Today’s guest picture was sent to me by one of my ex teaching colleagues, Ada. She has been on a walking holiday in Tenerife, which looks from her picture to have been an excellent choice.
I must apologise to regular readers who might justifiably expect a little variety every now and again in my posts but things are conspiring against me to a certain extent and life is a bit dull just now.
I can’t get my foot sorted out so walking is a bit of a pain and the weather has been unhelpful when it come to long cycle rides so there hasn’t been much new in the way of views or even exiting lichens. On top of that, the supply of birds in the garden has been almost entirely limited to chaffinches…
…either at the feeder or approaching it.
And although it is mildly amusing to see a chaffinch miss its footing on a perch…
…one flying chaffinch looks very much like another….
…and that was all I saw today. The goldfinches were hiding behind the feeder when they did arrive.
There was some excitement when I got a visit in the morning from Dropscone, bringing treacle scones with him and heard tales of his holiday in Wales. This was entertaining for me but mostly I looked out of the window and watched chaffinches.
After more overnight rain and wind, things calmed down during the day as storm Erik drifted away to the east and although the brisk wind made it feel quite chilly, it was really not a bad day for February.
I am back to trying to rest my foot before going to see a physio as soon as I can next week so my only expedition outside was a tour round the New Town on my slow bike in the hope of seeing something interesting in the way of waterside birds.
There were none about.
Pool Corner was looking peaceful after the storm.
In the garden, Mrs Tootlepedal had showed me a double snowdrop and I lifted its head to get a better view. It had been a bit battered by the splash from the rain.
The crocuses were enjoying the sunshine but they too need a little time to recover.
As I had nothing to better to do, I made the mistake of watching Scotland play Ireland at rugby in the afternoon. As Scotland played very well intermittently but for the rest of the time ran through their well practised repertoire of forward passes, dropped balls, line out errors and poor choices, this was not the best way to spend time. We lost.
Still, the days are definitely getting longer and my foot will sort itself out in the course of time so I hope that patient readers will not have to wait too long before something interesting appears in the blog.
In the meantime, here is yet another flying chaffinch of the day.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
Such great action photos! Hope your foot heals quickly!
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Even if you don’t think your posts are exciting or interesting, please keep sending them. We had 7-10 inches of snow in Seattle this morning. Since Seattle drivers don’t do well in 3 inches of snow, many of us are going no where and more snow is predicted. I am remodeling my house and am “living” in the bedroom with my laptop, TV, and microwave. So PLEASE, keep posting…a crack in the wall, a wet mound of dirt. Anything will be welcome!
I will do my best. I gather that you don’t normally expect so much snow. Our drivers don’t do well in snow either as it is a fairly rare occurrence here.
I often wonder if non blogging people understand how much time and effort goes into these posts. I wouldn’t worry about missing one now and then. I hope the medics can give you a clue as to what the foot trouble is and how to fix it.
That’s an interesting snowdrop. I didn’t know they could do that. If it was a bigger, showier flower a plant breeder might be willing to buy it. Many garden plants got their start in life as a natural sport or hybrid like that one.
The crocuses lift my winter weary spirits each time I see them. I went looking for signs of spring today and came back with little to show for it.
Thank you for your kind words. Writing the blogs keeps me away from the telly which is a good thing as I am very prone to shouting at it when I watch it.. As far as the snowdrops go, Mrs T tells me that this sort of double is quite common and not very interesting as a plant. I like them though.
It’s -34 here and I’m sick of taking ten minutes to get dressed to leave the house – whatever diversions you offer are much appreciated. As New Hampshire GS says, completing a daily blog is an enormous amount of work and I think we, as your audience, must be like a nest full of baby birds, all with beaks open as we await our daily provisions! Thank you for feeding us so faithfully.
I am sorry about the time it takes you to get up. Mind you, that sounds remarkably quick to me. Wait until you are my age!
I do hope your foot gets better soon. Not for our sake, but yours. I certainly don’t mind whatever you post. Keeping up with someone who manages to post every day can sometimes be a challenge, but I try to at least give your posts a glance to make sure you’re holding up and not getting into too much mischief. 😀
There are no prizes for reading every post but I do appreciate the kindness of readers who regularly drop in and often comment.
I hope your foot feels better soon, and that you can get back to walking. Your selection of photos are always beautiful.
We’re getting more snow this tonight, accompanied by very low temperatures. Morning should be interesting.
Our temperatures are heading the other way so I am feeling quite hopeful about the weather.
It’s going to be cold and wet/snowy all week here.
Sorry walking and cycling are so difficult at the moment but keep up the blog. I love your birds in action,even if the same bird you always manage to show many and different ways of their balletic movement.
At least you were not short of a flying bird or two. Sorry about your foot, and do hope you can get some helpful advice from the physio.
Sorry about your foot and the rugby; Im hoping tomorrow sends a surprise avian visitor, a good chat, and no more dismal sporting events 😊
We got more variety of birds, a good sing and some sunshine so I mustn’t grumble.
It seems we ended up with the dismal sport…Chelsea – eek!! The Farmer is a tad downcast
Not the best result of the year for them but as a Spurs fan, a small smile may have crossed my lips when I read about it.
😁
I totally agree with your first two correspondents! I admit to date, I only subscribe to your blog. I enjoy the wry humor, writing generally, and its a great start to my day. I don’t comment often, However, I was delighted, recently to see, an advert for the Kid who would be king!, it was only after my heart jumped, I realised why.
Just as with Good friends, I anticipate news of both a blanket and Equine nature. in your own good time of course.
Both are proceeding at a judicious pace without undue haste. Updates will be available.
Keep snapping and good luck with your physio
I will and thank you.
The mundane, in your hands, is fascinating too. I was rooting for Scotland, too, but, as you say, too many errors. What is wrong with your foot?
If I knew that, I could cure it by rest manipulation or exercise. It might be tendons, it might be bones, it might be arthritis. Some days it doesn’t hurt much and other days it is very sore. Some days exercise seems to help sometimes it seems to make things worse. I am baffled.
Dammit
Beautiful crocus; hoping your foot is on the mend soon!
Thank you.
Sorry to hear that your foot is still giving problems, Tom. I hope the physio treatment helps.
I am spending money on it so that should make it work.
Can’t expect to hear about more than one film premier in a fortnight so you not doing too badly. The foot and the weather are conspiring against you though. Hope the foot is better soon and the weather won’t matter quite so much.
That is true. A few good cycling days are a cure for almost anything.
Great photos of chaffinches and spring flowers can keep me interested for ages. Your physio will have an easier job of sorting your foot out than the coach of Scotland and his team. Although winning their game Wales left me watching nearly from behind the sofa…I just wish ‘our’ teams would go out there and score tries in the first 20 minutes and then I can watch and enjoy the game! Weather forecast for next week looks much better for all.
The weather forecast does look good though it is better the further south that you are. I don’t know what the solution to our rugby woes is.
Hope the weather clears and your foot feels better soon!
I hope your foot will improve soon! And thought the bird action was marvelous, beautiful flight images.
I have an appointment to see about my foot with a sound practitioner so I am hopeful.
Your daily life is interesting enough for me.
I wonder if you could have plantar fasciitis. I had it two summers ago and could hardly walk. It was fixed quickly When I started wearing a special boot at night. Two nights of that and it was all better after six weeks of limping around.
Time will tell.