A day at the races

Today’s guest picture comes from our daughter Annie. She is in Devon and enjoying some lovely spring colour.

It was springlike here, with temperatures above the norm. I had a busy morning in an unspectacular way, visiting the shop and paying my account, getting money from the cash machine in the High Street, having coffee with Mrs Tootlepedal and Margaret in the garden, doing a little very light lawn mowing, supervising Mrs Tootlepedal planting innumerable potatoes . . .

. . . filling the bird feeder . . .

. . . and wandering round the garden taking pictures. I was happy to see that the lawn speedwell had escaped being mowed, the magnolia is recovering from the frosts, and the first apple flower bud has appeared.

I was also happy to see and hear a good deal of bee activity. The plum tree was visited, as was the muscari, and both gooseberry and blackcurrants were attracting a lot of visitors to their flowers though I couldn’t catch them on camera.

The main business of the day was a visit to the Castleholm in the afternoon to watch a card of four horse races.

The first race was a six furlong dash, and I stood at the bottom corner to watch a field of four come past and disappear up the back straight.

The track is six furlongs round so I didn’t see them come racing past again, though I found one having slowed up after the race and walking past the castle.

The second race was a mile and a half, twice round the track. I went to see the start and watch them go round the top corner.

Walking up to the start

Getting organised

They’re off!

Leading at the end of the first circuit . . .

. . . but overtaken by the final corner

The back markers taking it easy as defeat looms

The third race was a mile, and I went to the top of the back straight to see the start.

On the way to the start . . .

. . . in pensive mood

Lining up . . .

. . . and they’re off.

Round the top corner for the first time

Coming up the back straight

Battling for the lead

The last race was a mile and a quarter, and it was not as smooth an affair as might have been hoped. Two horses were late getting down to the start, and the delay was too much for another horse which took off with such ferocity that it ran twice round the course before its jockey could get the brakes applied. One of the late comers . . .

. . .got to the start but never actually started, so in the end it was a three horse race . . .

Starting the second circuit

At the finishing post

. . .with a comfortable winner.

I thoroughly enjoyed the racing in the warm sunny weather, and took in a few bits of nature between races, including a hazel nut in the making.

I walked home and joined Mrs Tootlepedal for a cup of tea. I watched the birds for a moment or two.

Although Mrs Tootlepedal had had a busy day in the garden, she was keen to put our new bikes to use on a such a suitable day, so we cycled up the Wauchope road to Cleuchfoot and back, a distance of eight miles.

A breeze had got up and we welcomed some electrical assistance on the way up the road, but we did a lot of unassisted pedalling on the way back. After 14 miles in two days without recharging the battery, Mrs Tootlepedal’s battery indicator had only gone down by a quarter, so it does seem that there will be plenty of capacity for us to go for some longer rides without having to worry about running out of juice.

After two really nice days, it has just started raining as we go to bed, and the forecast is for cooler, wetter weather tomorrow. It was lovely while it lasted . . . and we probably need the rain to get the rhubarb to flourish.

The flying bird of the day is a female mallard which flew over the racecourse this afternoon.