Today’s guest picture comes from East Wemyss where it seems that the sun shines frequently. Our son Tony got a new camera for Christmas and sent me this picture to show that it is working well.
There was a complete lack of sun here today and after singing in the church choir and having an early lunch, I went for a short walk which proved the point.
When I started my walk the clouds had almost covered the town completely and as I walked on the clouds got lower…
…and lower….
…so if I hadn’t had the flash on my camera, I would have been pushed to record anything much as I strolled along.
As it was, I could see a fine burst of lichen on a tree trunk…
…an old seed head…
…and a promise of spring to come….
…as well as some pixie cups on a post at the Auld Stane Brig…
…and a crop of curiously damp lichen on the bridge itself.
In fact there was so much lichen about that at times it seemed almost to be dripping off roadside walls.
There was enough light to see the Auld Stane Brig itself,
Considering that many of our bridges are old and most are made of stone, it is hard to work out why this bridge got the name of The Auld Stane Brig in particular when it could have been applied to so many others. Still, it is a bridge, it is old and it is made of stone so I shouldn’t grumble.
The clouds were soon back down again and the only colour of the day….
…was provided by Mrs Tootlepedal’s developing crochet blanket on the kitchen table when I got home.
I look forward to a whole colour symphony when she is finished.
Peering out of the kitchen window during over lunch, I could see that there were more birds than usual about.
They were mostly chaffinches…
…both male and female…
…but sparrows and goldfinches put in an appearance too.
I didn’t have long for my walk or any bird watching as we had to go off to Carlisle for the first meeting of the year with the Carlisle Community Choir. By this time, the clouds had really hit rock bottom and we needed both front and rear fog lights on the car to get us safely to the meeting.
We began work straight away on songs that we will take to a competition in Manchester in March and I will need to start learning my part off by heart as it takes me a long time to get songs to stick in my memory.
As I write this post in the evening, the clouds are still pressing down on the town and the air is full of the plaintive cries of pink footed geese as they circle overhead. I hope that they finally find a safe landing.
In spite of the gloom, I did find a flying chaffinch of the day today.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Sorry about the all pervasive gloom.
A tastefully toning crochet hook!
I thought so too.
I like days like that now and then.
You saw some great lichens and that’s just the kind of weather they like.
I don’t know anything about crocheting but that looks like it would be a lot of work.
Mrs T says that the work is not too hard and it keeps her occupied during the dark nights.
Your day there was a bit gloomier than ours. We did have a fierce windstorm last night, rather unexpected. It destroyed the little greenhouse on the porch. I spent part of today picking up debris.
That was bad luck. We had some wind today but not enough to cause any damage.
Awfully sorry about your porch greenhouse, Lavinia. That storm came through here fast and hard. We expected a three hour storm and got a thirty minute storm. Some power went out, not ours.
Mrs T is using my favourite colours in her project.
In case WP has forgotten me ( seems to asking for my ID again)—Skyler
I was surprised at the storm, and how much and what selective damage was done in a short time. My smaller mini-houses over the broccoli head down with baling twine and cement blocks did fine, but they were also low to the ground. No power outage here in my area, although I am surprised at that. Glad you only got 30 minutes and not 3 hours of intense storm.
The last photo seems like a natural aerospace rocket. Where else can I find such beautiful pictures?
You are most kind.
Phew! Good thing that you had bright colors and music to guide you through the fog.
It was definitely a day that needed brightening.
A flying bird photo in all that gloom, well done.
I was happy to have looked out of the window at the right moment.
Now that is gloomy! Good job seeing all those lichens and the birds in that ‘mist’. Crocheting seems the best idea to lift the spirits in these dark days.
And yet a friend of mine cycled 80 miles in the gloom so it shows what a determined attitude can achieve even on the darkest of days.
Some one beat me to it, but I agree with her, that’s a gloomy day! I’m glad that your camera has a flash so that you were able to treat us to the fine photos of lichens, and it was also a relief to hear that the birds are returning to your feeders.
The birds’ return was just a flash in the pan sadly.
The Auld Stane Brig capture is beautiful.
It has appeared often in the blog over the years.
I know, I love it every time…..