Bringing the Sun

Well we are taking full credit for the now 4th day in a road of fabulous sunshine!  We must have had it in tow all the way from San Francisco and the townsfolk here are very grateful.  Keep up the good work!  But with these beautiful days come cold, cold, crisp nights and every morning for 4 days now we have awakened to heavy frost.  This morning was no different as we waited for our food delivery before heading out on today's adventure.

When we discussed what kind of hike to do today we looked through all our hiking and walking guides to choose something closer to home and so we chose to walk the Old Edinburgh Road into the Beef Tub turning to cross a sheep field, naturally, and head over to the Annan River and walk along back into town.  Today I wore my hiking boots!  It was great!  Walking along the street and then along the river was quite easy on marked paths with no slogging necessary.  No marshes, no reeds, no bogs, no puddles.  4 days of sunshine has definitely improved the quality of the earth. 

Before we left I took some garden pictures....should have taken "befores" but, alas;

This is the area we worked on yesterday.  I know it doesn't look like much but to our friends who have been here before it should look way different than the big pom-pommed bundle of shrubs that used to be here.  They've all been cut down and carefully pruned into natural shapes rather than balls of shrubbery.  I'm still working on the "gardener" as he tends to like the rounded look and you can still see some effects of pom-pomming on this area.

Better eh Katy?

Our wee house and weee-weee car.

Still working on this side....I give up on that round thing in the front.  If he wants to make it look like that well, okay.  Some day I'll come along and whack it off right at the ground and solve the problem once and for all.  What part of please DO NOT MAKE MY PLANTS ROUND DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

As we walked down the Old Edinburgh Road we looked for this sign to indicate the proper cut-through to the River.

This way.....through the sheep pasture.

Looking up into the Beef Tub.  As you can see the hills are very far away.  Yesterday we drove a fair distance to get all the way in.

Hello girlfriend!

This little lamby was actually walking toward me.  She must have been thinking I had a little nibble for her.

The River Annan.

You can see the trees starting to change color below the Gallow Hill.

See that flaming red tree?

The house dead center is Ken and Stacy's home.  That's our friend Maureen's daughters' home and the place we are having dinner tonight.

Former "Adam's Family" home eh?

The old bridge along the new Edinburgh Road.

The north end of Moffat looking west to the forest we hiked earlier last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we returned home we both took naps and watched a little TV and relaxed while doing laundry and I painted my nails.  We had agreed to meet Maureen at her home for a cocktail before heading to Ken and Stacy's for an Indian take-away.  While walking to Maureen's we met a VERY friendly and beautiful wee kitty we could only assume was a female because she was so tiny.  A very sweet little girl we stopped and petted for a while.

And while petting the sweet little girl we noticed another kitty sitting on the dining table of a B&B grooming and arranging it's fur-furs!  He stopped to have his picture taken!


We had a lovely dinner with Ken, Stacy, and Freya, their 11 year old daughter, and Maureen.  The Indian carry-out in town is very good.  Lively conversation about Moffat and Scotland abounds in this town.  A little bit of gossip, a little bit of politics, a little bit about the challenges of child-rearing and retirement, etc.  The hopes and dreams of parents around the world are the same and it's interesting to share ideas and strategies with other people.  Their daughters are beautiful and very talented.  Athletic and smart and they have their parents to thank.  Too many of Moffat's children end up pregnant or dropping out of school due to lack of interest or boredom or just plain ignorance.  Ken and Stacy have chosen to keep their children involved in sports and music and travel.   Freya and her sister Ella are so fortunate for the opportunities that lie in front of them.

Tomorrow is our big day back to Kelso and the Roxburgh Estate.  That is if we get our little tire back and on to our car.  AND if the California weather prevails and we continue to "bring it" with the sun!