A photo essay, of sorts, from Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion.
Also available as a Flickr slideshow.
Category Archives: Making
I Love My Coffee
…and it loves me back.
Taken 6 March 2006
I love this city, too, though it doesn’t show its affection in the same way.
I love the Botanics, and they show me the delicate drops of rain on a branch.
Taken 7 March 2006
The first yellow flowers come out for me, even on a cold day.
Taken 9 March 2006
The side doors of St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile stand solemn and graceful.
Taken 9 March 2006
And the door handles from the back of the cathedral have their own rhythm. (Yes, this has been cropped.)
Taken 9 March 2006
Snow Shots
While I was playing with the kids in the snow, I saw a few things worth photographing. Usually, I can’t do macro photography with other people around – I get too distracted by the company to really see things. But sometimes, with the right people, I can still make it work.
The snow fell thick onto the rosemary.
Taken 3 March 2006
On this one, you can see the individual snowflakes (cropped).
Taken 3 March 2006
The holly, too, cupped the snow.
Taken 3 March 2006
My favourite of the day, probably, is this shot. The hole in the top of the fence post and the angle of the sun left a spiral of fallen snow.
Taken 3 March 2006
(Miraculously, none of these photos show my usual tendency to want to abandon all colour photography in the snow!)
And, from a previous dramatic weather day, hail in a hedge top.
Taken 1 March 2006
Family Time
The last couple of weeks have included some really good family time around the Sutherland household, for no particular reason that I can put my finger on.
Last weekend, Fiona decided she was “full up” of wearing trousers (meaning she didn’t want to any more), and stripped them off. She was clearly very comfortable in this state.
Taken 26 February 2006
Alex, meanwhile, scampered around and around his prone dad until he fell down giggling.
Taken 26 February 2006
Finally, Fiona got him to burn some of his energy off pushing her round the room in the block trolley.
Taken 26 February 2006
This week’s notable burst of photography was Friday, when the snow was falling thick and fast. We went out into the back garden to play in it until we got cold.
Fiona with snow in her hair.
Taken 3 March 2006
Alex, inevitably, picked up a toy gun to play with.
Taken 3 March 2006
Fiona, after a time, was troubled by the snow sticking to her gloves
Taken 3 March 2006
So we all went inside and had hot chocolate. Fiona likes hers foamed with my latte milk foamer. Alex prefers mini marshmallows in his.
Later, we went out to the local garden centre to get materials for planting basil. En route, Alex decided to try making snow angels. This one turned out rather well. (I very nearly tried one myself, but Fiona was getting a bit wigged out, and having Mom lie down in the snow wasn’t going to do her any good at all.)
Taken 3 March 2006
Sadly, the kids got cold on the way back from the garden centre, and much weeping ensued. Fiona turned out to have been sickening with a cold anyway, and spent Saturday fevered and listless. She recovered quickly, crunching through the remnants of the snow with me to the shops that evening.
Today was more fun again, but sadly unphotographed. You will simply have to imagine it, dear reader.
(Have I been enjoying the family more as my energy levels have lifted? Probably. Why have they lifted? Because this is the view when I walk to the bus in the morning.
Taken 2 March 2006
And this is the view when I get back in the evening.
Taken 1 March 2006
Note the visible sun!)
Reflections
I’m not sure what I think of this photo. Taken in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, while failing to find a geocache.
Taken 25 February 2006
Hail, Hail!
Yesterday, while I was walking in the Botanics, I came under a sudden assault of hail. I had to shelter under an umbrella under a tree – one layer of protection was not enough.
After the white stuff stopped falling, it seemed to vanish. Only a few balls were left to convince me that it wasn’t a dream.
Taken 21 February 2006
The hailstones didn’t last, but the raindrops were beautiful as well.
Taken 21 February 2006
This shot reminds me of one of my favourite poems, No Road by Philip Larkin
Taken 21 February 2006
I’ve had a few other photos building up that didn’t really deserve their own entries. Of possible interest:
The sacred cow is coming home to roost.
Taken 20 February 2006
Plant in the car park at the Cuddy Brae. Very red!
Taken 19 February 2006
Bus stop hardware…one of those tiny details of life that looks so good up close.
Taken 19 February 2006
Weekend Whittering
We have been having a busy wee weekend here at the Evilrooster’s Nest, after Friday’s high-energy activities.
On Saturday, the kids and I went out for a brief expedition to the local shopping centre and (more importantly) the play park right nearby. It was a frosty morning.
Taken 18 February 2006
But the crocus was just beginning to bloom in the park.
