Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Blue skies and sunshine - much better visibility than last week! Off at about 9am again. This week I have a quest...

First though, a little detour to see the tree at the corner in February. Love the strong shadows of the tree and hedge and the contrasting brown and green of the fields.

Now down from the bridge where I take the tree corner photos, and next to The Tree is this little clipped hawthorn tree.

On past the post.

This skyline catches my eye - in the foreground is the castellated rooftop of a country mansion, in the distance are the tower blocks of Glasgow.

Lovely rolling countryside.

Some big puddles around though.

I like how these wiggly tracks lead to the cluster of trees in the dip of the field.

Looking to the other side of the road I see this striking tree silhouette.

Cows at breakfast.

Further on, the road passes through more pretty countryside. It's not a part of Scotland famous for it's scenery but is still attractive in it's own way. I like the cottage at the brow of the hill, the road I'm on passes right by it.

The road to follow, a few miles further on. I've been caught in a hail storm and almost decide to cut short my ride, but the shower doesn't last long. Besides, I've been eating far too many cakes and biscuits recently so really need the excercise. This photo is taken from a bridge above the road.

Here is the view from below the bridge, looking back.

Another few miles on. I love the shapes of the bare branched trees (though I am looking forward very much to when the leaves start to appear on the trees, typically that's not till April so I've a couple of months left yet to appreciate the silhouettes). Also here I like the mossy round stones on top of the little wall at the base of the tree. And I like the blue sky! I park the bike here and go for a wander round the nearby ruins of a castle.

There's not a lot left to be seen of the castle but I do like to have a look round when I'm passing. It's easier to explore in the winter months as in the summer the ground is very overgrown with brambles and nettles. The castle lies atop a rocky outcrop between two rivers and this visit I discover how to get down to river level.

Further on again and the countrside really opens up rewarding me with expansive views.

A long abandoned cottage.

So blue and bright - magic!

However, behind me more storms are on their way.

You can see the stormy sky again behind these pregnant ewes. Which brings me to my quest...

Lambs!

I'd heard there were lambs to be seen round here. It's a particular breed which lambs early, "normal" lambs won't be appearing for a while yet.

Lovely to see them though. I take loads of photos then the hail storms catch me up and envelop me as I cycle the last few miles home.

Blankets, Branches and Birds.

The turtle blanket goes for its first swim...

...in future, when a small boy is not feeling well I'll give him an easy wash-fleece blanket to snuggle and not one of the crochet blankets. Barf and crochet do not mix!

I hand washed the blanket which is made of a mixture of acrylic (fine to wash) and charity shop wool (super felty!), then put it in the machine on a slow spin. At the end of the spin I fully expected to open the machine and find a mass of woolly ends and tangles, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover the blanket was all in one unstretched, unshrunk piece and that no ends had started to unravel. Phew! N is still a little under the weather though, which is a shame as we had three days off for half term but as a result of the sickness bug we were inclined to stay close to home.

We've had some relatively nice weather over the break (apologies for the gloomy and moany tone of my last post - I don't mind February if the sun shines!). While all was bright I decided to see how my pile was developing...

...crochet blanket pile that is. Two are completed - at the bottom is the african flower blanket, second from top is the newly washed turtle blanket. One just needs a few more ends sewn (second from bottom), and my current daisy project is at the top of the pile.

Since the African flower blanket I do seem to have gone for a more definite blue and green theme. This was intentional as I wanted to make a couple of blankets which better suited the living room colour scheme. The African flower blanket is perfect for my daughter's room though she's normally too hot in bed to need it.

Back to the holidays...

... On Monday N seemd fine and we attempted a walk in the woods. Uh oh, mud, thick oozy mud, fortunately we set off with wellies on. Mine were given to me by hubby and as you can see pre date the current fancy patterned welly trend.

We could vaguely see the sun through the clouds.

The cloudy sun again, this time lurking behind a wonderfully wiggly tree.

Fat bird on a branch.

Sun and branches.

The top of the woods adjoin fields. A enjoyed running to the brow of the hill to see what she could see.

N by this point was sitting on a log wanting to go home.

So we did. I managed a couple of arty beech leaf photos before we left.

I then had to satisfy my photographic cravings in the garden...

...the crocuses are almost ready to flower. I checked my blog (the search function is brill for this) and last year the crocuses didn't flower till around the 25th Feb, so we're just over a week ahead this year, not as much as I thought.

Molly in the holly.

Snowdrops from below.

And again.

Hydrangea.

Skipping a day we move to earlier today. The sun was shining and it was relatively mild. I capture some sky images for the Sky365 Flickr Pool.

Wispy.

Hearty?

We went to a nearby park.


Then to the loch.

There were lots of these birds about. I didn't know what they were till I used the RSPB bird identifier form and would now say that this is just a black headed gull in its winter plumage.

The same bird after being "encouraged" onto the water by the children. The surface of the loch is like glass, giving wonderful reflections.

Ducks in a row.

A pink footed goose (I used the RSPB site to identify this too)

Lastly, a jackdaw.

Back to school tomorrow...

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Yuck, the weather turned out to be worse than I expected - cold, misty and damp. Certainly not dry, but not so wet either that it wasn't reasonable for a cycle. I set off about 9am.

Even I don't attempt this closed road, not even pedestrians are allowed. Instead I go up the road I seem most often to take out the village when I've no particular route in mind.

Through the woods, the mist makes it all most atmospheric.

Bright splashes of orange from the beech leaves brighten view.

A buzzard sits atop a fence post.

All so wet. February is my least favourite month of the year.

Baaaa. I especially like the little group posing for the camera on the left.

Shortly after this point a deer crosses the road right in front of me, I think it is as surprised as I am. I then spot its companion in the woodland to my right. However, both disappear too quickly to photograph. The first one bounded away across the fields showing off its white rump, so I think they were roe deer.

Past the glacial erratic. I like the farmhouse on the left, you need to peer through the gloom to see it.

These closed road signs I ignore. I actually like it when a road is closed like this as usually it means there is much less traffic. I still manage to get splattered by a Tesco delivery van zooming through the mucky puddles though.

Another murky photo of the white farmhouse on the hill.

A different white farmhouse. I like the small hill of patchwork fields this one sits beside.

Higher up and the mist starts to thicken.

It also starts to rain. I abandon plans of a longer ride and turn off down a side road towards home.

Down past the red gate and post, the tree mound barely visible.

But I don't want to go home just yet, so while on the quieter roads I do an extra little loop.

This little road leads you to...

...the big dipper. If you hold your nerve and DON'T BRAKE you can make it down one side and right up the other without having to pedal. Wheeee, it was fun!

My chain comes off here, it was a nice bend in the road for a last photo. Chain back on I head home.

I know that there is some of this refrigerator cake waiting for me. Two pieces will do for now. My sugar cravings are rather out of control at the moment. I blame the time of year - I don't like February, certainly not the damp, dull, wet, dreich Februaries we normally get here. Some snow would brighten things up, so long as the roads stay clear though...