Sky again

 Incentive to get up in the morning .

Sky

 Look one way, then the other....

Morning

 After a very wet night

'Night all..

 Beauty...

Moonrise and sunset tonight.

Productive Progress

 A dry day today, but cold and windy. At least the washing dried quickly until it caught a shower!

 Pirate had a good ride on his bike outside in the sunshine.. keeping moving to keep warm!! On his ride he saw nine persons...and eight had dog/dogs!

I carried on at home, getting home a bit tidier and cleaner. Then cooking..a good way to keep nice and warm.

The apple pulp got sieved...time consuming!! And made into apple butter, and of course it caught the bottom of the pan...just. Isn't that how you know that it is ready?!!

Clear the kitchen again, then making more mess, juicing two trays of apples. They have been making the living room smell good, but the job needed doing. Now we are steadily pressing the pulp to extract as much juice as possible.

Pirate is busy tidying his Man Cave , sorting all the bike stuff that we will no longer need.

Eventually it will be a room for two turbos and a place to set up a spare bed for a visitor, but there is a lot of work to do first, including decoration.

Now it is getting towards 10pm, it is cold and windy outside...and the moon us beautiful.

Busy day

 We had our nearly weekly outing to Dundee yesterday. Luckily the track is rideable when it is raining! It was only light drizzle for the first half and by the end the track was drying out.  The young photographer came with his dad....and wants to ride next time!!

We headed over the Tay Bridge and the other side was dry!!

An afternoon spent seeing friends, lunch in a garden centre, collecting bike frames that we have been asked to sell, then down to see people at a road time trial. 

Pirate helped a bit while I had some down time after all the driving.

Then a picnic watching the sunset from Barassie Shore...

Hot days

 

Keeping the drying lawn tidy

We put the gazebo up in front of my workshop...pirate is mending our next door neighbour's bench and the shade is needed.

The roses are blooming well..the colours are difficult to show when the sun is so strong, they are far deeper!

The moon was a mellow yellow orange last night...and will be full tonight. Really beautiful.

It is even hotter today. I pricked on a few seedlings , growing them on ready for  planting out when the onions are lifted . If the weather continues like this, that should be in a week.

I retreated to the house midmorning. Plenty to do indoors apart from keeping cool!!

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..

A walk for a change...and more shedwork

 The local mill. Closed about 1970

 Busy moles!

 The back of two of the sheds...I am waiting on the paint for the fronts..we have done a Click and Collect order, just need the message to say that it is ready to collect.

 And a beautiful sight.

Snow moon

Full moon at 4am this morning...Snow moon it is called in the Northern hemisphere...and it seems to be bringing snow to Scotland, and Storm Ciara.
The forecast for our arrival looks chilly and damp, but not so bad as this weekend and the next three days.. here's hoping all will be well!!

Waning

Waning moon, waning year.
New year tomorrow..let's hope for better. New moon on 6 January.

Heading further North

Full moon? And big trees at Orewa.
Now heading for Paihia which is central enough for Whangarei and Taupo Bay....sort of!
Trying to contact my cousin...but possibly he doesn't have phone signal at home!

Moon

Nearly full moon rising..over Whangarei

Games end

Sunset and moonrise over Whanganui

gardening

 Pirate has started sorting the waterbutts..we have guttering for the workshop and sheds, but need fittings.

 I've been netting the beds..and planning the next one,for fruit.

 Today's incentive was the blackbirds stripping the yet to ripen redcurrants!
The gooseberrys were ripe enough to use for cooking, so I cropped them, and found a fresh Magpie Moth. This was once a pest of goosberry and currant bushes..
 

 I'm not sure if this caterpillar is related, but the colours are similar...I've now found that it is!

 This one was on the elderflowers..

 and the elderflowers are now with petals from the Comte de Chambord rose, making,hopefully,cordial.

and so to bed...

 and now just after 11pm....from the front, then the back of the house...