Distant Hills of Perthshire

At least that's what I think they are, Perthshire goes on for quite a long way most of the time with it's winding roads and what not. When you're in it you find there's more to it than you might think. Whilst they are mostly nice to look at the Scottish highlands aren't particularly high, 1000m is about average in these parts. Unfortunately people do still get into trouble on them ... I tend to stay on the roads. Over enthusiastic cyclists are the main danger there though.

Asparagus on a Small Scale

A year on in the cultivation of asparagus and this is what we have created. Growing this vegetable is a long process, last year nothing really happened, this year just some spindly growth progress. Next year (year three) there is a chance of actually cropping some. Of course you could easily buy a pack of as much as we'll ever grow for £3.00 or so in any supermarket. None of that matters, we're already looking forward to the wild antics and celebrations at the annual Asparagus Folk Festival that takes place in the distant fields of muddy Fife. We'll qualify as virgin exhibitors you know (a very special category). As illustrated below.

Free Stuff

Slowly sinking in a sea of ... : When you don't own things you can't really complain about the service. I regularly use "free" tools on line, I provide little feedback, I just use the program and move on. Music, AI, videos, searches, news, artwork, open source alternatives; it doesn't really matter to me. I don't expect much from the provider, if I'm unhappy I'll change. 

Maybe some ownership and a sense of belonging would be better, not sure how to graduate towards that. I'm too mean and used to free stuff and we've all seen how services rise and fall, come and go. Loyalty isn't encouraged. There'll be another one along in a bit ... I suppose. 

Free is OK, good for a while but we take it for granted, click past the ads, ignore the messages, refuse to join up and avoid being stung. So if they pull the plug, change the algorithm or switch around the tools or format you'd better suck it up or just roll on elsewhere. It's evolution but not as we know it. (Turns out Google Photos just wants your money not your precious content, imagine that).

Perchance to Dream

Sleep comes and goes, dreams burst out and fade, their meanings unchallenged slip away. Light drips in between the window blinds, fallen from a star far away. Strangely we think of it as being "ours" as it's energy arrives into our systems. Twitching, scratching and gulping we turn to and the realization of morning's arrival surfaces automatically into a fuzzy consciousness and so another day begins. We breathe in and out and rub tired eyes ... newly disorientated passengers and arrivals on the world's edge.

Annoying Protests

 

Not sure who did this but well done to you.

Magpie

This magpie is a regular visitor at the bird feeder. He/she inspired the use of the old traditional Magpie poem with a few strange and over elaborate additions. The music's ours.

Cat With No Name

 

Today we said goodbye to our beloved cat Clint. He was the only kitten in the litter without a name so he became Clint as per the Clint Eastwood western film tradition. He was a crazy, affectionate and adorable cat who loved the outdoor life but also cuddling up warmly indoors. We had him for about 16 years and he was always funny and curious and interested in everything that was going on. He'd been ill for a few months and it was sad watching his health decline and his strength slip away. In the end he died peacefully and, like his mum Missy, we miss him loads.

Ginger headed Clint as a kitten, asleep with his brothers and sisters. The black spreadeagled one is Smudge, she came to stay with us along with Clint but was killed in a road accident while still young. Their mum Missy joined us not long after that and lived happily along with Clint for many years. Below: the (not very) grumpy old man look.

Sparrow & Dove

Contrasting bird feeding styles recently caught on a short video live(ish) from our back garden avian spy system. The sparrow has quite a different technique than the dove, so easy does it. If you think that the dove is messy you should see how the starlings attack the bird feeder; ends in carnage mostly. No actual live sound of course, that's a piece of technology that we currently lack.

Rainbows All Over Your Blues

There were at one time about three rainbows hovering above the Forth Bridge earlier this evening. I missed the other two but so what. They'll probably return in a few days or so. That's real rainbows for you, they have things to do. Free and unattached to unicorns, flags or gift shops.

Some Bands

I don't imagine that most bands design or even approve the main font or logo they end up with. Some bands don't stick with the one thing or use a variety of styles and symbols. I doesn't really matter, the name is generally more powerful and meaningful than the format or artwork. I like the music of some of these bands, others not so much. Just remember that they are probably better bands than many here not represented or remembered. Being successful and recognized isn't the same as being good. Being good and listenable and having a lengthy career isn't easy either, few ever manage to do this. Ten to twelve years is enough of a life for most.

