Today’s guest picture comes from our son Tony who went to the Kirkcaldy Highland Games on a very wet day last weekend. For reasons which are not entirely clear to me, the games are held on the beach. These cyclists must have been working very hard.
After yesterday’s calm and sunny weather, we retreated into chilly, windy and grey conditions today. As I wasn’t feeling at my perkiest, I was content not to to try to go out on the slow bike and settled happily for coffee with Sandy instead.
Before he arrived, I had a look round the garden. The chives had several somnolent bees lying motionless on them.
Mrs Tootlepedal wondered if they were drunk. They weren’t paralysed because they had moved when I checked later.
I am very taken with the new irises and find it hard not to take another picture if I walk past them.
Sometimes, I walk past them on purpose.
The first of the pinks has appeared…
…and the astrantias are going from strength to strength.
I went out of the garden and walked along the dam at the back of the house. As I went along I saw a flourishing potentilla and a clover trailing down the concrete side of the dam…
…a lovely lily which our neighbour Kenny has planted on his side of the dam and one of the few flowers on the old fashioned fuchsia at the back gate.
When Sandy came we shared foot woes as his feet are in an even worse state than mine.
After he left, I took some time to watch the birds while I did the crossword. We had a bit of variety with siskins and a greenfinch…
…and a sparrow had a go at a chaffinch for daring to share the feeder.
I was rather surprised to look up from a tricky clue at one point and see a full house of goldfinches.
I finished the crossword and went back out into the garden where I did some shredding of hedge clippings and some more sieving of compost. Then I went in and made some lentil and bacon soup for lunch. I have taken to using as much turmeric as possible in my soups because it is is supposed to be beneficial for arthritis sufferers but I am still waiting for the miracle cure. Still, the soup tasted good so I am not complaining.
After lunch, I mowed the front lawn to clear the remaining moss after yesterday’s scarification and felt a bit depressed when I looked at the result. The grass will need feeding but what is really needed is a spell of warm weather to get it growing.
While I was out, I had another look round. More educated onions are out…
…and I had a close look at my favourite lupin. When you stick your nose in it, it seems to be lit from within.
One of the stalks had been snapped off by wind or rain (or both) near the top and this gave me a chance to take an unusual angle on the flowers.
In spite of the brisk wind, there were plenty of bees about.
Some plants, like a couple of our azaleas and one of the rhododendrons did not take well to the combination of cool and dry weather after an early short hot spell and produced buds but no flowers. Now we are worried that even after some rain, the pale peonies look as though they might be going the same way. They have looked like this for weeks…
…and don’t seem to have any intention of bursting into flower.
I made the mistake of going in and sitting down i a comfortable chair for a moment, and mysteriously I fell asleep and wasted two hours of my life.
I hadn’t got anything better to do and it gave my sore feet a rest so I expect it was a good scheme after all.
I roused myself and went out for a last look round the garden. Another of the new irises has popped up and it called to me.
There were still slow moving bees on the chives so I took the opportunity of capturing one of the bees knees. I thought that it was very good.
Not all our lupins are brightly coloured.
As I was going back in, I noticed a rather odd looking foxglove. For some reason, It has put out a large misshapen flower on the very top of its stalk and to my eyes, it looks rather like one of the Chinese dragons that you see at festival times.
I got back in and made a dish of baked spinach and eggs with a cheese sauce for our tea. Mrs Tootlepedal only had time for a mouthful or two before she went out to act as a front-of-house person at the Buccleuch Centre and as she is not back yet, I can only hope that she enjoyed the show. The show is a screening of Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Ballet. I didn’t tell her, but it turns out badly in the end so I hope that she is not upset.
I just managed to catch a flying bird of the day as a siskin navigated round the feeder pole.
Sounds like a wonderful day with beautiful colors and birds too. I love the ‘bees knees’ capture! ☀️💚☀️
It is not often that a bee stays so still for the photographer.
That is truth! They are quick, busy little guys
Amazing shot of the bee’s knees! We also had early heat followed by cool weather this spring, and were just speculating today that it might be the cause of the rhubarb going to seed especially early. I don’t think you wasted two hours napping – to be able to nap and refresh is one of the great joys of retirement!
I would agree with that if the nap had been refreshing but it didn’t make me any perkier at all which was a disappointment.
I love the photo of the lupin which had lost its top and also the new blue iris. The bee’s knees are fascinating!
The wing seemed to be attached by some metal device too.
I like the shot of the broken lupine. It looks like an entirely different flower.
I agree with everyone else; that’s an amazing shot of the bee’s knee.
That is an unusual foxglove blossom and I’ve never seen one start blooming at the top before.
Neither have I. It looked very peculiar.
I loved the pattern that nature created and you cleverly photographed of the fallen lupin bloom, a real delight.
Lovely blue iris. Sorry about the foot woes.
The bees’ knees are all over your pics. I wish I could sleep in a chair – I only manage it when watching Bargain Hunt
I don’t do it at all. I must have been unusually tired.
The original view of the broken off lupin is lovely.
A bee’s eye view?
Those new irises are fabulous! I, too, would look at them as often as I could.
They are a treat and will keep me looking until the next treat appears!
Oh, the blue of that iris – no wonder you keep walking by it! I love the unusual lupine photo – the geometry of nature never fails to astound me.
I totally agree about the geometry. It is a continuing delight.
Love the stunning lupin, iris and bee photos just like everyone else! It will be very difficult for you to choose your photos for this year’s competition! My new bee identification chart doesn’t help me decide which bees are in your photos.. any ideas?
Now you are testing the limits of my knowledge. I think the one with the orange back may be a tree bumble bee. The others are white tailed bumble bees as far as I can see. All the same, I am no means certain about either.
We thought it may be a tree bumble bee too as we had a similar one in the garden this week and we thought it had died as it hardly moved! Eventually it did fly off…thank goodness!
I gather that they are relative new comers but we see a fair number of them.
Be sure to use some black pepper with your turmeric. It makes it bioavailable.
I do use black pepper even though I didn’t know about bioavailablility.
I cannot take pain meds and use it instead. My capsules already come with pepper, but when I use bulk turmeric or make a tea, I grind in the black pepper.
Goodness. That sounds fierce.
Your unusual angle of the lupin (looking straight down into it) is a piece of art. It makes me think of mandalas or fractals. I can certainly understand how you might meander over to the iris with camera on hand at any stray chance.
It is a temptation.
Gardeners I know have been quite excited lately about peloric foxgloves. I think that’s what you have. Have a google, some are ever so fancy looking.
Darling knee of bee!
Hi Mr & mrs tootlepedal,
Glad I’ve just found your blog via Pedalworks blog.
I too am a keen gardener and oap cyclist,when the vagaries of age and 2 hip replacements allow that is.
Like you i have been using Strava for a few years,but I’ve recently stopped paying as much attention to it,its a fine balancing act.
Must say the pics of your irises are wonderful,keep them coming.
Thanks paul
Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment, Paul. It is appreciated.