Today I took some walking exercise along Borthwick valley. After a walk through the grounds of Chisholme house, noticing pink and white woodland fox gloves, then down a hill, through grazing fields, I noticed the gate fastenings were made from wire.
A few hundred yards along the Borthwick water I found an old disused church I'd seen many times, and recently photographed from the Roberton / Craik Forest road.
About a house adjacent to the church, there was a friendly Northumbrian couple [not Scottish although ancestrally they might very well be] tending to their garden. They talked about the old church once being a Youth Hostel, told of pony trekking through the valley, and that they had once been asked to be wardens for the hostel. The church is now being restored by another couple, who want to let the building as a holiday cottage, before relocating and retiring there.
Crossing Borthwick water I walked with caution over a bridge, a sign on the bridge declared the bridge to be an unsafe structure, recommending crossing for only one person at a time. The pain in my feet decided whether to continue in the direction of Roberton or walk back towards the Craik.
Kirk by Borthwick water.
The graveyard was peaceful, I took off my hat as I passed by because old customs of our people are important. I would have no mind for Christianity if generations of our ancestors psyche had not been scarred by the churches horrific self loathing doctrines.
Beautiful meadowsweet.
I noticed a hundred or so sheep penned, with four cars parked outside a busy barn; I wondered if they were either these ewes were being sheered, or that they were being separated from their lambs. The mile or so walk was hard on my feet, I desired to walk further towards the Craik, but foot and ankle pain did not permit. To the farmhouse gate Charlie returned from work, noticing a sick Zwartble ewe. He brought down the ewe from her feet whilst I filled 3 mm of dark coloured antibiotic into a syringe; it pains me to witness the flock unwell.
In the evening I found my new bathroom scales, purchased from Amazon, had arrived at my doorstep. I weighed myself in at 103 kg; then did a BMI calculation which stated I need to lose 30 kg+, a third of my body weight, because I am obese. I must have been heavier because I have lost some weight over the last fortnight; scary to know the BMI calculator suggested a visit to the doctors because I am now at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Declining mental health, and not exercising enough, is to blame; I don't often over eat. I am determined to make the move to a more active lifestyle, starting today! Charlie came with winding clock keys and attempted, for two hours, to start my new pendulum clock. He found a key that almost fit and began to wind both the chimes and the hands. The clock is very simple, no fancy wood carvings, but the sound of the tick-tock and the striking chimes are endearing.
A few hundred yards along the Borthwick water I found an old disused church I'd seen many times, and recently photographed from the Roberton / Craik Forest road.
About a house adjacent to the church, there was a friendly Northumbrian couple [not Scottish although ancestrally they might very well be] tending to their garden. They talked about the old church once being a Youth Hostel, told of pony trekking through the valley, and that they had once been asked to be wardens for the hostel. The church is now being restored by another couple, who want to let the building as a holiday cottage, before relocating and retiring there.
Crossing Borthwick water I walked with caution over a bridge, a sign on the bridge declared the bridge to be an unsafe structure, recommending crossing for only one person at a time. The pain in my feet decided whether to continue in the direction of Roberton or walk back towards the Craik.
The graveyard was peaceful, I took off my hat as I passed by because old customs of our people are important. I would have no mind for Christianity if generations of our ancestors psyche had not been scarred by the churches horrific self loathing doctrines.
Beautiful meadowsweet.
I noticed a hundred or so sheep penned, with four cars parked outside a busy barn; I wondered if they were either these ewes were being sheered, or that they were being separated from their lambs. The mile or so walk was hard on my feet, I desired to walk further towards the Craik, but foot and ankle pain did not permit. To the farmhouse gate Charlie returned from work, noticing a sick Zwartble ewe. He brought down the ewe from her feet whilst I filled 3 mm of dark coloured antibiotic into a syringe; it pains me to witness the flock unwell.
In the evening I found my new bathroom scales, purchased from Amazon, had arrived at my doorstep. I weighed myself in at 103 kg; then did a BMI calculation which stated I need to lose 30 kg+, a third of my body weight, because I am obese. I must have been heavier because I have lost some weight over the last fortnight; scary to know the BMI calculator suggested a visit to the doctors because I am now at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Declining mental health, and not exercising enough, is to blame; I don't often over eat. I am determined to make the move to a more active lifestyle, starting today! Charlie came with winding clock keys and attempted, for two hours, to start my new pendulum clock. He found a key that almost fit and began to wind both the chimes and the hands. The clock is very simple, no fancy wood carvings, but the sound of the tick-tock and the striking chimes are endearing.
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