Edinburgh rules

Today’s guest picture is another from my Australian correspondent Stephen’s visit to North Queensland.  He found this beautiful butterfly in the butterfly house in Kuranda.

We were going to Edinburgh in the afternoon and the forecast suggested rain in mid morning, so I knew that if I wanted a short cycle ride, I would have to be prompt.  Greatly to my own surprise, I was quite prompt and enjoyed another 14 mile ride taking in both sides of the town.

The wind was in my face again as I cycled up to Callister and I managed 10 mph for the first five miles.  With the wind and slope behind me, I speeded up to an average of 20 mph for the return journey.  For the last four miles, out and back of the north end of the town, I produced a steady 15 mph average.

The mathematically unwary might assume that if you do five miles at 10 mph and five miles at 20 mph and and add another four miles at 15 mph, then your average for the trip should be 15 mph.  Sadly for ageing cyclists, it is not the distance but the time that counts and as I had spent much more time at 10 mph than I had at 20, my final average was only 14 mph.  It is considering stuff like this that keeps me occupied as I pedal.

Still I managed to stop for a picture or two.  The orchids are still out…

…and there is a spot where the yarrow is unusually pink…

…so I am grateful that the verges on the Wauchope road have still not been mowed.

The sun was shining when I set out but by the time that I got to my most northerly point, it had retreated up the valley…

…so I was pleased top get home before the rain started.

In fact, the rain held off for long enough for me to mow the middle and front lawns when I got home which was a bonus and the rain came later in the morning.

Mrs Tootlepedal cooked a sticky toffee pudding to take with us to Edinburgh and then we dug up another potato. The crop of the early potatoes is outstanding this year…

…and we took half of this lot up to Edinburgh with us too.

I had time between the mowing and the potatoes to walk round the garden.

The nasturtiums at the front door are coming along nicely…

…and Mrs Tootlepedal has a purplish bed which is doing well too.

This clematis is lurking around just behind the purple bed.

Day lilies keep coming…

…and the privet is in full swing with the strong smell complemented by the loud buzzing of bees.

I am still trying to get a good picture of this large ornamental clover which has been out for some time but it keeps defeating me.

One day the light will be right.

All round the garden, Iceland poppies can be found.

We had a light lunch and then set off to Lockerbie to catch the train to Edinburgh.  It was almost on time but just late enough to allow me to take a picture of this ivy leafed toadflax which is growing out of the side of the bridge over the railway line at the station.

There is still building going on around the site of Matilda’s new house in Edinburgh and a temporary path has been constructed to take visitors round the edge of the site along a disused railway.  The railway banking is full of wild flowers and I liked this thistle the best.

Matilda had had a hard day dancing so we had a relaxing time and didn’t go to the park.  I taught her to play spillikins with plastic straws and she enjoyed several games with both me and Mrs Tootlepedal.  We played ‘Edinburgh Rules’ which allow quite a lot of leeway to old and young participants alike.  This was lucky as I found that keeping a steady hand is hard work these days.

Matilda, Mrs Tootlepedal and I did some lawn care work on Matilda’s lawn and during the work, a small bolt fell out of the clippers that I was using.  The grass was long and when we settled down to look for it Mrs Tootlepedal commented that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.  She was right of course but, needless to say, she still found it.

During the afternoon, Alistair, Mrs Tootlepedal and Matilda made fairy cakes and then Alistair cooked us a delicious pasta alla Genovese (which included some of our potatoes) and after we had eaten it and the sticky toffee pudding, it was time for us to go home.

I had no opportunity to catch a flying bird today, so a sleeping bee on a poppy is the flying bird of the day today.