Rain cycle

Today’s guest picture comes from my walking guide Mark. I had temporarily mislaid my cap, and he sent me this picture to show that I was still wearing it near the end of our walk on Saturday.

After two sunny days over the weekend, the new week started with a grey and intermittently rainy day. Under the circumstances, an idle morning seemed like a good idea, though I did manage to cook a batch of ginger biscuits and then wander about the garden for a short while.

The lupins beside the greenhouse are looking good . . .

. . . and I like them both collectively . . .

. . . and individually.

The veronica is looking more impressive every day . . .

. . . and the alliums are quite a sight too.

The euphorbia myrsinites is continuing its development upwards . . .

. . . while the cotoneaster horizontalis continues to go sideways.

I like the view from behind of the clematis hanging over the back door.

Birds came and went in the rainy spells . . .

. . . sometimes with one hand tied behind their backs.

We are seeing more sparrows at the moment.

After a quiet morning, I thought that I ought to do something in the afternoon. There was a suggestion of more rain in the forecast, and perhaps a heavy shower in the offing, but I wasn’t discouraged and got my bike out. It was lucky that I was well prepared with a waterproof jacket and suitable leggings and socks, because it started to rain quite steadily just as I set off. It didn’t last long though and after three miles, it turned into a pleasant day for a pedal, with light winds making life easy.

I stopped to watch a lapwing and a curlew flying in a field at Bloch Farm. They were too quick for my camera. Plants are easier to catch, and I stopped again to admire the cow parsley lined road near Tarcoon.

The occasional rain had not discouraged a farmer from cutting silage.

I pedalled on through Canonbie, thinking myself very lucky to be getting a dry outing, but my smug mood didn’t last as I came into a very heavy rain shower at the Hollows. The road was soon running with water, and I had to take care not to go though puddles that were hiding potholes. Once again though, the shower was only brief, and a mile later on, I was cycling on dry roads.

I stopped to take a picture of wild geraniums . . .

. . . and then again a few minutes later to tie a shoelace and turn on my cycle lights before I got to the main road for the last section on my trip. Not entirely by coincidence, I found myself right beside my favourite larch tree. The young cones are coming along well.

There was a tall wild flower growing beside the tree . . .

. . .which even with Google’s help, I cannot identify.

I was happy to get home without being rained on again, though I was still pretty damp when I arrived. A change of clothes, a cup of tea and one or two ginger biscuits soon restored me to normality, and I was able to go back to doing nothing for the rest of the day.

I did check on the feeder, and I found a fine example of a pigeon toed bird.

The forecast for tomorrow is much the same as for today, so there may be more ducking and diving to try to avoid showers.

The flying bird of the day is one of the sparrows.