Today’s guest comes from our son Tony. In spite of the endless sunshine, Christmas does come to East Wemyss and Tony likes to make good use of a log or two to welcome it.
The day started with a trip to church where we sang some cheerful hymns chosen by a visiting minister and followed that with a practice of the Hallelujah Chorus with which we are going to welcome our new permanent minister on Wednesday.
Mike reported that the Langholm Sings concert last night had gone well. I had missed it because I was in Carlisle with my other choir, so that was good to hear because I don’t like missing concerts if I can help it.
We had a coffee when we got home and then I had a moment to look at the birds. A goldfinch pointed out the the feeder was not in a satisfactory state after all the rain so I went out to shake it down and fill it up…
…after having had a conversation with our resident robin about which was its best side, this….
…or this?
When I had filled the feeder, goldfinches were slow to return. This was a bit annoying because…
…the light was slightly better today…
…and there were a lot of goldfinches perching on our walnut tree and not coming to the feeder.
And I mean a lot.
I made some potato soup for lunch and while it was cooking, I had a damp walk round the garden.
This really is the last of the summer flowers…
…though there are welcome signs of things to come next year…
…and in the absence of flowers, there is always the chicken to admire.
Inside the house, Mrs Tootlepedal’s African violets continue to thrive.
There was neither the time or the weather for a walk after lunch, as we had to go back to Carlisle, picking up a fellow choir member on the way, to sing in the second of our Carlisle Community Choir concerts.
This was a repeat of yesterday’s concert so I was able to correct yesterday’s errors and make a completely new set of mistakes today. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and well attended so the double concert was justified as it let more people enjoy the music than would have been possible with just one performance. All the same, with three concerts and a church service in the past three days, I was quite pleased to get home and have a quiet sit down without having to worry about what I was going to sing the next day.
There is still a promise of sunshine tomorrow in the forecast so I am keeping my fingers crossed for an outing of some sort.
In spite of all the goldfinches in the walnut tree, this was the best that I could do for a flying bird today.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
I think the first picture of the robin shows him off at his best.
I’m always surprised by how early your daffodils come up.
I like the first shot of the robin too, and the chicken.
That’s a pretty African violet, soft and not loud.
Mrs Tootlepedal hasn’t had many indoor plants over the years so she is very pleased with how will this one has lasted.
Handsome little Robin 😊
Agreed.
I always enjoy the birds and your commentary. 🙂
i see your daffodils are sending up shoots now, like ours.
It is always good to see that things aren’t coming to a complete dead end at this time of year.
Your robin looks very handsome.
The general opinion is that a robin is hard to beat in the good looking stakes.
I must go out and see if my daffs are emerging! Love the robin and the tree full of goldfinches!
I was surprised to see so many in the flock…but pleased.
Congratulations on all that singing. Superb robin pictures
Tail end of storm Atiyah went through here last night. So wimped out of a pedal yet again. Enjoyed your daily post no end. Cheers.
There comes a time when good sense and prudence must take over. We escaped very lightly.
There is synchronicity in yours and Jackie’s themes of the last of the flowers and welcome signs of next year.
That is not entirely surprising. 🙂
🙂
I liked that you corrected your singing mistakes only to discover a whole new set. It is the theme of my general everyday
Concentrate on one thing and another flies out of the window. 🙂
What a lot of singing! Wonderful!
And a bit tiring…but a lot of fun.
It’s good news that your singing went well. That really is a charm of goldfinches- they’d have eaten all your seed if they had descended onto your feeders. Lovely perky robin and I’m so envious of your chicken!
I don’t know why the goldfinches didn’t come down to the feeder. I don’t think it is in such a good place as it was when it was on the plum tree. A bit too exposed perhaps.
Our goldfinches have started landing on the bird table which has totally confused all the other birds! They are quite aggressive little chappies too!
The siskins are our most aggressive birds but they haven’t come in numbers yet.
So much singing! I hope you still have some voice left! What a lot of goldfinches – a real charm.
I had forgotten about the charm of goldfinches. An appropriate name for them.
That is an admirable chicken.