Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night

The sight of the plump, healthy blackbirds in my back garden put in mind the Beatles song 'Blackbird'. Whilst trolling through You Tube I came across Sarah McLachlin's version and I loved it.

Hmmmm.... seems to be a prob with you Tube at the moment. I'll try again later.



......and I know it's not the dead of night, but it's close.




This is one of his favourite haunts, i fill the basket with peanuts and bread...... you can see the effect of the high carb diet!



Ok I know there's no blackbirds in the tree, but I liked it anyways.



There's no denying this little fella is well fed. A regular at Neil's Garden Cafe.
Now if only I could catch that robin.....

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Shetland Ponies and Snow

Sky?..... what sky?.....it's the same colour as the ground!!!........ well nearly.

Driving back from Monikie to Forfar. I had to stop to see how my little Shetland ponies were coping with the nasty weather.

As you can see, they're brave and hardy wee buggers. Not much phases them. It was an unbelievably miserable day, driving snow, freezing temperatures. The sort of day when a sensible bloke wouldn't get out of his car!!!!

But I liked this vid of the pony who thought he was a dog.......

watch it and smile.....

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Simplicity

My World Tuesday..... ha!



These are pics from Friday past.





My World today is a bit upside down.... in a good way!




I love the simplicity of this.......

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Dunnichen Hill and winter sun

I dropped my little teenager off at her friends house this afternoon and on the way back home I took a detour up Dunnichen Hill.



I've posted about Dunnichen in the past. Picts, hippies, Northumbrians and all sorts gather here from time to time.



It's a peaceful area nowadays, I encountered one guy having a walk with his backpack on and a car with a guy who completely ignored me or didn't see me as he drove straight towards me on the single track road......evasive action was required!



It was worth it for these lovely scenes though.



I really liked the dappled snow and shadow effect on this fallow field .

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Piggies and Breakfasts

From this.....


To this.....

To this....

My favourite Sunday Scene...... note the absence of baked beans...... wtf is that all about?

Note also that Scottish peculiarity....square sausage or Lorne sausage as it's known in these parts. Don't ask me why.

Oh....... and the Aberdeen buttery roll....... another North East speciality. Scrumptious when warmed in the oven.

And don't forget the mug of builder's tea......and the bread and butter (Lurpak of course!)

Have I missed anything out?

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TFIF Sunset

I was very politely requested to post some sunset pics for Skywatch Friday. Given the politeness of the request, how could I refuse.

So the Almighty and I got together to produce this little series......
I've been meaning to stop and catch this windmill thing for ages and tonight was the perfect opportunity. It reminds me of the old wild west movies. Or possibly a good still from East of Eden. I can just see James Dean striding into this scene.




These were taken on my drive home from work this evening, between Arbroath and Forfar.
I wish I could have caught something a bit more interesting as foreground here.

I've posted a pic of this little cottage before. Albeit with my crap camera. The difference in quality of the pics is pretty obvious.

This is looking north towards the still snowy Grampian Mountains

And north west towards Craigowl. If you click to enlarge you might see the radio antennae on the top.

Red sky at night....... I passed a group of delighted looking shepherds round the corner.

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My Eucalyptus Is Floppy

Oo'er missus......

Now the link may be tenuous here, but given that I'm essentially seeking advice about my floppy Eucalyptus tree...... I thought you might be interested to know that Men At Work are currently being sued for plagiarism.
Their stunningly crap song 'Down Under' is the subject of this lawsuit. The estate of the writer of the original 'Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree' is suing them over the use of the little flute part in the song. The claim is for millions.....
Men At Work may have to dust down their overalls......




......But to the main point of this post. My floppy Eucalytus Tree. I planted it about 2 years ago and it has rocketed up. I remember at the time I planted it thinking, hmmmm.......should I stake it to prevent it from getting blown over...... Google time..... the advice was NOT to stake it as doing so would weaken it's natural resistance to wind and this would ultimately lead to a stronger tree.




Now it may be a reaction to the particularly harsh winter we've been having......but all doesn't appear to be well with my Aussie companion.





Question is for all you green fingered blogmates.....and I know you're out there......
Wtf do I do with the poor dude?
Should I wait for Spring and the natural surge of sap to reinvigorate ol' Euco?
Or should I take drastic action and saw him/her in half?
Or should I get a bloody great stake and give him/her some much needed support?




Over to you my greenbloggybuddies.........

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J. D. Salinger

A bit late perhaps. But a necessary nod to the passing of the man who wrote one of the great novels of the twentieth century.

I first came across this book in 4th year at school. I was 16. I can still remember the teacher's name who gave it to me, David Johnstone.
Up to that moment I'd never read a book which dealt with people my age, more importantly, people my age who were struggling to come to terms with the world around them.
All the characters in books I'd read had been either children scoffing sticky buns and lashings of ginger beer or adults waging war or discovering Egyptian tombs.
Suddenly I entered a world which MEANT something. An antihero I could relate to.
A revelation was at hand.....
Holden Caulfield

RIP JD