I would welcome some more contributions to the guest picture of the day, but in the meantime, I am very happy to have another fine waterfall from Tony and Marianne’s awesome holiday beside Loch Awe.
I am currently having terrible trouble with my computer. It has been very moody recently, and frequently refuses to talk to me at all. As a result I have had to resort to a back up device which doesn’t have my usual photo editor on it, so some pictures in this post are a bit hit and miss for which I apologise.
The main business of the morning, after a rainy night, was to look out of the window and stay inside. Luckily Sandy came down for a cup of coffee so that cheered the day up a bit. When he had gone, I had a look to see how the new bird feeder was doing.
A goldfinch was having a look too.
A brave soul paid a visit to the upstairs dining room…
…while a chaffinch tried out the mezzanine.
A greenfinch arrived to give it the seal of approval…
…and before long, the whole thing was in use, upstairs and downstairs.
In fact at times it got extremely busy.
A goldfinch arrives and weighs up the merits of the upstairs and downstairs accommodation.
A greenfinch lets a goldfinch know who is the top banana.
It was a day of constantly changing weather with rain on and off and even the occasioal blink of sunshine. After lunch, I peered out of the window and thought that it looked as though it might stay dry for a while so I went for a walk.
In sheltered spots, there are still leaves on some of the trees but as everything is rather damp, it feels as though autumn is pretty well over.
I walked along the track to the Becks Burn and saw that there were still some crab apples hanging on.
I was more interested in getting round before it started to rain again than in taking pictures in poor light, but a fence post caught my eye…
…and a few oak trees hanging onto their colour gave a bit of contrast to a dull view.
I liked this gloomy combination of trees at the top of the hill before I got back to the town…
…and I appreciated the efforts of the young larches as I walked down the hill to Pool Corner.
The peltigera lichen on a wall nearby have survived a couple of frosty mornings.
My timing was good because it started to rain just as I got home. Although it was only half past two, it was so dark that it felt as though it was early evening already.
I spent some wasted time trying to get my computer to run a bit faster, but it wouldn’t co-operate at all, so I gave up and had a cup of tea with Mrs Tootlepedal instead.
In the evening, Luke came round and we made some more progress in our flute playing. I have had to work hard to improve my own playing in order to keep up with him and we both showed results from practice today. I will soon have to stop thinking of him as my pupil and start to regard him as someone who is kind enough to come round and play duets with me.
I made a dish of baked eggs in spinach with a cheese sauce for our tea and reflected as we ate it that if the weather doesn’t cheer up soon, I will have to get the bike to nowhere in the garage into action. My weight gain programme of comfort food eating is going very well.
Because the light has been so poor, getting flying birds is hard and I was thinking of having a robin shot of the day instead….
…but that belligerent grteenfinch saved me.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
I, too, enjoyed the gloomy trees. Good shot of the robin!
The robin is a handsome bird indeed.
My better half has read somewhere that the robin is a reincarnation of a lost loved one.
As it comforts her I believe it to be true.😊
That is something new to me. I will look at robins in a different way now.
First the camera and now the computer, and all just before Christmas. It sounds like the same kind of luck I see here.
The photos were still a pleasure, especially the dog lichen and the robin.
I hope you’ll have an easy time with the new camera. Maybe the computer just needs some time off.
The new camera has come and I am going to keep it wrapped in cotton wool!
It is scary how attached we are to our electronic devices and how upsetting it is when they don’t behave.
I have noticed the same about dog owners.
The electronic leash to our various devices is both a blessing and a curse. The photos are still beautiful, and the Forests of Lilliput on the fence post caught my eye. This is the weather for mosses and lichens.
There is never a shortage of moss round here. 🙂
I’m sorry your computer is playing up now, What bad luck! The robin shot is excellent and I love the expression on the face of the belligerent greenfinch!
Greenfinches always look as though they have just been watching the news.
So they do!
That robin looks peeved not to have been chosen for flying bird
I love your robin, indeed all your bird pictures are lovely. Sorry to hear that the computer is playing up, I know what stress that can cause!
You would think that when the tech compnaies are so good at pilfering your data, they would be good at keeping the machines the supply the data working. No such luck.
Glad the comfort food diet works as well for you as it does for me😁
Technology is odd; run-of-the-mill when acting as it shouldand terrifyingly devastating when not. Hope your computer starts behaving again soon.
Yes, and Mrs Tootlepdeal has bought some new scales and they don’t seem to work properly at all.
A picture of a robin is always welcome. Sorry about your computer troubles. Just snowed in Maine, and If I get any good pictures, I’ll be sure to send you one.
I would welcxome that although I don’t wish any snow on you.
The banana metaphor is excellent – as is the last shot. I hope your IT problems are soon resolved.
They may be terminal. I am going to try to get as much off the affected laptop as possible before it dies.
The birds are certainly spoiled for choice of accommodations in that feeder. Sorry about the computer issues. I know we want improved features etc., but the frustrating thing about technology is the terrifying speed at which it becomes obsolete – or maybe it just seems that way because I have socks far older than my computer!
The computer is quite old, though not as old as my socks, and that is part of the problem. I could probably cure the slowness if I could discover what is causing it but that has so far proved beyond me.
I am toddling along with a computer dating back to January 2013, so i do worry that I will have to get a new one soon. I hoe yours is fixable.
So do I!
I have a love hate relationship with our computer- when it does what I want it to it’s wonderful …on the other hand…! Lovely photos of the robin, birds on your feeders and all those trees. Hope you can sort out your IT problems soon.
My computer has had some heavy use so it is not surprising that it is showing signs of tiredness.