chemikal

Haven't posted in a while. Been busy at work & home. Can't believe we are already half way through April! I'm used to being disappointed with winters but this spring can only be descrided as disgusting. Have managed to Goldilocks around the country a bit in the last few weeks. Largs in late March. It was wild wind wise. Millport ferry in the background. Aberfeldy for my first bike ride of the year on Easter Sunday. Walked up the Birks to the stunning waterfall. Anstruther for a gig at Bread & Butter cafe on the 4th of April. Florence enjoying the vista this evening. Fingers crossed for a great summer!

Hawesy Apologies for the late reply. The Seaview was enjoyed by the four of us. I think my motorbike would lat 5+ years longer out east away from Glasgow! Tonight's warning is not welcome. I'll wake up at 8am to nothing now. Best snowfalls are unexpected. I lived in California in my younger years between 1980 & 1983. Experienced the El Nino in that time. It pished down. I thought I was back in Motherwell. Never heard of The Pineapple Express hitting Californa now. Will see if I can find some photos from then.

I've been creeping in @Hawesy neck of the woods since Wednesday. Stayed in Anstruther. Visited Bread & Butter, The Ship Tavern & the new Indian restaurant for our 22nd wedding anniversary. Was planning on going into the tidal pool in Cellardyke but high tide & full moon put paid to that on Wednesday. Walk to Pittenweem via the coastal path yesterday and this is where we got the camping stove out for a cup of tea. Looks warm but the wind was very biting. View is from the breakfast table this morning. Cellardyke pool this morning when it was back to normal levels. Apart from Thursday it was dry. You really notice how dry it is out east compared to the west of Scotland!

I can report another fence down. Thankfully not ours. I was about 20 feet away from it when it went down. I was turning off my motorbike motion sensor alarm as it was going off constantly. Only heard it in the lulls. Alarm is 110 decibels.

Went out to turn off my motion sensor motorbike alarm. It was going off constantly but only heard it in the quiet spells. Alarm is 110 decibels. While I was turning it off a very large section of fence was blown over 20 feet away from me. Don't go out unless it's essential.

Unexpected but nice to see. It was graupel rather than snow. Great photos & videos from those up north!

Really looking forward to some dry weather. Just a reminder that sunsets are getting later and it will be warmer sooner than we think. My favourite day of 2023 was climbing Ben Lomond in late May. My wife had never climbed a munro. She loved the day but won't do it again! Going up was fine. Didn't enjoy the descent! The last time I climbed Ben Lomond was in the dark for the solstice in 1995. Took some firewood & an actual cassette playing stereo to the summit. On the stereo was 'Leftism' by Lefttfieild.

It's quiet. Fingers crossed we'll get conditions like last Saturday in the near future. This is probably looking NE towards the wind turbine on the Cathkin Braes.

Had the day off so headed to the west coast on the motorbike. Dalry Moor Road overlooking Arran then the Old Largs Road looking north just south of Greenock. In the last few weeks we have a woodpecker visit the garden in the southside of Glasgow for the first time since we moved here 21 years ago. Weekend isn't looking as bad as was forecast earlier in the week.

Not a bad day for mid September! Went out for an walk in the countryside outside Clarkston this morning. Absolutely glorious. The photo of the church is looking NE towards the east end of Glasgow with the tail end of the Campsies with the Ochil Hills in the background. Red Admiral butterfly? Nice sunset as well. I went to visit my friend in Clachan, Mull of Kintyre a month ago during the hot spell. I posted some photos in the wrong thread. Nothing at all to do with the beers I had that evening… Photos were taken from the bottom of his garden.

A few years ago someone mentioned the lack of posters from the Mull of Kintyre. I visited my best mate who lives there on Tuesday. Absolutely stunning bike ride there & back. Photos are from near Clachan at the bottom of his garden. If the vista looks familiar then it is probably because you have seen as it is in the Kelvingrove Art Galleries, Glasgow. William McTaggart 1835 -1910.

Went out early to avoid the heat of the afternoon for a west coast ride. Felt cooler at the coast as you would expect and I could feel the heat building as I headed back to Glasgow. Photo is taken from the Fairlie Moor Road overlooking Arran. Back to normal Scottish summer weather tomorrow.

Correct. Photo was taken on Flenders Road which runs from Eaglesham Road to Mearns Road.

My favourite months are May & September. May 2021 however can do one. September please be nice! Had some potentially life changing events on both sides of our family in the past few weeks. Thankfully it will be all ok. Sorry for going political... but last week I went down to Pollockshields, in Glasgow to peacefully protest that people were being forcibly removed from their homes. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t know who they were or where they had come from. I passionately hate the way the Home Office conduct their policies. Rant over. Back to weather and nature. Any one idea what this moth/butterfly this is? Almost squished it as I was chopping wood and thought was debris. It stayed with me for half an hour after I sat in the sun. Saturday morning walk my wife in the Clarkston countryside. Ben Lomond photo for @Mr Frost Looking forward to temperatures nudging mid teens this week!

It has been quite nice this week. Dropped off cleaning products (not my main job) with my aunt & uncle in Lennoxtown on Wednesday. I take a lot of photos of The Campsies from the house so it was nice to be up close for a change. Taken just south of Strathblane. Went for a walk this morning and luckily stumbled upon the local farmer letting the cows out for the first time this year. The noises coming from the ones still inside the shed was nuts! The ones let into the field were so happy. I’ve never seen a cow leap like a lamb!