Today’s guest picture comes from my brother Andrew who was bowled over by this burst of colour as he walked through the Nottingham Arboretum today.
I had a good day today. The weather was kind when I needed it to be kind and it only rained when I was safely back indoors watching rugby. Even the rugby was kind when after a rather nerve racking first half, Scotland ran away with the game against Fiji.
In addition, I seem to be completely recovered from the minor ailment in the middle of the week and my leg is steadily improving, though it has to be said that it is steadily but slowly improving.
Still, it was well enough for me to set my old fairly speedy bike up on a turbo trainer in the garage and have a couple of careful five minutes of pedalling to nowhere during the day. Alert readers may recall that the fairly speedy bike has a crack in its frame and worry about my safety but with no potholes to go over and no log lorries to fall off in front of, I am confident that the frame can stand a little light stationary pedalling. Time will tell though and if you hear a strangled cry, you will know that I was wrong.
I had had quite an energetic day yesterday so I took the morning quietly and spent time watching the birds.
After a bright chaffinch start….
…things turned gloomier for a while….

…and I was treated to a spectacular last minute handbrake turn…
Then the chaffinches were superseded by a small flock of goldfinches who showed a regrettable lack of courtesy towards greenfinches…
…and towards other goldfinches.
I took yet another coal tit picture, partly because I like these little birds…
…and partly to record the fact that we seem to have two pairs of regulars in and around the garden at the moment. I hope that they stay for the winter.
As the forecast was for rain later, I went for a walk in the early afternoon before having a late lunch.
I included a short hill in my walk for the first time since pulling my muscle and was pleased to get to the top without making things worse. From there I had a gentle stroll along the Stubholm track.
I had chosen a good moment for a November walk…
…and I got an early hint of Christmas from some cheerful holly berries beside the track.
I could look down and see the Community Centre where Mrs Tootlepedal would spend the afternoon with her Embroiderers’ Guild group and beyond it, the suspension bridge, the Langholm bridge and the Sawmill Bridge over the far two of which I had taken my flat walk on Friday.
For the most part, leaves are now on the ground rather than on the trees…
…though as I looked across the Murtholm fields towards the Round House, a few patches of colour were stubbornly hanging on.
There has been enough rain lately to get the little streams flowing freely off the hill and into the Esk.
I walked back home across the Beechy Plains beside the river…
…were every other tree seemed to have a mysterious message for me written in script lichen.
Other lichens were available. This one was on the cut end of a felled tree trunk above the path.
I was happy to see that keen volunteers have been renewing the route signs on the Langholm Walks posts. This one is in the park.
It makes the walks look more inviting when the waymarkers are bright and new.
I got back to the house just in time to wave Mrs Tootlepedal goodbye as she went off to embroider.
There are still a few select blooms about in the garden.
But very few.
Once home, I had scrambled eggs on toast for my lunch and settled down to watch the rugby. It is a tribute to the capacity of the Scotland rugby XV to make terrible mistakes that even with a lead of thirty points and only a few minutes to go, I was still feeling slightly nervous that something bad would happen.
It didn’t though and Mrs Tootlepedal came home so all was well with the world (as long as I didn’t watch the news).
I rounded off the day by cooking myself an evening meal of pan fried lamb’s kidneys in a spicy red wine sauce on a bed of rice. Happy days indeed.
The flying bird of the day is a greenfinch.
As a footnote I add the information that Mrs Tootlepedal is worried about the dam that runs behind our house. There has been a report that there are plans afoot to fill it in. When it looks as gentle and inviting as it did when I went on my walk today…
…you can see why she would like to stay as it is.
A day full of interest for your readers with birds, colour in the garden and all the special things you saw on your walk. I particularly enjoyed the little stream.
Why would ‘they’ want to fill your dam in? Though haven’t ‘they’ just spent public money on renewing a bridge over it?
Different ‘ theys’
They simply must not fill it in. That would be terrible.
I’m all caught up on your blog! The advantage of reading late is also getting to read the many interesting comments.
I may not reply to all your comments !!
Aah.
Glad to hear you’re feeling chipper. Excellent bird captures!
Thank you Donna.
I’m glad the leg is doing better. The walk was full of interesting things. I don’t recognize that antler like lichen but our trees look like yours.
It’s great to see flowers in Novermber even if they are few.
I think the dam is interesting and adds a lot of interest to your yard. It’s always nice to have water in a garden.
I want a stately home with its own canal and fountain.
Don’t we all!
I’m glad that your leg pain is subsiding and healing. Your pictures look pretty good too! 🙂
Things are looking up.
The birds are beautiful! Happy you are healing 😊
Thank you.
Such lovely looking walks are available to you.
They are indeed. The countryside round the town is very easily accessible.
With regard to your speedy bike, there’s a lot to be said for good old fashion steel frames that had very high fatigue strength.
Very true but I did like the fairly speedy aluminium bike a lot. It was a pleasure to ride and quite forgiving over our bumpy roads.
Good that you were able to get out for a walk without making the leg worse.
Glad to hear that things are improving on the health front, Tom. I hope they don’t fill in the dam. Who decides and do they give a reason for wanting to do it?
The dam owners decide but will need to get permission. The reason is the expense of keeping the sluice at Pool Corner and the dam itself in good condition when it no longer serves an industrial purpose.
It really is amazing that the birds don’t do face-plants against the feeder. Re. the bike – isn’t this the second of your bikes with a cracked frame? What are you doing to them???
No this is the only one that has a cracked frame. I just didn’t throw it away and have always had the Idea of using it as an indoor bad weather bike.
Your pictures always take me away… which in the current situation here in Southern California of horrible fires and smoke-filled sky, is most welcome.
We have been seeing pictures of that on our news. It looks truly horrific. I hope that you are safe.
How I enjoyed a walk with you again! I’m pleased your leg coped so well.
It is definitely getting better day by day. The trick now will be not to get over confident and set it back again.
Lovely walk with lovely photos. Hope you can find out more about the dam…it would be such a pity to lose it…..you’ll have to play the environmental card and say that if they fill it in it will have a detrimental effect on all the wildlife! Find a Great crested newt in it and it will be saved!
Good idea. I’ll see if I can acquire a great crested newt on the black market ASAP. 🙂
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed seeing a few flowers this time of year. Using the fairly speedy bike as a stationary bike should be a good way for you to get your bum leg back into shape without any chance of further injuring it as would be the case if you were to cycle on the roads.
Oh, that village!
I’ve found that not watching the news is very good for my peace of mind.
A sound policy.