Good in Parts

 Anyone remember the story about the Curate's egg? He was invited to tea with the Bishop....boiled eggs, bread and butter, tea....and at the end the Bishop asked him how his eggs had been. Well...they had been a little...."off"...but he couldn't say that...so he replied.."Good, in parts"....

As was the firing ...took far too long, one burner didn't work properly, I need to remember how to do all this, how to adjust secondary air and fire efficiently...

plus the roof of the kiln is sagging a little more....

I doesn't help that it has just been sitting for 14 years...and that I've been doing other things..

I probably need advice on this!! 

First , though...check the burners tomorrow.

Elephant!!

 Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar.

How it arrived on the back door mat I don't know!!

Now moved to the wildlife corner with the clump of nettles....which I think have been home to the peacock and tortoiseshell butterflies that have been in my garden this past week 

first firing

 Tbe first firing didn't go completely to plan...it took a while to get it lit...and I'm remembering slowly (with the help of the firing log book) how to fire it.

A slight problem at the end was that the second burner refused to stay lit. This meant that it took longer to fire...and will probably be uneven. But we will see when it comes to opening time, hopefully tomorrow afternoon.

Good news..the first feed of beans!

This looks well'pollenated

I have the first three ripe blueberries too, but it looks like the collar doves have found them as well as there are broken twigs and missing fruit...

and the day finished in technicolour!!

Clouds

 We were at the forefront of the rain this morning... A few heavier showers ( but nothing compared to what Edinburgh apparently received this afternoon... water running down the streets type rain...) 

Nice to see a bit of blue sky... But I think that it is raining there in the distance... 

These go from the right to the left... 

Looking straight out north-west 

Then over to the sunset at the end of Arran

Going in a bit to try and get the detail

All a bit darker than reality... But better that that lose sunset detail and the blue sky.

Today has been a mass of bits and much Inertia. Doing a job and getting sidetracked by another.. and another...

Two positives.. Or maybe three...

Bread baked (in the bread making machine)

Local plumber organised.. Bathroom sink taps' washers, appear to be dying.

Found him by saying "help I need a plumber" on the village fb page!!

In consequence of that I have been tidying this and that..... Which did need doing. I don't want it so tidy that there is, nothing "in progress" around, but you can have too many things in progress. 

I will be glad when Brother has been.. Mid September... IT things to sort, old IT to be found a home or gone!!

I'll be glad when offspring let me know when the best dates for visiting them all will be. You think that they'd be a bit more forthcoming after complaining that I don't see them often enough!!

There will be an amount of Stuff heading towards them too... They can keep what they need and pass the rest on to local op shops.

I am trying not to have the radio on for background... Especially when I'm on the computer as well! But it does give a sense of company and security, especially overnight.

It also masks other humming noises... Being ND means that you can pick up sounds that others don't notice... Like the radio even when turned off but still plugged in.. I remove the plug from the socket.  Little things like that... 

wet

 We are having much needed rain.

However 13⁰...after 24⁰ a few days ago...is a shock to the system,!?

Indoor jobs today...hemming a sheet for the sofabed after I removed the flounce.

Then hunting for an hour or more for some elastic for the corners. Luckily I found the bodkin  to feed it through just after I found the elastic.

Inertia rules today. So much to do, that I want to do. Sometimes just starting is not easy.

What is too easy is being on the internet.

Not just scrolling..although there is some of that! Chatting (message) with friends. Reading interesting things. Learning stuff.

It is also company. As is the radio.

job done

 

from that....to this...

it doesn't look a large amount, but there is now a builders bag of honeysuckle and another of laurel and a smaller bag of trimmed heavier branches to go!

While I had the secateurs in hand I pruned the white and redcurrants..a bit late, should have been done straight after harvesting...but they've been left for a couple of years! Blackcurrants will be done in the spring .

Then rain stopped play...fortunately...I needed to stop!!

clip clip clip...

 typical...just when you get used to.it behaving!!!

The three "after " pictures come before the two "before"...

This is what I've achieved so far with secateurs and loppers and feet on the ground.  Those branches are still well over the kiln shed and up to the phone/broadband lines.

I can't risk a fire...but at least I use gas, not any solid fuel. 

easy day

 A slow start after yesterday's efforts! But they were timed well as we had rain overnight . I risked a load of washing after breakfast...and put them on the line....as I left for the bus after lunch it was coming on to rain very light fine rain. I wasn't going to turn back then! I saw these on the way to the bus...

It was  good to see the bus almost full on the way to Ayr.  Including two large buggies, a young woman with a walker (MS I think) and another with  large buggy which she had to fold...and 4 kids, but good to see them helping their mum.

This time there was no pressure to get the shopping done before class...A leisurely coffee was followed by op shop book hunting.

Nothing that I was looking for...but I did find this...

and saw this view of the harbour from the Auld Brig

French Convo was good..and my homework didn't get too much red pen!!

Back home the washing was dry!!

Then I cleared the roots and leaves of the laurel tree that were behind the kiln shed before it came on to rain properly.

Rain definitely stopped play...but most of the job was done so that I can reach more of the Laurel to prune it. 

gardening catchup

 It was too nice to stay in all day...so indoor work went by the board before lunch and later in the afternoon! 

It was a nicely comfortable 24⁰ today..and weeding was done!!

The greenhouse residents are enjoying the weather too!!

Still more to do, but that was enough for one day. There is a decent layer in the compost bin, and the couch grass topped up the green waste wheelie bin nicely. Collection day is tomorrow.

The bad news is that I missed checking the kale for butterfly eggs, and both large and small cabbage whites were munching away....I cleared them off...and birds came down to eat them! The slackers!!

I might be lucky if I can keep them clear of caterpillars....

kiln saga

 

The four smaller screws did not come out of the ceramic connector block....

After seeing the galleon, I went on a hunt for a new one...

The electrical wholesalers (branches everywhere!) only had them mail order...£1.50...postage £4.50....

A place that fixes Appliances...doesn't keep them in stock.."we only fix large appliances...our mechanics probably have them in their tool boxes but sorry we can't help you"... sorry not sorry???

It is a type of thing found at the back of electric cookers ...if the rôles had been reversed I'd have asked the mechanics...

Back home I found that the spare part I'd been given along with the equipment I'd bought...had one...

I very carefully took that apart and installed it ..a very fiddly job ..in my own rather old one...and connected everything ...it works!!

Next step is to buy. a longer extension lead.

I am not risking that out in the rain!!

Galleon!!

 I had to go into Ayr for a teeth fitting yesterday..trying the wax model before it gets sent off (for three weeks) to make the real thing. It sat on a 3D model of my mouth done by laser, not the awful gunk in the mouth!!

So I took advantage of the time and place ...and went to see a ship...a replica of Christopher Columbus' galleon....

Ayr Harbour, Calmac ferryboat on the right

from today you can pay to have a guided tour

she is on the berth that the "Waverley" paddle steamer uses

look at the red writing..the latitude and longitude of the wartime lookout station

I think that this was at one time a dry dock? Until last year there was an old fishing boat here as a memorial to Ayr's history..but nit being maintained after its previous restoration it was scrapped

This is a memorial to the coal trade linking Glenbuck at the source of the river with the port. This has coal on it. Another at the site of the village has sand on it. The village, home to the Shankleys and many other football families is no more but you can visit and read the history.

Arran is over there

and this is the usual Scottish view of anything astronomically interesting.....

However the air pressure did change, it went quiet and subdued and cooler....that was the eclipse here.