Joan's Musings is Five Today.

Hello, it is five years to the day I wrote my first entry in Joan's Musings over on AOL. I thought it would just be a passing fancy but here we are all those years later and I am still trying to amuse you with my tales of this that and the other. I try to take good photograghs for you to see my lovely country throughout the year hoping it will make you want to visit someday. Being retired and living a very quiet life sometimes it is difficult to find something interesting to say but I do try and if I think of something that may interest you I jot it down for my next entry I find it helps me a great deal. I have checked back and this is my 660th entry counting the 497 I did on AOL that's a lot of writing and I have enjoyed every moment of it except when things go wrong and I lose my entry into cyberspace, that can really get to me but I have found that using Windows Live Writer life is a lot simpler you get to put your pictures in where you want them and you don't have to write backwards so to speak.

I hope there is enough cake for everyone just help yourself to a slice and wish Joan's Musings Happy Birthday and here's to the next year. Until next time take care. Love,

Then and Now.

Good Morning, you may remember in the entry entitled 'Squelchy Saturday'  I was telling you about the gravel pits that have been made into a nature reserve.  I said I wished I could find the old pictures I took back in the '80 when the paths and the planting were first done.  We were looking at some pictures the other day when I found this one so I have scanned it for you to see......

1987 do you see the tree in the front of the pictures well watch for it in this next one...................

July, 2010.Now you can see how the reserve has grown it has been a joy to watch it develop, when we first saw it we never thought it would turn out so well, and the tree, look how big it is now.

That's it for today but 'Joan's Musings' will be 5 years old at the weekend so I will return then with the birthday cake. Till then take care and get the champers on ice.  Take care Love Joan.

Its Golf This Weekend

Good Afternoon, here we are again its Thursday, the 15th of July the first day of the British Open at St Andrews and we have the best seat in the house in front of the TV. Its not a nice day there at all, misty and wet but no wind so the course is being murdered at the moment we need some wind maybe once the tide turns.  July is such a busy month sports wise  between The Tour de France, Grand Prix, Golf, the tennis at the end of the June, Stuart is having a ball, and I watch over the top of my laptop.

Have not been out and about this week we have only had one and a half nice days, Monday we went to Perth and Tuesday morning we sat out in the garden with coffee and scones (home made).

Does anyone have a good muffin recipe I have never tried them but would love to. Think I will make a Tea Loaf today one of my favourites and I have not made one for ages but we have been trying to watch our weight but it would be nice to have a tasty bit for all this TV watching we will be doing the next few day.     That's about it for today hoping for a home win but we will see. Till next time Love Joan.

 

Squelching Saturday.

So here we are on the Saturday of T in the Park and its been raining all morning heavily at times.  It also rained yesterday until late afternoon and then we had a sunny evening and one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen here, the sky was blood red, so I don't know what happened to the saying 'red sky at night being shepherds delight'. It must be so miserable standing in a field with the rain pouring down, but I suppose something that is ok if you are young does not appeal to someone of my age lol.

On Thursday we had a lovely day and we went back to Birnie and Gaddon and I managed to finish the photo walk I started with you last Saturday.  This time the camera was well charged up to here is the rest of the walk.

There is a meadow up on this point of the walk all sorts of wild flowers are in full bloom and there were many many butterflies too.

I took this picture to show you how near we live to this part of Scotland you see the hill in the background well I live at the bottom of that so it not far at all. We are so lucky to live in this beautiful part of the world even if it does rain when it shouldn't. Speaking of the rain this is the first substantial rain we have had in 2 months. 

This is a photograph of Birnie the other loch, this is the original loch, Gaddon was made later so this one is more mature although Gaddon had caught up now the trees and shrubs are all very thick just now you have to wait till you get to a viewpoint that has been cut out of the vegetation to see the water.

 

The Mute Swans after much arguing with their neighbours have raised three cygnets. We say a very funny thing happening as we walked on Thursday there was a coot and a Great Crested Grebe nesting on floating platforms and the grebe was stealing sticks from the coots nest I was waiting for a big fight but the coot just sat there minding her own business we did have a good laugh at that.

 

 

Just about back to the car park here after about one and a half miles.  It is one of our favourite walk at any time of the year and we usually do it on the 1st of January weather permitting.

That about it for now off to watch a mountain stage in The Tour de France. Take care. Love,

                                               

Its T time again.

 

Can you believe it's T in the Park time again. I scanned this photo from a leaflet we received this week to let you see the size the festival is.  It has grown and grown.  we are expecting over 1000,000 festival goers.  All our roads around Balado will be closed from Thursday till Monday afternoon, it does make getting about a bit difficult. It is strange all this money coming into our little town  and yet there is no money for plants for our flowerbeds in the centre town a few dozen plants are not all that expensive. During the winter the council has been round a dug up all the shrubberies to save on maintenance and just left them empty and bare it all looks very sad and this is just the start of our cutbacks. There has been a big furore as a fully mature beech hedge was chopped down by mistake.  It will be replanted in the Autumn but how long will it take to replace what we had.

I seem to have deviated  from the subject of the festival Stuart and I may try to go out on the back roads to get some pictures to show you but it is very difficult the last time we went near we were stopped by the police and that was not very nice you would have thought we were trying to get in free God forbid.

In my last entry about my latest walk I was asked if it was wheelchair friendly yes it is a wee bit of an incline but no steps and there is a shorter walk taking in just one loch. Hope this clears up this for you.

Think that's about it for today so till next time take care and I hope the weather stays dry for everybody coming for the festival. 

                                                       Love,

                                                  

                                                

 

Come Walk With Me Again.

Good Evening we were out in the car today and had a lovely walk around Birnie Loch and Gaddon Loch.  I have mentioned this place before it is a disused gravel pit that was turned over to the council in 1991when it was all planted up with trees and shrubs it looked very strange at first but now it is all matured it is a wonderful nature reserve a great wintering home for birds and waterfowl. the site was gifted to the people of the county by the owners there is still work going on close by so hopefully the reserve will be extended when the gravel runs out.

I just wish I had a picture of it as it was in 1991 but did not have the wonders of a digital camera then.

So come walk with me around the loch on the lovely July day.

This the view from the car park a lovely spot to have your coffee that is if you have remembered to bring some.  We did not intend to be here so I was not prepared.

Not many ducks about today as they are in moult now and hiding in the reeds getting ready for the winter ahead.

This is the start of the path around the Gaddon Loch the trees have grown so much here you cannot see the loch until further up the path.

This is where a little viewpoint has been cut out, when we stopped here a Mute Swan sailed in with here 3 cygnets, it was as if she was showing them to us, that is one of the babies as they sailed away.

A Damsel Fly newly hatched was among the insects and butterflies that were flying around the grassy slopes. 

A little bridge that links Gaddon to Birnie. Gaddon is on higher ground and is more wild and windy.

Some of the wild flowers that were growing along the  path.  At this point you would have heard a bit of a scream as the batteries on my Fuji camera packed it in so we will have to finish our walk another day. Have had a lovely time writing this and showing you one of our favourite local places so till next time take care,

                                                  Love