A Good Day Out

I woke to some much needed sunshine which lifted my spirits and they were lifted even more when Tootlepedal phoned to inquire if I was interested in a jaunt to Eskrigg nature reserve at Lockerbie. I got myself ready and drove to Wauchope cottage for coffee before we left. I had to leave my DSLR at home as it was employed in a time-lapse I am attempting and was clicking away happily when I left so it was a perfect opportunity to put my new pocket cam through its paces. After coffee Mr and Mrs Tootlepedal and myself set off in their Kangoo but we only got to about a mile out of town when a suspicious light came on the dashboard rather than ignoring it we returned and it was all change into my car. 

Whilst Mrs Tootlepedal went off to explore part of the Annandale way we made our way to the reserve. 

The pond from the main hide

There was plenty bird activity when we arrived then......

.......squirrels started to arrive in abundance providing a couple of hours of entertainment

I wonder what this little guy is contemplating

Mrs Tootkepedal rejoined us for a while before we made tracks back to the car. On the return we came upon an unusual information point, what looked like logs...

.....when turned over they were all different species of timber.

I just loved the way the light radiated off these trees

Tootlepedal proudly shows off the staff he found....

We returned to the car and made our way into Lockerbie for a late lunch before returning home. This was an excellent day out with lovely friends and hopefully there will be many more over the coming months. All my shots were taken on my new pocket cam and I think the results are rather pleasing.

An Unexpected Visitor

Shot of the Day

Light after the rain

I had some business to attend to in Annan this morning along with two friends. We were finished by lunch time and took the opertunity to sample some of best fish & chips in the area at The Cafe Royal. Fast service, nice surroundings pleasant staff and delicious food, I do recommend a visit. 

I was just about to pick up the phone to give Tootlepedal a call when something caught my eye in the garden, it was a young Red Squirrel, an most unexpected but welcome visitor. We had a Squirrel visit us last year but as I had stopped putting nuts out I thought we wouldn't see them again. As I needed to stock up on birdseed I went to Blendbetter Pet Foods at Longtown and purchased seed and some nuts in the hope they'll come back. 

"oh dear! the cupboard's bare"

When I returned I got the lawnmower and strimmer out and gave the back lawn a much needed trim and strim. This didn't seem to bother the Blue Tits too much, who now have a clutch of eight eggs. The female is spending most of her time on the eggs rearranging them every now and again while the male constantly brings her food. If he brings her an insect she eats it there and then but if he brings a sunflower seed she pops outside to eat it. 

After tea I decided to see if I could get some shots of the Nuthatch that Tootlepedal managed to get recently. The weather looked a bit ominous in the direction I was headed so I decided to visit the Moorland  Feeder Station instead. Unfortunately the weather must be programmed into my thinking as I had no sooner pulled up when it started to rain. It soon passed over and managed to get some nice shots. ( see Shot of the Day)