Today’s guest picture comes from ever sunny East Wemyss, where our son Tony found a forest of stones on the beach and added his own effort (complete with flower on top).
It was far from sunny here after a second night with rain and the hills were covered with mist when we got up.
There was a faint but persistent drizzle about and this put paid to the delights of the street coffee morning but it did let me get out for a quick look round the garden.
The sweet rocket looked unperturbed by the weather…
…while other flowers had noticed the overnight rain.
New geraniums are coming out….
…and a few flowers on azaleas and rhododendrons have survived the frost with the Japanese Azalea coming out by far the best at the moment.
I went in to grapple with a technological problem and on my way past the front window, I admired a rook in the plum tree.
The technological problem concerned a little device for converting old cassette recordings to digital formats. My brother had kindly sent it to me, as he had no further use for it but it just wouldn’t work properly. I did all those technological things one has learned to do over the years; using strong language, turning things on and off, uninstalling and reinstalling software, kicking furniture, plugging and unplugging wires, blaming the government, but nothing worked until I swapped the lead that my brother had sent with the device for one I use with my bike computer. Then miraculously, all was well.
We had lunch.
The next problem, as my brother remarked, was listening to cassettes that I bought years and years ago and wondering why I had bought them.
After the tech problem had been solved, we checked on the weather. The drizzle had almost stopped so Mrs Tootlepedal resolved to go and do some gardening and I embarked on a bicycle ride.
By the time that I left home, the drizzle had given up and it was quite windy, but it was not long before I was cycling on dry roads as the weather had obviously been better outside the town.
The lying down cows were lying flat out again but a couple of them spoiled my picture when I got to there by standing up before I could get my camera out.
As you can see there were plenty of grey clouds about but I was cycling in pleasant sunshine…
…and I kept my fingers crossed that the sunshine would last. If it had rained though, I was well equipped in a rainproof jacket, and in fact, I was far too hot when the sun was out and the wind was behind me.
I saw a fine display in the hedgerow of these alkanet flowers just after I passed those three trees at Grainstonehead…
…and there were some more striking flowers at Canonbie when I had crossed the bridge there.
More and more of the Pyrenean Valerian is to be seen each time I got out and it was joined by docks and birds foot trefoil today.
The sun went behind the clouds as I got near Langholm and one or two drops of rain added a little speed to my pedalling but I got home dry (and over hot).
Two nights of rain have left a measurable amount of water in the unscientific rain gauge..
…but Mrs Tootlepedal had welcomed the moist soil as she planted her sweet peas out while I was bicycling.
I took a picture of one of the last of the tulips, perked up by the warmth after the rain…
…and enjoyed the look of the lawn when the sun came out again…
…noting that a little well placed shadow covers a multitude of sins.
The sun brightened up a fancy geum, just out today…
…and brought out the best of a second iris.
The plants hadn’t forgotten that it had been raining though.
I went in and looked at the feeder as I went past on my way to a much needed shower.
A redpoll and a greenfinch provided a good contrast.
A Zoom meeting with my brother and sister and an evening meal of pasta with a meat and tomato sauce rounded of a day which ended more cheerfully than it had begun.
We are promised a gloriously sunny day tomorrow, getting warmer and warmer as it goes on and then the temperature is going to drop on Thursday but not to frostiness again, thank goodness.
The flying bird of the day is a greenfinch.
Footnote: patient readers may have noticed a slight similarity in the posts from the last two months and they would be right. I have a routine; have breakfast, do the crossword, get up, have coffee, do a little gardening, have lunch, take some exercise, Zoom the family, have tea, do the blog, go to bed. It is a simple life but the very routine helps to make the tedium of the lockdown bearable with not too much time left in the day to sit about and worry about the future. The way things look at the moment, the patient reader can expect quite a lot more of the same. I thank you for your patience which is commendable. We are very lucky in having varied countryside available right on our doorstep.
Please can we have some of your rain? Here in the south-west the ground is parched and cracked, and my water butt is empty, rather dire now that I am hosting my neighbour’s allotment.
I don’t like to be disagreeable but we need all our rain so you can’t have any.
😅
The veined geranium is beautiful and so is the garden.
I’m glad you’ve finally had some worthwhile rain. Plants will probably take off now.
I’ve wanted a digital converter for record albums. I didn’t know there was one for cassettes too. I’ll have to look into it.
The trouble with them is finding the time to play the records or the tapes. It takes a long time.
The rain bejeweled flowers were a gift from the passing storms, and your view of the garden with filtered sun and shadow most enjoyable. We have had a grey day here, with periodic rain and mists throughout the day. There was approximately 30 seconds of sun.
Your cassette to digital converter device is also of interest to me.
Ion tape express, cheap and cheerful.
Thank you! I have noted the information. 🙂
I am using it as I prepare tonight’s blog. It provides a gentle accompaniment as I type and it records and pays at the same time.
Ahh, but someone else’s daily routine is always more interesting than our own daily routine! Lovely shot of the shadowy lawn and borders. I am intrigued by the idea of converting cassettes to digital format. If only I could remember where I put them . . .
Good point. We had ours well organised after a previous tidy up.
My eye was caught by the alkanet, such a delicate shade of blue. You take excellent photographs and offer a well written text, what more could a reader require.
You certainly are fortunate to have such lovely countryside around.
Well done for solving the tech problem.
I have long felt that everyday life is worth noting and recording. Even during this time of confinement. Maybe especially during this time of confinement.
I have got used to it after ten years.
I see we went to the same school of technology. Patience is the key, mine has improved with age, but her indoors always has the last word (or laugh). “I told you to do that at the start!”. Doah!!! I for one love your routine, it’s one I look to aspire to. Cheers.
I was very disappointed when turning it off and turning it on again didn’t work. 🙂
I agree that routine – albeit a different one from one’s usual course through life – is the best way to get through this virus-laden socially confusing time. Keeping busy leaves no time for worrying about things over which we have no control anyway.
That’s my plan. It is not entirely successful.
“The technological problem concerned a little device for converting old cassette recordings to digital formats. My brother had kindly sent it to me, as he had no further use for it but it just wouldn’t work properly. I did all those technological things one has learned to do over the years; using strong language, turning things on and off, uninstalling and reinstalling software, kicking furniture, plugging and unplugging wires, blaming the government, but nothing worked until I swapped the lead that my brother had sent with the device for one I use with my bike computer. Then miraculously, all was well.” Jackie interrupted me this morning by reading this paragraph, so I didn’t have to read it again. The ‘blaming the government’ just slipped in caused hysterics.
I am glad that my distress was the cause of innocent merriment. The Mikado would have been pleased.
Good to see that the lawn enjoyed the rain as much as the flowers with their lovely rain drops. The sweet peas look well protected -with the damp conditions the snails will be queuing up for a feast! It’s enjoyable following your blog ( it’s the only one that I do follow now that Quiet Solo P is resting) as even though you say it’s rather routine at present- you always make it interesting with many different photos from a variety of places and many kinds of subjects. Your blog is my routine- it is always enjoyable to read and a brilliant accompaniment to a cup of coffee!
You are very kind. I miss Quiet Solo P too.
Actually I do follow Sue (Macs Girl )…found on your post and The Garden Impressionists and I love their posts too but yours is my daily fix!
I must say, those rain-washed flowers are such beautiful photos, I feel a bit refreshed just looking at them!
We were very pleased to see rain.