Sunday 7th September 2025

It is the Sunday of a football international break, and the only match available later is Germany v Northern Ireland.

I went to bed.

Which, as soon as I typed it, I realised was a lie. As from 19:30 onwards we sat on the patio waiting for the Blood Moon to rise.

It was a day off going to the gym. But after coffee, Jools went to the beach to see Ange and Sean and go "for a bob" in the sea.

Here, it was expected to get breezy, so while Jools went out, I stayed behind to measure Scully's blood sugar levels.

I washed up, and did chores until she came back for lunch.

When she came back, after a wee brew, I went out for a walk to check the neighbourhood.

Good job I went then, as soon in the early afternoon the wind got up and thin cloud swept across, meaning it was too cool and breezy for butterflies.

I didn't go far: along our street, up Station Road to the first track, then along before walking down to Collingwood and via the track over the fields back home.

It was nice to get out, but a bit of a slog up Station Road. I mean its not a mountain, but gets the blood flowing.

I had my earphones in and was listening to a podcast, this set up is expected to encourage me out walking more.

I walk to take photographs so far, of course.

I see several flowers hanging on in: Common toadflax, Mayweed, Agrimony, Meadow vetchling, Red bartsia, and walls of Ivy now in flower along the lanes and tracks.

Two Small coppers, a few tatty Common Blues and Large whites, but no Clouded yellows in the fields of Lucerne.

It was just gone midday, very warm indeed, so glad to get back to the track leading to our street, then get back home, after checking on the colony of Dense-flowered fumitories, mixed in with the Lucerne.

Back home for lunch and a large glass of iced squash.

And then the afternoon was ours!

No football.

We do more in the garden, though its mostly all done for winter now, except the last cut, scarify and sowing for the lawnmeadow at the end of this month.

I make bread to go with the Caprese. We listen to music.

Once the bread is done, I prepare the salad, all is served, so at half six we sit down to eat.

Come half seven we were outside, sitting waiting for the moon to rise at twenty to eight. But clouds were still there, and it was a good half hour later that the sliver now being lit as the moon left the Earth's shadow showed bright enough through the clouds. The red part in shadow did not pierce the cloud, so we watch as minute by minute, the sliver got to about a quarter, before the moon went behind more cloud and was lost to view. I took shots, when I could. Of course.