Blog Brightening

Some random BIG, COLOURFUL and SUNNY pictures from last year...

Happy Valentines...

Bigger Photos in Blogger

Yay! I've now got big ones!

Photos that is...

I was a little fed up with the teensy size Blogger uses to display photos so I googled how to make them bigger.

I used this tutorial .

I then needed to widen my blogger template so that the bigger photos would display properly. This I did under Layout -> Edit html, setting my header wrapper to 600px, my outer wrapper to 900px, and my main wrapper to 640px which seems to work for me.

You have to adjust the size of each photo you upload if you want it bigger so it is a little bit of a faff and I may just do it for my scenic shots which definitely benefit from being larger as you can see from the photo above comparing it to how it originally appears in this post.

I've just edited the photos in my last two posts to make them nice and big. The rest will need to wait...

Can you guess what it is yet?

Today it feels like spring is on it's way! I know it's only the beginning of February and we may yet get more snow, but the days are noticeably brighter, longer and (today at least!) warmer.

It's been a long time since I bothered to take my camera out into the garden. Till now.

Looking closely here you can see a couple of little beasties hidden between these knobbles, they look like funny little ladybirds. A was most intrigued by them though I like the knobbles best.

It does looks like the skin of an old elephant I think.

A hint as to what it actually is...

A bigger hint - look at the shape of the leaf shadows...

... it's our holly tree. It stands right in the middle of where hubby would really like more raised beds for his growing vegetable obsession. However, we have no plans to get rid of it as it is quite a feature of the garden. We removed its partner to make way for the shed which I now rather regret though fortunately it wasn't required for berries as this variety is self fertile. The garden is greatly in need of a HUGE tidy-up, hence only the close-up shots for now!

In Need of a View.

This morning the sky is beautiful, blue and cloudless.

On Wednesdays we usually have use of the car (hubby cycles to work 3 days a week) which allows us to broaden our horizons a little. I don't generally like to go too far as I feel that unneccessary lengthy car journeys are not very friendly either to the environment or to the pocket. From a pocket protection point of view, I also don't like to frequent places which charge for the pleasure of visiting...

...So we start off with a visit to a park in one of the nearby villages, the attraction being that it's one that we've not been to before.

One of the many large marble balls that are dotted about.

It's cold!

We don't linger too long, but do stop to take a closer look at Aslan on his plinth.

I'm still not satisfied though with our little outing and decide to drive a little further to where there's a viewpoint...

...aaah, that's better!

Zooming in a little closer, beautiful!

I used to pass this view every day on the way to work. It was one of the pleasures of working - that and the tattie scone & fried egg rolls they did in the canteen for breakfast, mmm!

Saturday Morning Cycle.

It's time for a completely new route. Today I'm going to be cycling along slightly busier roads (at least to begin with) so I borrow hubby's high vis flourescent yellow gilet - this added to my helmet and the rest of my cycling attire makes me even more glamorous than usual!

It's not as cold as last week (just the one pair of leggings and one pair of socks required) but this also means the light is much murkier due to the thick cloud cover. But there's no rain so it's fine really.

Off we go. To avoid cycling too far along a stretch of busy road I head through a housing estate, out a country lane then into a farmyard - I've taken a wrong turning! A couple of horsey women appear and I ask for directions to get across the river. I'm led back into the housing estate where I promptly get lost and have to ask directions again (nice old man at bus stop!).

I'm advised to head down a little path (one of these paths you'd miss unless you knew it was there) On turning a corner I see a lovely old yew tree, it turns out it's quite a famous one and even has it's own plaque from which I learn that at 600 years old it's the oldest example of a "layering yew" in Scotland.

I carry on along the little path, I like how the colour of the beech saplings brightens up the otherwise gloomy woodland.

Soon I find what is known as "the green bridge" though as you can see from the photo of my bike on it it's rather more colourful in reality.

Another little stretch of busy road and then I head off onto a side road. The busy roads are actually good for improving my fitness - I don't like being on them so I cycle much faster, plus I don't like to stop to take photos so I cycle for longer without a break too.

