Today’s guest picture comes from my sister Mary who was on my brother Andrew’s birthday trip at the end of last month. This is the Severn at Worcester.
We had a beautifully sunny morning here. There was still a bit of snow around and as I had to go up to the Moorland Feeders to act as a fill-in feeder filler, I was a bit worried about icy roads and parked the car and walked the last section.
I needn’t have worried as the road was pretty clear…
….but with views like this….
…it was a pleasure to be on foot anyway.
The bright sunlight brought warmth to a zero degree morning and shone through the window when I sat in the hide after filling the feeders…
…but it was no help at all for taking photos so I snatched a shot of a blue tit…
…and headed home.
It was easier to watch birds there and I was pleased to see the return of a brambling. It conveniently perched in front of a male chaffinch in the plum tree so that readers can get an idea of the similarity and the difference between the two.
Then it politely moved on for an individual portrait.
I spent some time taking badly lit pictures of flying chaffinches…
…and finally found a chaffinch and (the same?) brambling who were kind enough to find a little sunshine for me.
The dam bridge repairers had got their pump going and had installed a pipe to take water over the works.
They have set up a little coffer dam on the upstream side of the ex-bridge and when there is enough water behind it, the pump leaps into action and sends it over the road and on its way.
After lunch, the sun disobligingly went in but Mrs Tootlepedal and I still went out.
We chose a three and a half mile route through the town, up Hallpath past a very mossy wall indeed…
….(where I could happily spend time poking about on another walk) and then along the path above Skippers Bridge….
…through the oak woods….
….then down through the birch woods…
…past all sorts of exciting things….
…until we got back onto the road beside the Esk.
We passed a gate which has a very ornamental stone surround but no wall at either side of it. It must have been a meaningful gate at one time as we noticed that it has a benchmark engraved into its surround.
I took the inevitable picture….
…and then we crossed the bridge and walked home along the Murtholm track, which is well supplied with catkins.
Then we took Easton’s walk, which had a small but elegant icicle patch…
…and finally, we went through the park and got home.
After a cup of tea, we settled down for a quiet time.
When the working party had gone home for the evening, I nipped out to check on the progress on the bridge.
Bridge? What bridge?
In the evening, Mrs Tootlepedal went off to the Buccleuch Centre for a screening of Tosca and I went to the Day Centre for the first meeting of the year of Langholm Sings, our community choir.
Another tenor has joined the choir so I took the opportunity to sneak off and join the basses. I had a good time, particularly because I was sitting next to my cello playing friend Mike. He is an excellent fellow to sit beside as he is very musical and sings well. I could relax and follow his lead.
On the minor injuries front, I can report good progress. My face has healed up enough to let me have a shave today. This was very welcome.
Through the good graces of Photoshop, I managed to find a bit of colour on one of the chaffinches from this morning and he is the flying bird of the day.
As you can see, the lawn is still covered with snow.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
A nice walk indeed. Do you mean to say you sing both tenor and bass and do fine in each? That’s quite the feat and most welcome in any group, I would think.
Doing fine is relative. I can just about manage but with weak very high or very low notes at either end of my natural range.
In some groups, that’s better than what is on offer otherwise.. or it can just make that little difference to help the folks next to you hit the right note I was the soprano section leader in a community group a few years back, and it was more due to me having discipline and a good ear as opposed to me being able to do much singing beyond my second-soprano range.
I can read music and count which helps
I can too. My sightsinging is mediocre but exists, and the more I practice the better it gets.
Your sister’s picture is stunning! What a view! It is great that your face is healing well.
I am pleased (even if I don’t have to look at it).
Brrrrr! Looks so cold! And I dare say, that is I think one of your finer shots of a flying bird.
Thank you.
Glad your face is healing up well and good to know that you got a chance to sing bass, so important for a choir to have a strong bass line to buoy it up. Lovely pictures of birds posing in the snow.
Very nice wing positions of the flying chaffinches. What cooperative birds you have! 😀
They do their best. 🙂
I like the gate to nowhere and the mossy wall.
Your landscapes are looking more like ours with the snow in them. We got another 6-7 inches today.
I’m glad your injury is healing. I don’t like not shaving either.
Your title reminded me of the song “Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs so I had to listen to it while I read your post. I’ll thank you for that.
If we got 6-7 inches here, we would grind to a halt as we are not used to that at all. I am glad that the title pushed you in a rewarding direction.
Snow makes a good bird background.
I wish we had bramblings!
I look forward to you revisiting that mossy wall.
That was a well deserved cuppa after being out in the snow.
A cuppa is almost a;ways welcome…..especially with a cream tea if there is one about. 🙂
The work on the bridge looks like it is going apace. I liked all your bird photos today and the pictures from your walk are very attractive. How nice to be able to join the basses. My husband has just joined a choir and is singing bass too. Unfortunately, he isn’t too impressed by the music they are learning.
That’s the thing about choirs. You have to take what you are given. I am a limited range baritone so I can sing tenor or bass equally indifferently.
Seems like you’ve been very inspired lately. Your gallery of photos are pretty good. 🙂
Thank you HJ. The longer days help a bit.
What a cooperative brambling 🙂
And rare!
Lovely picture of the brambling – and of the snow up by the bird feeders.
What a pretty, unassuming bird the brambling is. Gorgeous photos today…couldn’t pick a favourite😊
It is good to see the brambling being appreciated.
You have outdone yourself with the amazing bird photos today. I especially enjoyed the gate to nowhere photo as I have been reading about Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie. The stone bridge and moss covered stone wall are very nice, as well. Glad to hear you are being sensible about being adventurous and recovering nicely.
The cold, snowy weather rather than any outbreak of good sense is responsible for my moderate activity. 🙂
Bramblings are so beautiful!
I agree. They are handsome little birds.
I liked the photos of the blue tit and brambling, which added a little variety to your usual excellent photos of the birds seen at your feeder.
I’ve seen gates set in stone walls similar to the one in this post, but always at a cemetery to mark a family plot, and there doesn’t appear to be a cemetery in the area of the one that you saw, so I have no idea what it would be for, it is quite attractive though.
It is not at all obvious what the gate was originally for but there must have been a track behind it at some stage.
Fine Brambling shots – always good to see.
Your bird photos are always a treat. It was good to see the chaffinch and brambling together. Both are handsome birds, although the brambling is a bit showier.
The bird flight sequence is superb, Tom.