Winding up again

Today’s guest picture comes from our friend Bruce. He spotted a splendidly rickety bridge on trip up the Megdale valley. I think that I might use the one in the background to cross the stream.

Our spell of dry weather continued and I could find no trace of rain in the rain gauge for the past week. It was grey and cool though, and I had to wrap up well when I went out on my bicycle for an early ride after breakfast. As I went round my familiar Canonbie circuit and the sun wasn’t shining, I didn’t see much to make me stop and take photos, but the view towards the Lake District hills across the Solway was exceedingly clear today, even though Skiddaw had its head in the clouds.

I looked again a little later and was surprised to be able to make out fields, trees and hedges on the slopes of the hill.

My legs were still feeling the effect of Friday’s hilly ride so I didn’t rush but I still got back in time to have a cup of coffee in the garden with Mrs Tootlepedal and Margaret. It was cool enough for us to need to have our coats on but that didn’t impede the flow of conversation. It is remarkable that having met almost every day for coffee since the lockdown began in March we can still find anything to talk about at all.

After coffee, I noted birds perching above my head…

…and then I mowed the front lawn, and then sieved some compost.

There is not much rough compost in Bin D left to sieve now and once Bin D is emptied, Mrs Tootlepedal will have to wait a couple of months or so before any more appears.

When that was finished, I went in for lunch and made a lamb and lentil soup using the last of the slow cooked lamb as a base.

After lunch, the greenhouse grass and drying green needed mowing and bees and butterflies needed pursuing with a camera.

The day was getting steadily brighter and I was spoiled for choice when it came to looking at flowers. I have picked out the cornflowers…

…and some beautifully blue gentians which Mrs Tootlepedal is growing in a pot…

…and by way of a colour contrast, a Japanese anemone and a verbena.

I went in to get ready for my virtual Carlisle Community Choir practice and looked at the bird feeder on my way. The light outside had got quite golden by now, so it was appropriate that there were goldfinches feeding in it.

On the feeder pole, another goldfinch and a coal tit checked for perch availability…

…while down below, a siskin tried unavailingly to shift a goldfinch by the power of abuse alone.

The choir practice went as well as can be expected but there was no sign of the virtual choir performance and I suspect that it may prove too difficult to put our efforts together in a coherent way to get a usable result. Time will tell.

After the choir, I passed up the opportunity to watch the end of the final stage of the Tour and went out for a walk. I felt that it might be a long time before we had another warm, calm and sunny evening and it would be a pity to waste this one.

I walked over the suspension bridge…

…crossed the High Street and walked up the Kirk Wynd. I enjoyed the view up the valley as I went up past the golf course…

…and saw a surprising number of flowers beside the track.

Soon, I could see the open hill in front of me…

…and for a moment I contemplated walking straight up to the monument. Fortunately good sense took hold of me, and I turned left at Whita Well and walked along the track towards the road that I had cycled down on Friday.

In one direction, the camera could pick up three trees on the other side of the road which have such a tenuous connection with the ground that they look as though they are dancing….

…and in the other, it could see that the new wind farm now has six turbines in position. They appear in the header picture to this post.

As I walked down the road, the evening sun picked out some fine pictures for me….

…and I was glad that I had gone for my walk.

As I got near the bottom of the hill, I met two friends who were able to cycle up the hill and smile at the same time. They were on their electric bicycles and there is no doubt that the day of the electric bike has come. I am keeping that option firmly open for myself.

I didn’t go right down to the main road but took a route home that kept me in the sunshine for as long as possible…

…though I got in among the trees at the end as I dropped down towards the bridge back across the river.

I turned to enjoy the view as I crossed the bridge but was distracted by a familiar figure on a rock beside the water.

When I got home, I made the evening meal and watched the presentations for the Tour. It has been a good race to watch and we will miss it now that it is over. Unfortunately, if we want to watch the Giro, which is early in October, we will have to pay money, so we may have to wait for the Vuelta for our next cycling fix.

On some days there is not a flying bird to be had for love or money and on other days, you can’t give them away. Today was such a day.

Here are the multiple flying birds of the day.