Staying close to home today

Today’s guest picture comes from my walking friend Mark. His dog Henry took him to the top of Skiddaw in the Lake District earlier this week. I was pleased to find that I was in more or less full working order when I got up today. This is a tribute to the fine qualities of

Flower power

Today’s guest picture is a one off. It shows two elderly people having a quiet sit down while visiting their granddaughter in London. It was taken by the granddaughter’s mother. We had another pretty hot and sunny day today as the jet stream continued to hold the Atlantic low at bay. At its peak, the

Back on the bike again

Today’s guest picture comes from our son Alistair. He went on a family walk to his local park and met another family also out for a stroll. We woke up to a perfect summer day today and I went out at quarter to eight to greet the smiling morn. It was such a nice day

Light rain

Today’s guest picture comes from my New York correspondent, MaryJane. She was out walking when she saw a cormorant and several weed covered turtles beside a duckweed filled pond. As had been forecast, we had another grey day here. It had a tendency to start to drizzle every time we went into the garden. However,

Some business and a little stretch

Today’s guest picture comes from my South African correspondent, Tom. He came across this tense stand off between a cat and a hadeda. Tom tells me that he sided with the bird and chased the cat away. We had a rather grey and windy morning here after more overnight rain. When I went out into

Hot stuff

Today’s guest pictures come from both our sons. Tony’s peas are looking good, and Al is kindly sharing his leaves with the locals. Summer continued in Langholm today. We could almost get used to this. Mrs Tootlepedal went out into the garden after breakfast and called me out to look at the clouds. They were

Modified ambition

Today’s guest picture comes from our son Alistair in Edinburgh. He found a lonely poppy. The forecasters were right and we got a summer day today. After breakfast, I went out in to the garden. My focus was on peonies. We cycled off to church in sunshine and a cheerful mood. We had an adventurous

A round trip

Today’s guest picture comes from my brother Andrew. He has been paying more attention to his garden in the lockdown and it is looking good. He likes the way that his arch not only provides a hanging point for his flower baskets but frames his big tomato plants too. We didn’t pay much attention to

Bullseye

Today’s guest picture comes from South African exile Tom. He wasn’t able to visit Langholm for the Common Riding this year so went for a walk at home yesterday instead. Like the early risers in Langholm, he enjoyed a fine sunrise. After yesterday’s untypical heat, we were back to more normal summer temperatures today with

Blown off course again

Today’s guest picture comes from our daughter Annie and shows a fig from her garden. We had a day without rain today and very welcome it was too. Sandy came down to join us for coffee, and thanks to the very strong wind, we had a morning coffee meeting inside, the first time since the