Today’s guest picture, sent to me by her mother, shows you-know-who surprising her by suddenly peeking round the door.
The day started in familiar fashion, cold and windy and wet. I had to take my brolly with me to walk home under after I had delivered the car to the garage to get the winter tyres changed.
Mrs Tootlepedal resolved to make a dull day brighter by painting the back stairs but was foiled when the paint she had recently purchased turned out to be irretrievably lumpy.
She had to go back up to the town and this suited me, as she was able to deliver some Archive Group postcards, which we sell to raise funds, to the local paper shop which saved me another walk in the rain.
While she was out, I put another week of the newspaper index into the Archive Group database. I was relieved to find that it was working perfectly well this morning so yesterday’s problem must have been at the web hosting company’s server.
At some stage, the rain relented enough for me to go out to see what was going on in the garden. The most interesting thing was a very calm blackbird pecking at the coconut shell about three yards away from me.
By the time that I got back in, the blackbird had been replaced by a rook.
When I looked, the plum tree had several rooks in it.
Although rooks look rather fierce in profile, they look quite cheery when looked at full face with their fluffy haircut.
All this and a crossword took me up to lunch. This was sour dough bread and Stilton cheese, a delightful combination. The forecast offered a break from the rain for a few hours so, as I was feeling good after my lunch, I got out the fairly speedy bike and resolved to see how my legs were.
They were in an excellent mood and I enjoyed twenty miles of vigorous pedalling. The day had warmed up a fraction and the wind was noticeable but not annoying so the outing was a pure pleasure.
When I got home, the weather was still holding so I went to see if the nuthatches were still nest building.
They were.
The light wasn’t very good so having made sure that they would still be there on another occasion, I walked back home by way of the Sawmill Brig and the Kilngreen.
I passed the first really good bunch of primroses that I have seen this spring.
The Sawmill Brig, which was damaged by a falling tree in one of our winter gales, has been just repaired.
I wonder how long it will take for the new stone to blend in.
A wall nearby was glowing with orange lichen. Knowledgeable folk may say that these are blue green lichens but they look quite orange to me.
I stopped on the Kilngreen to enjoy a nougat wafer ice cream from Pelosi’s ice cream van (and some invigorating political chat with the vendor while I ate it). Mr Grumpy was not happy about the views expressed.
It grew a bit chilly so I walked on passing a preening oyster catcher…
…and two sparrows on a hedge.
I looked for fresh flowers in the garden when I got back.
When I bought some bird food yesterday, I also bought new feeders and I tried one out today. It was very popular right from the start…
…and it appealed to goldfinches who soon had it colonised.
In the evening we went off to sing with our Langholm choir. The tenors had a testing evening with some close harmonies to cope with but we enjoyed ourselves in between grimacing at our mistakes.
The flying (or possibly diving) bird of the day is one of the rooks leaving the plum tree.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Pelosi’s ice cream. Probably the best in the world. It was in the 1950s.
It’s still not bad at all.
Peekaboo Matilda! Good to see Mr Grumpy and I like the diving rook and the other one with a fluffy haircut.
Peekaboo indeed.
Oh my – I award the rook a 9.5!
And I say Peekaboo Matilda, too.
A 9.5 is generous. Thank you on behalf of the rook.
A sweet, beautiful photo of Matilda! Love all the photos, especially of the local birds. You have a knack for catching their moods and expressions, especially Mr.Grumpy. The orange colored lichens are interesting. Members of the blue-green lichens they say?
I think so.
I wonder if Matilda is getting camera shy.
I can’t tell if the orange lichen is a lichen, slime mold, or algae but my color finding software agrees with orange.
That looks like a well done job on the bridge. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes the lichens to colonize the new stone.
It might well be algae.
Rooks can look quite threatening in profile but they are really quite amiable birds. Greedy pests as well. That is a very nice clump of primroses.
I was impressed by how strengthy it looked.
I think the rooks are beautiful birds – handsome profiles, and their wing feathers look like capes to me. The second wee sparrow is peeking up a bit like a gopher!
It has a gopherish look about it, it is true.
My first primroses came out in November, and my garden is now gloriously awash with them…along with celandine, forget-me-nots, and grape hyacinths. Some call them weeds of course, but in my wildlife garden all are welcome.
You are lucky. We are still on hold as we can’t get any decently warm days to move things along.
A vibrant pose today from the FBOTD!
They come in all shapes and sizes.
Any post with a photo of Mr. Grumpy is always a treat. Maybe he wouldn’t be so grumpy if there were a Mrs. Grumpy this time of year.
I loved the photos of the rooks and nuthatch as well. The day may have started poorly, but it looks as if it turned out to be a nice day for you.
Any day is improved by a Pelosi’s ice cream.
Glad technology was working, loved the diving rook and was pleased to read that your legs took you on an energetic cycle ride.
Love the rooks.
They are striking birds and could rule the world if the did but know it.
good for you getting out. I do miss being able to sing in a choir. I used to love it but have throat problems now so had to give up. Still that means more time to sew and cycle so it isnt all bad.
I have only just started singing after thinking (and being told ) that I couldn’t sing so it is all new and exciting for me.
Lovely picture of Matilda peeking.
Diving rook shot is a splendid FBOTD