Girvan

 Sad to see so many boarded up shops,with beautiful buildings above

 18th and 19th century workers cottages,small but solid,and unlike the 1940s and 1950s houses being demolished in Maybole, still there and worth keeping

 blown sand, not mist!

 Ailsa Craig

 A working (thankfully) boatyard

a day out,a sunset..

 Out in the car to the South of Ayrshire, and on the bikes from Barrhill into the Galloway forest.
No photostops in the first half of the ride, too busy keeping going against the chill wind..but the sun was nice and warm and we saw two red deer hinds on the edge of a forest stand. Down to Knowe,now just a very small hamlet and the inspiration for a few word puns...Knowe and then, Knowe-all...et cetera!!

The roads were rough and pot-holed, but even main roads are in bad condition now.

It was a relief to turn onto a smooth surface for a while, with the sun and wind at ones back!  Over to Bargrennan and the main A714 (Newton Stewart to Girvan) and back up to Barrhill.

 At 4pm the warmth was just going from the sun..and we went to Girvan for a "fish supper". Pirate has the fish,I have most of the chips and we both have mushy peas!  Well prepared in Grazianos,the chip shop by the harbour..and run by another cyclist!
Then chips by sunset..

 looking south..

 and out to Ailsa Craig,about 10 miles off shore.

 Going, going, gone...and the crow flew from the pole by the harbour...

Girvan sunset

 Ailsa Craig..not looking today as if its 11 miles offshore..

 Snow on Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran

 looking South...

then walking North along the prom, you find the old Gentlemens' Club Pavilion and bandstand now sadly closed up.

 Fishing boat heading out from Girvan Harbour, then past Ailsa Craig

 Seeing the sun set on the left...midsummer you watch it set over the Isle of Bute, to the right of Ailsa Craig on the right of the picture

 and goodnight until tomorrow.

birthday Pirate

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.

Visiting Girvan

Getting out of bed wasn't too easy today....should have left the woodstack.....
we were on the road just after 11, but with a headwind it took over an hour to get to Girvan.
We were both feeling a bit grumpy. Both a bit tired. Wind over your ears causes this too, as it creates pressure in the eardrum.  Plus the meds to deal with the hormone therapy side effects are giving worse side effects...including making him a tetchy Pirate...not himself atall.

Nearing Girvan the sun was being obscured by high mist coming off the sea.
We were glad of the shelter of buildings!

We missed our potter friend at her workshop where she holds classes,but caught her at her nearby gallery. I might be renting her kiln for bisque and glaze firings.
It will mean firing oxidized to 1230C instead of 1280-1300C.  But it will be firing...I'll return a week tomorrow to glaze some work....

Homeward bound after a "pensioners lunch" in a cafe (well we are both over 60!!!) we seemed to have found a following headwind.  With the coming weather change the wind was backing slightly, and colder. Most unfair! So it was steady as we go,plod along and find the most sheltered route.  As we moved further from the coast we regained the sun at least, and could see the mist sitting over the Carrick hills ahead of us, with the sea the far side of them.

We were glad to see the washing dry on the line and as I write,the next wash load is nearly ready for hanging out!  Make dry while the wind blows !

All this and I'm feeling guilty that I'm still slacking on my daily drawing, haven't done another linoblock yet, haven't posted on Etsy (or had any sales for a week)
Sometimes there is just too much to do....

chilling out....

 On Thursday we headed out by car, calling past the memorial to Davy Bell, a cyclist who wrote about many roads and tracks under the name  "The Highwayman"

We parked at Newton Stewart, and after lunch at the Belted Galloway cafe (to be recommended!) rode our bikes along the lanes to Wigtown, then headed inland a little to Spittal before hitting the lanes again back to the coast road and the bike path back into Newton Stewart.

Our route home was up the other side of the Cree Valley,so that I could see this....print inspiration?  Thankyou,Pirate!

 then on to Glen Trool...but the centre was closed

 chainsaw art...a red squirrel..

 and his habitat....crop being logged....

 then on Friday, after the Pirate's latest three monthly injection ( only six to go!) we had a little time to spare between things we needed to do....and headed for Maybole Shore....

 where the mist lifted a little

 evidence of early morning runs in the sand...

 then we returned to Maybole in time to see the mist darken and then reveal the almost full eclipse.
We both felt a little disorientated and queasy for a while...a common effect we found out later.

The living room is being sorted and tidied....one room at a time...and we are expecting our first guest of several on Monday!!

Today the sun shone brightly, making bikes the order of the day once more...and Southwards again, this time past Girvan to meet a friend on the beach for lunch...

About 40 miles ridden today....the housework and bike cleaning can wait till tomorrow!