Today’s guest picture comes from our son Tony who felt that he could prove that East Wemyss has fine trees as well as seemingly eternal sunshine.
For a change, we had some sunshine here too today, but as it came hand in hand with a very gusty and nippy east wind and a drop in the temperature, it was not quite as welcome as it might have been.
I had intended to go cycling, but it wasn’t appetising, and I had coffee and a ginger biscuit with Sandy instead. Mrs Tootlepedal had a very busy morning of meetings so when Sandy had left, I had a quiet time. I did go to visit our translated corner shop though.
The new shop (on the left in the panel) is bigger, brighter and has a nifty new sign but the old shop was on a proper corner so I shall miss it. Still, my cycle route to the new shop takes me along the river and I hope to be able to catch a few waterside bird pictures from time to time when I go to get my groceries.
The better weather brought more birds to the feeder….
…and the better light let me capture a pair of greenfinches coming and going.
Even occasional light showers didn’t put the birds off…
..and flying chaffinches were ten a penny, rain or shine.
I made some leek and potato soup for lunch (leeks and onions from the garden but we have had to start buying potatoes again after 5 months of eating home grown).
After lunch, I went out for a walk, touring the garden before I went.
There is still a little colour, fresh from the jasmine, medium from the wallflower and faded from Rosy Cheeks…
…and some interesting greens too, the perennial nasturtium in the yew, unseasonable leaves still on a clematis and promise of flowers from a sarcococca by the back door.
I started out on my walk just after two o’clock and the sun was already setting behind the hill, so one side of the river was already in shade.
I directed my feet to the sunny side of the street and went up a bit of a hill too in an effort to keep in the sun.
The wall, as I went up Hallpath had a good deal of interest with hart’s tongue fern, spleenwort and ample supplies of moss on some sections.
I looked up from the wall and admired a lofty tree. A man gardening nearby told me that it is a Wellingtonia.
As I walked on, the sun was getting lower all the time and I had to walk tall to get my head warm as I passed between a wall and a beech hedge.
I took the track along to the round house and passed a tree which has been gradually eating a ‘neighbourhood watch’ plaque. It looked like this in 2016…
…and it looked like this today.
I wonder how long it will be before the plaque disappears entirely.
The sun had all but disappeared by the time that I passed the round house…
…and headed on down through the little oak wood….
…to the old railway and took the path back towards town. There was a lot to see on the short stretch of old railway. The green lichen was surprisingly bright and the script lichen on the tree was comprehensive if not comprehensible…
…and the leaves came from a very young sapling but I don’t know whether the growth on the fallen branch was another lichen or a fungus. I would happy if a knowledgeable reader could shed some light for me.
I passed Skippers Bridge by without stopping to take yet another picture….or maybe I didn’t and succumbed to temptation…
…and a sheep looked at me as I walked along the Murtholm track with a hint of censoriousness in its gaze as a result.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have dallied at the bridge because although I could see sunlight on Meikleholm Hill…
…it started to rain on me as I walked along.
It was patchy rain. I could still see sunlight picking out a house on the hill to my right…
…but I was in the patch where it was definitely raining so I hurried home without taking any more pictures.
Mrs Tootlepedal was in the garden when I arrived back so we had a walk round (the rain had stopped) before going in.
We discovered a Lilian Austin flower and there were a lot of buds still forming on the bush. A cowslip was also flowering….
…but as we are due to have quite sharp frost tonight, maybe that will be that for both of them.
Regular readers will perhaps be asking why we were not in Edinburgh visiting Matilda as it is a Thursday today and they would be right to ask. We should have been in Edinburgh but half the children at Matilda’s school have fallen victim to the winter virus and Matilda is in the unlucky half.
As we neither wanted to catch the virus nor bring it back to Langholm, we wisely stayed at home. An evening phone call revealed that Matilda, after an unhappy morning, was making good progress so we have our fingers crossed that neither she nor her parents will be too badly affected.
There was no hint of sun left by the time we had had a cup of tea so the rest of the day was spent indoors doing little tasks.
The sunnier weather did let me catch a much improved flying bird of the day even though it was raining when it flew past me..
Your photos are lovely. I’m noticing the shortened days and early sunsets here as well. Autumn and winter have their attractions, but I’ll be happy when spring arrives.
Only a month to the shortest day now.
Lovely to hear of a ‘corner’ shop flourishing, but I do prefer the more old-fashioned look of the old one. I guess you can the goods better now though.
It has its advantages.
Glad to read that Matilda is mending. Loved that photograph of the sheep.
A perfect day to observe the Forests of Lilliput and all the inhabitants. Spleenworts and maidenhair ferns have always been favorites of mine, too.
Wishing Matilda a speedy recovery. There are some nasty viruses about over here as well.
I hope that you avoid them.
The hart’s tongue fern, spleeworts, and mossy branches were a joy to see and the flowers were beautiful.
I’d love to get time lapse shots of a tree engulfing something but I never think of it. I’ve seen photos of even bicicles swallowed up by them.
That looks like a crust fungus rather than a lichen but I’m not sure which one.
Thank you for the pointer. It might be toothed crust fungus by the look of it.
Possibly.
It is very interesting to see how the tree is swallowing up the plaque.
It is a slow process.
I know of a local tree that swallowed a bicycle that was left in the crotch of the double trunk. Wish I could get photos but the tree is gone.
Clever record of the plaque eating tree..
Hope Matilda recovers soon.
Love the nearly eaten sign.
That’s more Neighbourhood Peek than Neighbourhood Watch!
Ha, you are right.
Lovely pictures! Hope Maltilda is better soon. Nasty viruses!
They are indeed.
I liked the plaque series the Meikleholm Hill shot; and the flying bird especially. I wish Matilda well.
We have no news of worsening condition so we are hoping for the best.
I enjoyed those before and after pictures. I think it’s so smart to get pictures of regular things and then see how they change with time.
I ought to do it more.
Lots of lovely photos to enjoy especially the oak trunk and branches. I like the before and after photos too.
I wish that I had taken more of them.
I hope Matilda is fully recovered by now and that her parents escaped the virus altogether.
They all seem to be all right, thank goodness.
Good.
Best wishes for Matilda’s quick recovery.
Those mossy branches by the little oak woods are gorgeous.
The ‘neighbourhood watch’ plaque is fascinating. Shows how the tree works at closing up wounds or holes.
Sometimes trees are so statuesque and peaceful that you forget that they are always growing.