Today’s guest picture shows that I was not the only one taking pictures in Marseille. My sister Mary took this shot of L’Estaque from their boat as it headed back to Marseille.
We had nearly as much sun here today but it was a lot cooler with a northerly breeze making sure that I had plenty of clothes on when I took my bike out for a ride in the morning.
Mrs Tootlepedal had long gone off to sing in the church choir and I had spent quite a lot of time doing nothing in particular (but doing it very well of course) after breakfast until I finally got going well after coffee time.
I chose to pedal up the main road to Mosspaul into the light wind with a view to having a swift return downhill with the wind behind. Although the A7 is a main road, it is usually very quiet on a Sunday but it was quite busy today so I had to keep paying attention and I didn’t stop for a photograph before I got to the top of the hill and the turning point for home.
It is an entrant in the ‘Beautiful View Spoiled by Power Lines’ category and may well be a winner.
The return journey was all that I hoped for and I covered the eleven miles home at a whisker under 20 mph without having to expend too much effort.
Thanks to my late start, I didn’t have time to do much before we set off to Carlisle for our choir. I had a plate of excellent lentil soup that Mrs Tootlepedal had made for lunch and then I had a quick dash round the garden.
Dahlias were the theme of the day.
The sharp eyed will have seen bees in all of the shots.
They have slowed down a bit with the cooler weather but there are still a lot buzzing round the garden.
There have been a lot of pink poppies lately.
Mrs Tootlepedal bought me a fuchsia on her visit to a flower show in Birmingham earlier in the year and it seems to have taken well…
…though we shall have to see how it goes if we get a hard winter.
I noticed a dunnock sitting on a hedge while I was out…
…and I had time for a quick look out of the kitchen window just before we left. The pink pellets are obviously a draw for the sparrows.
A new Marks and Spencers food store has recently opened at a retail park on the edge of Carlisle and as we were passing it on our way to choir, we stopped and had a walk round. Its main stock in trade is ready meals whichwe didn’t need but it also has Agen prunes and good dates and raisins so we were not disappointed. When we left, we popped across the road and stocked up on bird food thus hitting two targets with one arrow.
Our choir practice was good, although some time was taken up by a discussion of the results of a questionnaire about the choir which members had filled in. Our conductor went over the points raised and gave us his reaction. The gist of this was that he recognised what fine points had been made and having taken them in carefully, he was going to continue very much as before. As he is doing a splendid job, Mrs Tootlepedal and I were very pleased.
The flower of the day is the latest Lilian Austin rose to appear…
…and the flying bird of the day is a very picture of a sparrow. I was pressed for time and the light had gone by the time we got back from Carlisle..
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Curiously I find the well-placed pylon enhances your photo – you see you can’t but take good pictures. I do often find pylons to be elegant creatures. However, what slightly spoils the photo for me is the unidentifiable thicker black line nearer the viewer. Not sure what it is. (Sorry to be blunt.)
Yet more electricity wires.
I’m glad you’re still seeing plenty of bees. I’m not surprised that they go for such beautiful dahlias.
I love the pink poppies and Lilian Austin’s light.
I don’t know why the pink poppies were so slow to come out in numbers but now that they are, I am very happy.
Smashing dahlias! I love the Dunnock’s beady eye.
I am a dunnock fan.
Loved the new small fuchsia and wish it luck as it grows.
The pink poppies are a lovely colour
Never cease to be touched by the fragility of birds we take for granted, as [for me] beautifully demonstrated in The Sparrow those wings! As always a pleasure Thank you Tom
When you get one on your hand at a bird ringing session you realise just how fragile these little birds are.
Glad the choir questionaire didn’t get in the way too much.
I could always do with more singing and less talk but it is a community choir so the members should have a voice.
It’s great to see the bees, even without sharp eyes. I love the Dunnock. An admirable amount of singing, especially on Mrs. Tootlepedal’s part. Makes me feel like a slacker with one choir.
She loves singing as you may have guessed.
I will be interested in how the fuchsia comes through your winter. I tried overwintering one here outside in the past, with poor results. If yours survives, I may try again.
Your photos are beautiful, power lines or no power lines. The dunnock’s expressive eyes also caught my eye. Good to see bees on the flowers, and lots birds at the feeders.
Our native fuchsia does very well so we live in hope.
Love the sparrows on the feeder or should that be trough! It’s wonderful to see the pink poppies, dahlias, rose and fuchsia all flowering beautifully in October- all that dead heading was so worthwhile.
I thought that the sparrows had arranged themselves most artistically.
Your entrant in the ‘Beautiful View Spoiled by Power Lines’ category is a winner! It’s a shame that such a beautiful view had to have power lines running across the scene.
On the other hand, it’s great to see so many flowers holding up so well this late in the season, I will miss them while they are gone.
Me too. I will have to find something else to photograph.
Lilian Austin seems to be glowing from the inside and the dahlias are looking very pretty. Great shot of dunnock.