Samhain

 

I got a shot of the almost full moon...attempting to take it through binoculars but failing! Even with the naked eye she was beautiful.

Work is progressing steadily, and with the Celtic New Year/Halloween storms it is definitely indoor work . Yesterday I was accompanied by a hibernating Tortoiseshell butterfly, fooled by the central heating into thinking that Spring had arrived...

The weekend shopping trip has been postponed until tomorrow...we can do without the Saturday treat of a newspaper as well! 

Politics is getting messier everywhere and the news is depressing. 

 It looks like Scotland's covid area restrictions are beginning to work, with the percentage of positive tests halving and the rise in numbers easing.  So many not concerned for themselves, let alone other people.

We are just carrying on being careful, keeping contact just to a  necessary level and wary at that.

Where would we be without phones and internet and the postal services?

Meanwhile , I have three birthday cards to send, before I mislay them somewhere safe, and presents to think of..I prefer to send Unbirthday presents throughout the year..after all you have 364 of them every year!! So just a card on the day..

Progress.. of sorts..

 I have started work on a new, seasonal card, and work is going well.

It has been raining most of today and not long ago there was hail in with the rain. 

Indoors jobs have been the order of the day, although Pirate did venture out to move pebbles to go between the greenhouse wall and the house and the greenhouse and nextdoor's fence. He also managed to get wet rather quickly when the rain came, but at least the job is mostly done. 

Photo tomorrow when it is hopefully dry, and daylight! It is 4.30pm and the light is fast disappearing, especially with the low cloud over us.

I have managed to not only write a news article for my website, I managed to add an image..the only problem will be next time, figuring out how I did it!

Back to work at last

 Even if it is just seasonal cards!

That was yesterday..today the building greenhouse wall project took priority until late afternoon rain...and then it was too dark and I was too tired.

Linocutting when tired is not advised, for the safety of fingers as well as not wanting to make mistakes!

Carrying on to the evening

 Of course after a day full of squalls, the weather turns really nice....just as it gets dark!!

Stormy night and carrying on

 And after that, we have had three hours of morning showers. Everything is sodden and more forecast.

But we have blue sky in parts and sunshine in the distance.

I added another bowl to Etsy yesterday, and I am trying to decide how to price some smaller prints

Good Morning!

 

Still busy

slow greenhouse progress..but we have one side 100% right and now pirate has fixed wood bracing on the greenhouse to keep it square so we know exactly where the wall should be. It has been a steep learning curve!

The moat recedes slowly..until the next rain!

 Spectacular clouds...and more rain tonight?

I have been putting in a lot of time on Etsy and eBay, and even put a little on my website. Getting all up to date.

Now for some drawing and even some printing!

Time off!

 We looked at next week's forecast, put the bikes in the back of the car and found some different roads for a change..not far, but doing all from home would have added another thirty to the twenty we did, down the Girvan Valley on the middle road and back again on the lower road. The high road is the main A 77 which is to be avoided!

It was good to get out for a change, the first time on the bikes for a week, and the first time Pirate has been off the property..we have a family possibly with covid six doors down from here and a hundred suspected cases in the village...out its population of a little under 4,000. 

A lovely ride partly through beech woods then past fields on return, mostly on quiet roads. Football and snooker on TV has something good to say for itself!!

Pirate was busy this morning, painting next door's fence which will be behind the greenhouse...better than getting paint on the glass!! I am carrying on listing things on "fleabay" hoping for a few more sales. Just getting queries at the moment from people too lazy to read the descriptions!!

Now at last we are watching the highlights of the Giro d'Italia...running 45 minutes late after the snooker final match..

Planning ahead

 Garlic planted

Foundation for one side of the greenhouse wall laid. ("You've got me on my knees!!")

Apple juice again!

 I would like to find out what varieties these are...but I think I will settle for sort of Bramley and sort of Kidd's orange red!! Probably both seedling trees.

The eating/drying apples are these..

For  Joanne from Cup on the Bus blog...

Apples in some of my work, sitting on some of your work!  I know that it isn't quite using it as intended, but I see it every day in the living room just by the kitchen door. 

Sum Dood

 I read this morning on face book that one of our fellow bloggers (although not for a while) died in his sleep on 8 October.

Miles Newman, aka Sum Dood.  I will miss your comments and conversation, your photos on Flickr, your links on fb to good music.

We never met, but we should have. So near.. that's life.

Yonder

 Afternoon bike ride...in the sun no less!

Just when you try and get clever...and sort the photos in reverse order....it puts them up as you listed them!!

No worries, they are all there.

We went here and there...and even yonder!!

Autumn sunset

 360 degrees...

Breathtaking and intriguing.

Night all xx

Wood!

Today's weather started as it meant to go on...rain and hail!

We headed south over the hills

To meet a two woodmen...one who cuts and seasons it...the other who makes things...we passed over some money...

For some six years old elm. Breathtakingly beautiful. I brought a bowl in exchange for the offcut of elm I was given last visit...

But the wood supplier wants a large plate, so he gave me a plank of oak! Now I must get to the back of the storeshed where the box of plates is...and decide what I would like the wood maker to make!

We headed back north for delicious coffee and cake, good art and a warm welcome at the Gallery at Lauriston

 Then Pirate caught the weather window and rode the nearly ten miles to the next big village..and as the bike went back in the car, the rain came down again!!

Home again and the rain had had enough...as dusk fell...typical!