A mournful day

Today’s guest picture goes to show that you should never judge by appearances. My brother Andrew was offered a choice between a vegan sausage roll and this good looking scone. He naturally chose the scone but found when he became more closely acquainted with it, that it was very old and dry. The vegan sausage roll acquired some retrospective charm, but alas, too late.

It was a very consistent sort of day here today as it was raining when we got up and it rained steadily all day. I did go out into the garden at a moment when the rain was lighter rather than heavier and had a quick look round. I was very happy to see that the raspberries are beginning to ripen…

…and that some judicious pruning of the Goldfinch rose has given a clematis a bit of breathing space.

A new rose, planted last year and still quite small, is doing well….

…and most of the delphiniums are managing to survive in spite of wind and rain.

Poppies comes and go but we still had a good show today.

But it wasn’t a good day to be out with a camera so I soon went back inside again.

The weather was not the only gloomy thing about the day. In the late morning, we went out to join many others from the town who were lining the streets to pay their respects to a good friend and a stalwart of the church and the local operatic and dramatic society. Funerals are very modest affairs in the lockdown but I hope that Bob’s family were able to take some comfort from the warmth of feeling for him that was evident as the small cortege passed through the town.

When the cortege had gone, there was nothing to do but go home again, feeling that we had not really done justice to the memory of a really good man.

When we got back, I filled the feeder and watched the birds in a somewhat sombre state of mind. the weather and the birds matched my mood.

There was a good deal of coming and going…

…and some very bad behaviour….

…particularly at the top right hand perch for some reason.

I let some time pass while I tootled idly on my flute and tried to remember how to sing. It will be a shock when communal music making and singing are back on the menu.

Then I found that I had got so gloomy myself, that even a walk in the rain seemed to be a better idea than hanging round the house in full mooching mode.

I put on a waterproof jacket and trousers, picked up a brolly and went out.

It was quite windy as well as being wet so I chose a low level and sheltered route, taking me past the caul at Pool Corner…

…and the Auld Stane Brig.

I checked on the little lichen garden on the top of the fence post at the bridge and found that it was thriving.

It was too dark as I walked through the woods along Gaskell’s Walk to take usable photographs and even when I came out into the open, the light was not much better with the hills wreathed in low cloud.

I walked thought the tunnel to the Stubholm…

…and continued down the hill and along the Murtholm track to Skippers Bridge. It was gloomy there too.

I came back along the other side of the river, where the clematis in the hedge that hides the town’s sewage works was the brightest thing that I saw on my walk.

On the river bank, a splash of colour was provided by clumps of ragwort.

Thanks to my good waterproofs, I got home without getting soaked by the rain, but again thanks to my good waterproofs and the extremely humid conditions, I was just about as wet under my outer clothing as I would have been if I hadn’t been wearing it. Still, as ever, a bit of exercise made me feel more cheerful.

The rain has stopped as I write this post and although it will probably return tomorrow, it shouldn’t be quite so persistent. Then we are promised heavy winds and more rain of Sunday. Memories of the wonderful lockdown sunny days are fading fast.

The flying bird of the day is a greenfinch.