Today’s guest picture shows a fence. It doesn’t look much but my neighbour Gavin, who is in California, tells me that it was moved 13ft by the San Andreas fault earthquake of 1906. You can see where it used to be in the background. I think that I would live somewhere else.
It was another in our very welcome series of dry, calm and grey days today and I made good use of it.
After preparing a loaf for the bread maker, I got the fairly speedy bike out and pedalled off up to Mosspaul. The temperature was just in double figures and the forecast was for very gentle winds but there was enough light air moving about in a friendly direction to make me sing like Ko-Ko in the Mikado as I went up the hill.
“Wafted by a favouring gale
As one sometimes is in trances,
To a height that few can scale,
Save by long and weary dances;”
In fact, I felt so good that I pedalled down the far side into Teviotdale and reached 15 miles before turning back. I would have gone further, so benign were the conditions, but there were things to do, places to go.
It was too grey to take a lot of pictures but I thought the tasteful and subdued colouring of the Ewes Hall…
…nicely matched the tasteful and subdued colouring of the hills behind it.
There was plenty of colour when I got home though as the warmer weather had encouraged the crocuses to put on a splendid show, both individually…
…and in groups…
..and not just in one shade of purple, once again singly…
and in clumps.
I didn’t have long to wander round the garden though as there was venison stew to be prepared for the slow cooker and lunch to be eaten before we went off for our Carlisle choir in the afternoon.
Did I mention that the crocuses were looking good?
Other green shoots were available.
The feeders were busy too and I found some time to stare out of the window while i cooked.
|t first, there was no room on the feeder for chaffinches as the space was taken by siskins, greenfinch and goldfinch
They tried…
…but when they did find a spare hole…
…siskins were rude to them.
The feeders have been emptying quite quickly and one of the reasons for that is the arrival of siskins who drop twice as much as they eat.
Mrs Tootlepedal takes a dim view of a siskin’s eating habits as they make her garden untidy.
The robin with the battered face took advantage of this and nibbled on some fallen seed below the feeder.
After lunch, the chaffinches finally got a go at the feeder when the other finches left for a siesta.
The frogs kept up a constant chorus all day in the pond and I couldn’t resist a couple of portraits.
They come in a variety of colours.
We combined our visit to the choir with a little supermarket shopping. It is lucky that we live a good distance away from big supermarkets or I wouldn’t have any money left at all.
The choir practice was led by a substitute conductor as our regular leader is busy with concerts with his other choirs. He is so good that the people who stand in for him have a hard time living up to his standards but the lady who came this week (and who will be back again next week too) was very good – amusing, skilled and patient. The patience is a great virtue when faced with a very large scratch choir with many non music readers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the practice, especially as we were working on two new songs and not going over the competition pieces for the umpteenth time.
As an added bonus, we had some very interesting and attractive weather above our heads to make the drives down and back enjoyable too.
As we are approaching nesting time for birds, I though that it would be appropriate for the flying birds of the day to be an item.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
I have friends in California who say that the earthquakes, droughts, and raging wildfires are the price you have to pay for living in paradise.
The crocuses are beautiful and it looks like you’ll have clematis blossoms before you know it.
I very much enjoyed your California quote. I feel much the same about the rain here.
I’m particularly fond of the siskin glaring at the chaffinch, and of the building which coordinates so nicely with the hills.
It is hard to make a corrugated iron shack look quietly pretty but they have done it.
I’m not sure that you are aware how lovely your crocuses are! It appears you had an enjoyable and uplifting day. I hope you have many more like it.
We are in for a good spell of weather so watch out for more crocuses.
Your clematis is far more sprightly than mine at the moment, but if we continue to have so many record-breaking warm days, it might catch up! That poor wee robin looks as though it’s been through the wars, although it doesn’t seem to have affected its appetite.
If you see it from the other side, it looks perfect. It does seem to be quite chipper.
Great captures, so vivid colors! 🙂
Thank you HJ. It is nice to have some colour back after so many dull months.
That first crocus seemed to be lit by light from within. Thanks for the Gilbert quote, I often have words of his running through my head. Loved the pair of flying birds, most suitable.
I loved the crocus! And, the behavior of the birds is always entertaining. I’m glad that you’re having a stretch of good weather for cycling, and that the choir practices are going well. You still make me feel like a slacker for not doing half of what you accomplish in a day.
But then I don’t have to slave away at a job every day so it would be a crime if I didn’t use my time well.
The crocuses are stunning! You sound very cheerful and I can understand why when you have a day with more gentle weather, spring flowers, a lovely cycle, birds tweeting and frogs croaking. I’m glad I don’t live in an earthquake centre. Cyclones, floods and bushfires are enough for me. 🙂
I think more kindly of our rain when I read about the weather elsewhere in the world. We get off very lightly.
Sounds like a very good day. Great pictures of the crocuses.
The flying pair of the day lifted my heart on a gloomy morning. One day we’ll have crocuses. Meanwhile I’ll just have another look at yours, shall I?
Why not. I enjoy looking at your snow and ice though you may not believe that.
I do believe you. The novelty wears off when a person must walk dogs in it twice a day every day. I have an excellent supply that I can ship to you as soon as I find an insulated carton.
Thank you but it’s all right, you can keep it. It is nice to look at but a nuisance to have all around.
The crocus are lovely. I wish I could keep them for more than a season without gopher attack. Barrels and aide planters are the only way.
Ours are very reliable and come up year after year. Apart from cats, our garden is mercifully not under attack from wildlife.
Stunning crocuses, the yellow ones are as beautiful as purple. Great idea for a flying pair.
Always have enjoyed seeing your frog photos, they pose so nice for you. Any time I see one, it disappears too fast.
These are happy frogs in a very small pond and they don’t have much room to hide.
The thought of you singing as you cycled along made me smile. If I could sing I’m sure I’d sing when I walk. Love the flying brids of the day too.
It gives passers by a shock.
🙂
Wow! Perfect photos of birds! The other pictures are too wonderful.