Both taken 18 February 2006
Fiona decided to take a route through the play structure that required her to cross a wobbly bridge. She was brave, but cautious.
Both taken 18 February 2006
We walked home, past the dry hedges in the suburban front gardens.
Taken 18 February 2006
My in-laws then came over and took the kids for a long expedition to a soft play area, while Martin got some quiet time and I took a nap (sleep can be hard to come by in a busy household). M and I then went out to dinner and a film, leaving the kids in Ian and Sheila’s very capable hands.
This morning, after sundry shopping expeditions, we all ended up at the Cuddy Brae (pub with grub) for the classic family lunch. The children were beautifully behaved, the conversation pleasant, and the food good if excessive. Ideal. Even the car park plants were looking pretty good.
Taken 19 February 2006
Who says you have to do exotic things to have a good time?
No Rest for the Silly
Another Friday, another adventure.
Fiona had a birthday party to go to quite late today (4:30 – 6), so I had half-intended to spend the morning quietly so as to leave her with energy for the afternoon. But the day was so sunny, and the kids so chirpy, that I decided we all needed a trip out. There’s been a geocache near us, unfound, for some time: Craigmillar’s One of Four. Off we went.
Alex pointed the way.
Taken 17 February 2006
Fiona checked our heading with a compass.
Taken 17 February 2006
We lucked out. We found the cache really quickly, got good loot, left our trades, and thought, “now what?”
So we walked on round the castle, whcih was magnificent in the glorious sun.
Taken 17 February 2006
Fiona took her own path, at her own pace.
Taken 17 February 2006
We saw lots of trees.
From far away.
Taken 17 February 2006
From up close.
Taken 17 February 2006
And all wrinkly.
Taken 17 February 2006
Ones that look like dragons.
Taken 17 February 2006
And ones that look like island chains! (Cropped, I confess.)
Taken 17 February 2006
Then we rolled back down the hill (no, really, Alex wanted to barrel roll. Fiona tried to join him, but needed a bit of help.) After a brief visit home to lunch, nap and change clothes, we went to Lauren’s party. The kids were perky as they waited for the bus.
Taken 17 February 2006
Fiona loved the party, particularly when painted as a puppy. (Yes, I know it’s out of focus, but she was dancing.)
Taken 17 February 2006
It was a magnificent day. Alex impressed me with his maturity at the party (I asked him to sit out the party games after he won the first one, to give the smaller kids a chance. He not only did so, but he made the effort to smile about it as well. Wow.) Fiona was funny and beautiful. Then they had a delightful bath and went to bed.
Happy Birthday to Me
Today was my birthday, and a very good one it was, too. From the flowers the kids gave me first thing, to the cards and the presents that started my day so well, to the very good day with my colleagues at work, it was both ordinary and magical. Even got my usual walk through the Botanics, taking the odd picture along the way, seemed a little special, though I don’t know if that shows in these phiotos.
Something sprouting through the rocks
Taken 15 February 2006
Something about this drystane wall spoke to me too.
Taken 15 February 2006
Then, on the walk home, I was struck by the beauty of these balustrades in the raking sunlight.
Taken 15 February 2006
But that was nothing to the sky over Calton Hill! (Photo cropped to remove a crane)
Taken 15 February 2006
The best moments came at the end of the day – playing tag with the kids on the walk home in the last of the sunlight. Noticing that Alex has finally figured out how to moderate his pace so Fiona can catch him. Chocolate cake. Silly kids in their bubble bath. A chance to talk to Martiin in the evening (and to thank him – I am aware that the flowers, the presents, and the cake only seemed to appear magically at the right moments!)
In some ways, having such an ordinary working-day birthday was better than having an all special day, because it made me look at my everyday life afresh and see it sparkle. I hope I can hold onto that for a while yet!
Valentine’s Day
If you’re lucky enough to get a Valentine’s card today, well, good. Somebody loves you. Remember that.
If you aren’t, then one of the hearts in this picture is especially for you.
Update, 16th February: A number of people have asked me how I did this, whether it’s wicker, how long it took me to make, etc. Let me explain. I was trimming pages of a few books with my Christmas bookbinding present, the beautiful vertical plough that Martin got me. The bin was full of little strips of paper in cream and white. So I curled a few of them into a half-heart shape and photographed the result, then cut the picture, mirrored the appropriate bit, and pasted. The intricacy of the final result astonishes even me, and I did it.
Sorry to rob you of some of the magic, dear readers, but I can’t let you think I did something I didn’t.