No Context Sausages

 

Nice display: Well done to "Peckover Butchers" of Bethnal Green, London. If I lived a little closer I would have maybe bought some as a show of support or something. Just to say I'll be avoiding all mass media reporting tomorrow and most likely attending a lower league football match and eating pies somewhere in Central Scotland. Nothing else really matters to me tomorrow.

Yellow Upon Yellow

The seeded and flowering fields of the Lothians. A veritable perfumed garden for some and a huge irritant for others. Nice looking though. Photo taken today by my dear wife from upstairs in a 43 bus I presume.

Banana Drama

 

Banana Drama 

photographed by Buck Dharma

 on the Bahamas

 in the days before 

pyjamas.

East End Park

Yesterday Dunfermline were awarded their hard won championship trophy at East End Park. A nervous 2 - 1 win over Clyde sealed the afternoon's competitive program. The final whistle was followed by the somewhat clunky and un-fan friendly trophy presentation. The antique PA system's strangled tones hardly helped inform the crowds as to what was actually happening. This was somewhat put to rights by a gratifying slow motion pitch invasion that allowed the fans and players to mix and mingle and enjoy a rare moment of triumph.

Canned Fish

Is it actually good for you? Turns out that it is quite good for you most of the time. “Canned fish is a convenient and affordable source of protein, and depending on the type of fish can also be a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and other essential nutrients.” For many years I have believed this and acted upon it in my dietary explorations (I still have the body and constitution of a young Greek god, not sure which one though). So I'm glad to be found living on the right side (?) of food history. Austerity has been a policy of simple economic and social disaster, I'm fighting back via the canned fish diet. It makes no sense but nothing makes sense anymore. I also like composition and colour of this photograph of the virtuous tinned fish.

Yesterday, a Feather

Looking at the coffee cup picture below ("Yesterday, a feather" by LB.) I wondered what piece of music might fit with it. In the end I decided I could go with this; "Ashes, the Rain and I" by the James Gang from the "Rides Again" album. Released in about 1970 this tune's been heavily sampled over the years. It was also formed part of the soundtrack to my moody teenage years and some of those early James Gang recordings were a big influence on me. I like to come back to it from time to time.

Hip Flask

Hitting the stylish bottle again. Funny how nice some drinks are when supped from a shapely bottle. So it's a Scottish tradition, the hip flask; rhubarb yes, maybe not the lime unless you were a sailor trying to avoid scurvy. Limes grown in an orangery? I'm unclear as to the actual spirit, there's no breakdown of ingredients but I'd guess some type of fashionable gin, fresh from the streams of the Angus glens and mashed up with local produce in a small distillery near Brechin. Hugh and Rowena are in charge of operations. They drive and old Landrover Defender and keep goats and chickens. Their Aga is an oil burner.

Drinking Gin is the current thing: Unlikely it's as simple as a bathtub operation, that seal and bottle design are way too classy. I'm tempted to smuggle it into a football match for old times sake. I'd probably get grassed up or I'd just throw it at an official, missing by miles. I would be setting such a bad example there, just a daft old man who's forgotten that too much time has passed. When I've swallowed it all I'll probably do that weird thing of keeping the empty bottle without ever quite getting round to using it again.

Sheds

Having spent most of last week painting a shed my interest in sheds is probably slightly higher than normal. That's not too high so don't get over excited, I'm not. Here are some buildings that might, at a stretch be described as sheds. They certainly function as sheds and we all know that in building terms an Amazon, asda or an IKEA are just big sheds anyway. So let's celebrate the shed, large, small or slightly tumbledown and not really a shed at all.

Glen Esk Daily Red Squirrel

Caught sight of this red little fellow helping herself to the bird food without a care in the world.

Dalgety Bay Daily Photo

Nice flower display outside a plumber's merchants in sunny Dalgety Bay. The once radioactive jewel of the West Fife coastline. It's always good to find alternative and productive uses for ordinary household objects. I suspect this one is not now in regular use for the purpose that it was built for. For context I snapped it on my way from Screwfix (one of my regular hangouts) after buying a packet of cable clips.