Our pond has been getting a bit overgrown near the stream inlet. At first we just admired the riot of wild flowers, but now it is getting to the stage where if it isn’t cleared out, it is going to turn into a swamp rather than a pond. So over the last few days I […]

Yippee!! The sun is shining today and I am not working – so off for a climb. This is sort of me playing truant from the garden which badly needs done, but I will do it this afternoon. I had an enjoyable walk up the Brack with great views from the top which were being […]

I hope this fantastic sunset is going to herald some better weather – it doesn’t seem to have stopped raining here in weeks. I mean most years here are a bit damp and I don’t mind that, but we hardly had a good day in June, and that included when we were away as J […]

Much as we have loved our Nespresso machine, a time for a parting of the ways has come. Basically it has been costing us over £100 per month for the capsules (yes I know we drink too much coffee), but also the used capsules are the best part of impossible to get rid of here […]

For a long time, R and I have believed that our local badger sett must be down by the river. We’ve had a good look for it on a number of occasions now, and have never seen any sign of it. However it now occurs to me that it may be elsewhere. We’ve a number […]

We were driving back from Glasgow the other night and had a go at capturing a very spectacular full moon over the Rest and be Thankful. Unfortunately this is not really the right sort of camera for this kind of shot.

I got a nice present of some roses, a bottle of wine and chocolates from my parents the other day. Note the box of shavings in the picture next to the plant. I can’t say I got much benefit from the chocolates as R ate nearly all of them in short order (I think I […]

I’m not doing well with any produce from my garden this year (apart from herbs of which there are lots). For some reason my cherry tree (which in previous years has provided lots of ripe fruit) is being plundered by something – because the cherries are disappearing just before they get ripe. The black current […]

I lost my first chair when I got up to make coffee, and my second one while I was making lunch. You can definitely see they are brothers – but I have never been entirely sure whether Tora (on the right) is a darker colour naturally, or whether it is just because washing is for […]

I bought a little ice cream maker the other day – it is a bit inconvenient to use as you have to freeze the bowl 8 hours in advance – but it is fine for the quantities I make. For an easy super-delicious strawberry ice cream which is also low calorie, low sugar and low […]