believe that there are more of them. But that holds true for most of the flowers you show, few of them are grown here.
It was lucky that the heavy shower only lasted for a short time or there would have undoubtedly been flooding.
Someone told me today we have not had appreciable rain since April. I miss it. We have plenty of wind, though. Wind with no rain for months is extra tiresome. I guess I should save my whinging for my own blog. 😉 Meanwhile, I just love your clematis, especially the green and white one at the end of that series.
We have had any amount of rain and a lot of wind too. These last few days when the wind has dropped have been wonderful.
Sorry about the rain catching you out but good news about the tourists. Our flowers have no need of water sprays either at the moment.
We have dried out a bit on the last two weeks.