I used to always think of February as a horrible grey month but I appreciate now that there is colour still around though in rather muted shades. The road I'm on unfortunately appears to be rather popular for roadside dumping. The above scene has been carefully cropped to remove an old tyre and a large amount of Carslberg special brew cans.

A few miles further on and it's much cleaner, much better!

A new farm sign for my collection.

I take a little detour to admire the houses on the Formakin Estate.

Unfortunately the estate is closed over the winter...

...we need to wait till April before we can explore any further. We will be back!

Now I'm heading back west and the road I'm on sits on the southern bank of the Firth of Clyde, above can be seen a view of Dumbarton Rock, somewhere else I've never been but have added to my list of places to visit soon.

Normally on this road you get lovely views of the mountains of Cowal, sadly today they're refusing to come out from behind the clouds.

I leave the Firth behind and head up the hill past a farm with very nosey and noisey sheep. Too early for lambs yet.

Heading home I pass through Kilmacolm. It's reputed to have more millionaires per capita than any other town in Scotland. It's also got a charity shop. I park my bike and pop in to have a look (after first removing my flourescent waistcoat and cycling helmet - must make a little effort!) I get some rather excellent book bargains and a couple of other bits and pieces which I then need to transport home in a carrier bag dangling off my wrist. By the time I reach home my hand aches (maybe I'll stick on a pannier if I'm going that way again!). I'm also really hungry as I have actually done some cycling this week rather than poottling around photographing everything in sight (that was last week!).

More on the charity shop bargains later - I've had a few good finds recently.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Woo hoo, I'm back on my bike! It's been nearly two months since my last bike ride mainly because of unsuitable weather. It feels GOOD to get out again - fresh air, excercise and lots of great views for photos! This morning was very cold and frosty but unlike last Saturday most of the roads were dry and therefore ice-free and cycling-safe.

I set off with some vague notions of photographing the rising sun behind the standing stones so head down that way. The sun isn't really in the right position though but I take a few photos anyway hoping that passing dog walkers don't think I'm too daft.

Brrrrr!

Then it's off up the hill away from all the houses and people and out into the countryside.

Still not far from civilisation though - Paisley and Glasgow can be seen in the distance here.

As I climb higher I get my first glimpse of Ben Lomond.

Now I'm over the top of the hill. Up here the landscape changes dramatically and is wide and open. There are no towns or villages and few farms and it feels quite isolated despite being so close to Glasgow. This is the view looking back towards Ben Lomond again.

Through the avenue.

Sheep fluff on barbed wire.

A lone tree (Ben Lomond still visible behind).

Baa baa black sheep.

The wind is a little chilly here - just taking my glove off to take a photo makes my hand uncomfortably cold.

Once I'm up here I don't actually put much effort into the cycling as the roads are fairly flat and I tend to freewheel around admiring the views, taking too many photos (and getting cold!).

I'm now about to head down to Barcraigs Reservoir which is frozen towards its shores as can be seen in the above photo. There are several possible roads down, I take the one I've not been on before...

...and get an excellent view of this little cottage which I've often passed on the main road thinking it would make a nice photo, I'd never noticed the side road here till I was on it today - ideal!

Getting closer to the reservoir.

Here we are, with wild geese flying above too.

This is the first time I've seen this boat though I've come across photos of it on flickr - it feels almost like finally visiting some famous monument. Also in the photo above you can see a little walkway out to a tower in the water, that's where I head next...

...on the walkway over the reservoir.

Enough wandering about! Back onto dry land, back on the bike and then back through the lovely gates onto the road home.

I remember I've not taken a bike shot for a while, so here you go, not one...

...but two. It's at this stage, when I'm just about to start the big descent back down from the hills, that I remember my brakes aren't working too well!

I take it slowly and sensibly (boring!) and make it home safely. I've even enough time to scoff some pancakes and dye my hair(!) before hubby, A and N return from the Saturday swim & Grandad visit. The afternoon is spent with A and friends at a five year old's birthday party hosted by a Mum who is a phenomenal cake baker. A very pleasant day altogether.