Saturday, January 21, 2023

Hyacinths in the window.

 

The spell of dry , cold weather continues. There's a  thin layer of frost on the old second world war coastal defences that line the beach. To stop erosion the council have cleared access paths to the seashore through the old tank traps. 


Sophie skips as she heads off . Difficult to say whether she's skipping with joy or whether it's the 'bracing' effect of the frozen sand on her paws. The PONette and the frozen sand glow pink under the rising sun. A group of track suited youngsters are practising rugby passes down by the shore. Sophie gives them a wide berth.


Volvos are a very popular car here. This may have something to do with the key fob function that allows you to warm up the interior and defrost the windscreen while you're still 100 metres away. On a morning like this it's more than useful.  Sophie has a long, leisurely drink in the back of the car. Angus stands in the cold waiting for her to finish so he can lower the tailgate.


No queue at the good coffee cafe. It's a weekend so the students are recovering from their Friday night partying. Sophie gets a piece of shortbread from the American barista. Sophie decides she loves the American barista. 

A touch of old Scotland. Some of the houses down by the good coffee cafe have bowls of hyacinths in their drawing room windows. This is a Scots tradition that Angus remembers from both his mother and his grandmother. From the empty bowl alongside on the windowsill I'm guessing that there have been hyacinths in this window for Hogmanay. I also notice that there's a van parked outside that's unloading the parts for a stair lift. This may be a clue as to the house owners age.


So starts a Saturday morning with a Polish Poland Sheepdog who's determined to find mischief wherever she can.

These knives ( unless specially ordered ) are only sold at 1 pm on a Friday :https://blok-knives.co.uk/the-story/

5 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Back in Aberdeen and reunited with Nobby, Gail notes the crunch of ice on the back lawn this morning and is wondering if her next car should be a Volvo.

Coppa's girl said...

Lovely photo of Sophie skipping along the deserted beach.
Two or three of my Scandinavian neighbours have the same model Volvo as yours, but I doubt they have yet needed to use the fob to pre-heat the car. Their cars are also black- in fact I've not seen one in any other colour.
I remember Hyacinths around this time of year. The bulbs were planted up in a suitable bowl in autumn and then put under a bed in a spare bedroom until January, then brought out into the light. Their perfume used to fill the house with a promise of springtime. It was often a gift that young children could plant up and then give to their grandmothers at Christmas.

The Life of Riley said...

Perhaps the renovation you saw was because anyone with an important elderly canine, and the ability to do so, would include a stair lift (or residential hydraulic lift) in any renivations so their four legged family member can always be near their loved ones. I know of a home this was done in NZ. I live in a single
storey house, so have only added a ramp to the front door for Enzo, now aged 12, so far.





to me

Anonymous said...

The hyacinths are a lovely tradition. Our first daffodil is about to open here on the Northern California coast with more coming up all about. Your sunrise pictures are breathtakingly beautiful. Stephanie

Travel said...

Sophie knows her mission in life, and she brings joy to every minute of it.