Paint it black

Today’s guest picture comes from my friend Ken, the ex archive group member. His son, Chris, who is visiting Perth, Australia, sent him this picture from a day trip to Rottnest Island, where he encountered a quokka. A quokka is not something that you see every day.

We had another cool and windy day here, not very friendly from a cycling point of view. This was fortunate in a way because my bruised calf undoubtedly benefited from not being over exercised. As it was, I looked at the birds . . .

. . . had a quick walk round the garden, enjoying the first flowers on the red azalea . . .

. . . and then entertained Sandy with coffee.

When Sandy left, we went out to do some gentle gardening. I painted a section of the fence that we share with out neighbour Irving, mowed the middle lawn and then sieved some compost. Mrs Tootlepedal was working nearby and we attracted the attention of a blackbird which followed us round picking up tidbits. It even perched on the compost sieve which had just produced some good looking results.

I had time for another wander about before lunch, finishing with a look into the heart of a shuttlecock fern.

After lunch, I made a beef stew for the slow cooker, and then I went out again and painted the next section of the fence.

There are several sections left, and I will probably have to paint the concrete uprights when I have finished. I find it hard to avoid getting the paint on them too.

Mrs Tootlepedal has been paying attention to neat edges on the lawns.

Mrs Tootlepedal and I sat on the new bench to relax when we had finished our task, and I noticed that an aquilegia has come out. I like its delicate colouring but Mrs Tootlepedal thinks that it is dull.

It was windy and still chilly, so we went in. Mrs Tootlepedal did some sewing while I watched the second half of an exciting stage of the Giro. She joined me for the final few kilometres.

During the cycling, I kept an eye on the birds from time to time. Sparrows were busy.

The weather had greatly improved by the early evening, and as I thought that my bruised calf muscle would benefit from some light exercise, we went for a walk though the park to see the wild garlic and the bluebells. Before we left, I looked at apple blossom and an azalea in our garden.

The wild garlic along the river was impressive, but the bluebells were past their best . . .

. . . and didn’t provide much of a photo opportunity. The fine beech tree on the Stubholm track was a better option, and I liked a little line of strawberry flowers growing on top of the park wall. The very restful view up the Wauchope Water from the park brig was a good photographic finale to our outing.

We ended the walk with a relaxing moment on the bench under our walnut tree, looking back at our house and enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

It looks as though we should get a warmer and less windy day tomorrow for the visit of my brother and sister, but sadly, it doesn’t look as though the sun will shine for them.

The flying bird of the day is a goldfinch.

Footnote: I was expecting to go and see Dropscone in hospital today, but I can report that he is now safely back at home. I hope to get an update on his adventures over coffee on Thursday.