Today’s guest picture comes from Mary Jo’s visit to Vancouver and shows that they have silly cars there as well as silly buildings. By the time that you make a car this small, you would be better off on an electric bicycle. I might get into such a car but I don’t think that I would ever be able to get out again.
Mrs Tootlepedal was already up and about this morning when I got up but she wasn’t feeling well enough to sing in the church choir so I went off on my own. Once again we had a very small choir but there were some enjoyable hymns to sing so we did our best.
The forecast had hinted at rain by the time that church was over and there were a few drops but the day stayed largely dry. I had to fill the feeders as the traffic had been heavy once again and as soon as they were filled, birds started to arrive.
The arrivals were almost all chaffinches, goldfinches and siskins but it is good to see a busy feeder even if there is not a great variety of different birds.
The birds are working on a controlled stacking system copied from Heathrow airport.
My foot was very sore after yesterday’s cycling efforts which was a bit of a disappointment to me as the cycling itself had been very pain free. As a result, I limited my walking to the garden and didn’t stay out long when I was there.
I prepared a pot of mince for the slow of cooker and went out when I had finished.
I like this avenue of little daffodils and the sharp eyed will just be able to see the ground level telephone wire going across the grass at the far end.
Signs of things happening are all around. I saw the first colour in a tulip of the year…
…and a little cluster of buds on the silver pear.
When I went back in to make some coffee, I had time to look at the busy feeder again. A siskin was giving a chaffinch a hard time for undue encroachment…
…and a female of the species showed that it was deadlier than the male by trampling on an unsuspecting siskin in return.
I switched between indoor and outdoor activities and went out to consider the grape hyacinths. Mrs Tootlepedal is not going for a continuous river of blue this year but she has several promising pools developing.
Back inside again, I saw a chaffinch trying to get organised for a landing…
…and a goldfinch who had safely arrived using a mixed overhand and underhand grip.
On my next garden excursion, I walked across the road to talk to our neighbour Liz and in the course of a very interesting conversation about sore feet, I admired her mossy gatepost…
…and she directed my attention to some more moss a bit further along her wall.
As I went back inside, the sun came out and a goldfinch showed off the pattern on its wings.
I had time for one last excursion to the garden where I wondered what had leapt up and taken this chunk out of the trumpet of a daffodil and left the rest untouched….
…and was impressed by the growth in the tree peony in the back bed.
As Mrs Tootlepedal was not feeling at her best, I left her watching Gardeners’ World on the telly and went off after lunch to do some shopping on my way to sing with our Carlisle choir. As I not only remembered to write a shopping list but I also remembered to take it with me, the shopping was very satisfactory.
The choir was most enjoyable and we had a lot of good singing but as Ellen, our proper conductor, wasn’t there for the second week running, we didn’t get quite as much done as we should have. It is interesting to get different conductors and you can always learn something from a new approach but it doesn’t get the songs for our next concert practised as thoroughly as they would be if Ellen was in charge.
It was really good to drive home in broad daylight as the long winter months have finally come to an end.
The slow cooked mince turned out well and we had it with mashed potatoes and spinach for our tea.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
You got a stunning photograph of that goldfinch showing off its wing colours. Sorry about your poor foot.
Sorry about your foot, and I hope Mrs. Tootlepedal feels better soon.
She is improving.
Good!
I like the daffodil lined path and love the color of the grape hyacinths.
I was looking at huge, moss covered boulders today and I thought that’s what you were showing. I never would have guessed a gatepost.
I hope Mrs. T. and your foot both feel better soon.
It doesn’t take long before anything that doesn’t move gets covered with moss round here.
It can take quite a while here. Decades sometimes.
It is driving Mrs T to despair. Because of our weather changes, it has got a lot worse over recent years.
I’ve seen lawns after moss killer was used on them and they were black, so I wouldn’t suggest that solution. I’m really not sure what can be done. You can’t change the weather but you can make sure the yard isn’t shaded by trees and gets plenty of air circulation.
I have tried to get my neighbour to move her house but with no success. Some people just don’t appreciate the need for sunshine on a lawn.
The goldfinch in full flight colours looks particularly handsome.
I agree.
It’s all amazing, but the goldfinch with the spread-out wings gets my vote too. I hope you both feel much better and much longer. 🙂
If the goldfinch could just have avoided being behind the pole by a fraction, it would have been a really good shot.
What pole? I never noticed… 🙂
Loved the goldfinch!!
They make a pretty pattern with their wings.
Fine picture of the goldfinch. Glad singing was enjoyable. Sympathies re foot.
May you both be well very soon. Your feeder is a great source of active entertainment
It is indeed and makes having a sore foot slightly tolerable.
I’ve never seen such a small “car”. We have a car brand called Smart…it looks like half the car is missing, or it’s a toy that escaped from a child’s bedroom. I’m sure for the fuel bill and our environment that’s an appropriate name, but with the traffic and giant size cars on Southern California’s highways, I’m not so sure how smart it is to be sitting in something so tiny!
I know what you mean. They look very crushable by a big lorry.
Indeed they do.
The Solo car salesman told us that they are shipping 5,000 cars to L.A. this year to market them as commuter vehicles. They are significantly smaller than Smart Cars – narrower and much lower.
Wow, that will be interesting to see… if they’re big enough to be noticed in our overcrowded mess of highways!
shame your foot is still acting up. Those tiny cars are around in the Netherlands and they can use them on certain cycle routes as long as they don’t go over 45kph.
That sounds a bit alarming.
can be until you get used to them but the cycle paths they can use are very broad.
I think Scotland wins hands down for the most impressive mossy covered gateposts and walls and acrobatic birds! You wouldn’t get much shopping in that car!
A bike with a trailer would be a better bet.
Magnificent colors on your goldfinch picture! Hoping Mrs T is feeling better. But those tiny cars would be horrifying in some of our insane traffic. Seems some of our jacked up pickup trucks could easily run right over one- and perhaps not even notice! 😲
That seems quite probable.
Very impressive goldfinch photo! We have a lot of moss in our garden too. In the dry weather the grass died off but as soon as the rain returned the moss rushed in before the grass got going. We have invested in a scarifyer and hope that will make a difference.
I am sorry your foot is so troublesome and I hope Mrs T is much better now.
I am going to get m,y scarifier out as soon as possible but I will need a bit more warmth first.
I’d feel like a bug about to be squashed in that car.
Great photos of moss and tree peony.
My subscription to BritBox tv was inspired by my obsession with Gardeners World. They are finally going to start showing this season in mid April. It will be wonderful to watch it in almost “real time” instead of questing around the internet for illicitly uploaded episodes!
There is a lot of good stuff on it. We have been watching it.