From East to West

Shot of the Day

It was  a bitterly cold wind that was blowing when I went to fill the bird feeders this morning and the thought of doing any of the gardening I had planned to do was immediately abandoned, so I settled down to work on the 8mm films for the Archives. A call from Tootlepedal at 11 o'clock with an invitation for coffee was more than  enough to drag me away from the laptop. Over coffee we decided to brave the cold wind and venture out after lunch.

I met Tootlepedal at Wauchope Cottage at the prearranged time and we set off heading up towards Pathhead and along the top track leading towards the North Lodge.

On Elizabeth street I caught this Heron eyeing up a potential meal.

Spot the odd one out

I managed to capture this Goosander taking off as we passed by the Kilngreen.

 

Heading up past Pathhead towards Pathways

Looking back over the valley

Tootlepedal stops to remove an irritating stone from his shoe

We continue along the track heading for the North Lodge

This tree trunk has been well drilled by Woodpeckers. I suggested to Tootlepedal that we should obtain some sort of hide and return as the trunk is well used and it would be nice to get a shot of a Woodpecker doing what it does best

These frogs eggs were managing to survive the cold conditions.

This is what's left of one of the water reservoirs that fed Langholm Lodge in its hay day. 

This contraption is used by the beaters during the shooting season

A pheasant rearing unit

This tree fungus was quite intriguing

I posted a picture recently of strange growths in the branches of some trees which I was informed by New Hampshire Gardener it was known as witches broom. I think this is it to the extreme.

This area was well used as a picnic spot when our families were young

That hat does stand out 

Someone has left their mark

The path leading home

Tootlepedals main aim this walk was to capture a collection of moss and fungus photos which you'll see along with some other fine photos on his blog this was my effort.

Scott McCarthy who is our Minister keeps a varied collection of hens

In the evening I travelled to Hawick with Tootlepedal and Melanie Horne for the annual Border Digital Battle. If there is a competition that truly represents the Borders surely this must be it as there was fifteen camera clubs involved stretching from Berwick Upon Tweed in the east to Dumfries in the west and Carlisle over the Border. I thought the judges comments were fair and constructive, although a lot of the photographers were obviously spending more time on the computer than behind the camera. If you visit Tootlepedals blog you'll get a more detailed report of the competition.