Walkin' the Dawg...

Pirate with daughter and grandsons' dog...
 this way,or that way? bored, watching boys playing rugby.
no,the other way....

 then playing with a friend!

garden work

working for a gardener,  whose back finally crumbled at 87...now nearly 90 he is happy seeing his garden brought back a little towards his design.

Might not be online much until mid October...busy, not disappeared!

a wet ride

 The Loudon hills disappearing in rainclouds

 Auchinleck colliery....the last deep mine? We did ride past the entrance to the new opencast at Netherton....the landscape is part moonscape, part restored land and bits of farmland.

 Consolation prize for the wet ride..although we had lunch at Dumfries House near Cumnock during the heaviest shower.

 Bath time!!

more hedge trimming

At home for a change...after trimming a friend's hedge in Ayr this morning...

Just after that, when I still had the camera to hand, a small car drew up over the road...lost?we thought?

No,changing the car air freshener and chucking the packet out of the window.
Not youngsters, a middle aged couple....who when asked topickit up,denied it and started swearing.

I wonder if they realized that I'd photographed car and numberplate?  Incident reported to the police....hopefully they'll be prosecuted and fined...the going rate is £75 I believe.

We're fed up of litter louts!!

work and play

 Ready for work....and we had a job this morning, two big lawns and a quick trim to twenty foot of hedge, so no time to join the Thursday run by bike.
We took our lunch in the car and met them for lunch...

 A drum up on the shore, with billycans made of bean tins with stainless steel spoke handles.

day out, but not day off

We started today slowly...gently does it for the Pirate...another side effect of his treatment is feeling sad, and worse, depression...the counter-attack is enough work and enough bike.....

Today was work, and we found new roads for us to a nice wee village that neither of us had visited...to a house called Inglewood...where we had good coffee and nice cake...and tidied a lawn and woodland area.

Many thanks !!  It is good to meet a fellow blogger at last !

We had hoped that our other local job would continue today, but someone was fencing there today, so no lawn bed preparation.

Instead we had a relaxing lunch at The Mad Hatter in Castle Douglas, a town that we really love. Then a little light shopping, buying mitts and saying hello to Axle the Dog in Castle Douglas Bikes.

We had hoped to see other friends too, but they were busy...so on to Kircudbright down a pleasant and wiggly road.  At last I found a reasonably local shop to buy card ....Kircudbright Working Print Studio !!

Then home along more wiggly roads,both small and large, with much achieved.

A working day out...can't fault it!

infuriating

I'm working on some new cards-and I'm wasting time getting the images right in one system (gimp) and saving them...that does in in something called xcf....
I can't find a way of opening and printing that.....
so I get them to a pdf file..great, better than a jpeg....
unfortunately the system I use (shotwell viewer) which lets me produce cards easily...HAS to have a jpeg file.

Right, convert one....and before I note how I did it, get called away to do something completely different....

Now can I remember or even re-find how I did it? No.

Nearly an hour wasted on top of the time spent editing the original images to the right contrast and clarity....ok, should have taken better images to start with..but at a party, with limited light, you do what you can....

missing bloggers

I always wonder when some peoples' posts slip away, or suddenly stop.

Busy elsewhere , dead, departed, offline for whatever reason,or just visiting and not writing.

I really miss some of you.

Some I've met in person and that adds a further dimension to your comments and writings .

Others I'll never get to meet.

Some I see on fb...but you can't read back over old posts and muse....

more gardening

                              Man and his Mower! 

Now for an identification query....what are these?   Are they worth eating or just leaving for the birds?

 There is plenty for all....

 and the front garden is coming on, with a fruit bed planned in the top corner just to the right.....with flowers too, and a trellis to hide the oil tank!

Our visitors came and it was good to see them, have their company, talk and share meals.  
Then they were off on their travels and we are back to everyday things.

Pirate is still depressed by his treatment,but at least we know that that is one of the..many...unpleasant side effects...but he is still here and alive and kicking!

We'll goon the bikes in a minute, even if just on the turbo trainers for half an hour. It helps.

gardening

 Window view after hedge trimming

 My Shed

 The Drive (!!)

 planters being planted

 before....a twelve foot hedge, with the top blowing into the road

after...still a six foot hedge! Unfortunately still mostly privet, but it does its job.

waiting for friends

Almost ready, we're to be a staging post on their travels. Lovely to see friends,however briefly.

Another friend staying next Monday night too. 

Incentive to stay tidy, sort things, keep up the good work....

Pirate needs visitors. The treatment drags on,is depressing him and thinking "only four more injections, finished next June" only helps so far.
This part of the treatment is the "belt and braces" part....not necessarily necessary, but no-one can be certain.

Deep breath and carry on, practice being mindful...

Straiton Fun Day

 The forecast wasn't good,but actually turned out fine.
This year's theme was cartoon characters from a certain company...and there were a lot of mice about.....

 hurling the (6 kg) handbag

 and the vicar , with shepherd's crook, keeping an eye on his flock.

 tossing the sheaf...a tattie sack filled with straw,I think.

the winner is declared the biggest tosser in Straiton.....


The fellrunners getting their instructions

 and their sendoff by the laird

 running to the monument and back...this year won in 20 minutes as it was very slippery underfoot

A good day, but no pot sales and only seven cards....