An Achievement and a Dazzling Display

The thermometer suggested that it was rather chilly outside when I got up this morning so my planned cycle ride was put on hold until the temperature rose to an acceptable level, by 10 am it had rose to 5°C and there seemed to be little wind so it was a good time to set off. My goal today was to pass the 300 mile mark and as I was only 16 miles short it wasn't going to be a difficult task. I headed up the Wauchope road and took my usual route by the Bloch farm then by Barngleishhead returning by the Bloch, to make sure I achieved my mileage I cycled to the foot of Callister then pedaled  home making my total since getting the Ebike to 302 miles. As the winter months are almost upon us and an up and coming foot operation means my cycling days are going to be curtailed for a couple of months, but until then I'll make the most of the good days that are offered.

 I set off on this pedal without my camera but as I have posted numerous photos of the same route I don't think they'll be missed, but the following pictures are from a walk I had on Saturday around the Castleholm. 

Looking up through the trees at the Galaside wood.

Heading towards Duchess Bridge

Duchess Bridge

Result of the inclement weather at the Cattle Show time

South Lodge looking attractive

Langholm's iconic eyesore

A ghostly remainer from Halloween

I did manage to get some shots from my back door of the firework display that was being held over on the Castleholm and watched by a vast crowd on the Kilngreen which was also accompanied by a spectacular bonfire later in the evening which all led to a dazzling display. 

The fireworks in the shots may look a bit haphazard but to those who are interested this is due to the camera being hand held at an aperture of 11f and a shutter speed of 4 seconds, I think they make acceptable images but next year I'll be more prepared and use a tripod.

A Varied Day

I attended an excellent concert last night at the Buccleuch Centre by Jaqui Dankworth and Charlie Wood. They did some nice takes on some popular classics, and left the audience feeling well entertained. Whilst I was there I had a chat with Tootlepedal at the interval and we arranged to meet at Wauchope Cottage in the morning for coffee and a stroll.

After coffee we drove up to the feeder station, parked the car and headed down to the Tarras Burn at the bottom of the hill

There was some nice light on the trees but lacking in colour

The stream was looking quite attractive.

I did some experimenting with my new camera by moving the camera vertically at a reduced shutter speed to get a blurred abstract effect, I was quite pleased with the result.

I did this one by accident and find it the most pleasing.

We stopped off at the hide before heading home but there wasn't much activity apart for the pine trees just about to shed there needles.

In the evening I got a phone call from my friend Helen inviting me to go with her and her family to the bonfire and firework display at Eskdalemuir Hub to which I gladly accepted. It was a lovely moonlit night when we arrived but the trade off was it was extremely cold but it was an excellent show and I managed to get some reasonably hand held shots.